May 18, 2024
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‘A Night at the Movies’ advocates for mental health at Fox Valley Center on Saturday

By Hannah Soukup
Actors Garret Sweere (from left) and Em Rose Miller play the roles of Jake and Alison in Honey & Hemlock Production's short film 'Speechless' which will be screened at the company's 'A Night at the Movies' event on Saturday, April 20.

Actors Garret Sweere (from left) and Em Rose Miller play the roles of Jake and Alison in Honey & Hemlock Production's short film 'Speechless' which will be screened at the company's 'A Night at the Movies' event on Saturday, April 20. (Photo provided by Honey & Hemlock Productions)

Honey & Hemlock Productions will host “A Night at the Movies” event from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at Fox Valley Community Center. The event will include the screening of three short films, a food truck, a bar, a red carpet, live music, raffles and a silent auction.

Fox Valley Community Center is located at 1406 Suydam Road in Sandwich. Event proceeds will be split between Honey & Hemlock Productions and the community center.

Owners of the company, Shanna Riker and Melissa Bronski, established Honey & Hemlock Productions in 2021 and have been working on short films for their film series Support on Screen. Three films from this series will be played at the event.

SOS is aimed to provide insight on certain mental health issues society faces. The films being screened were written by individuals who went through the topics being displayed.

The three films that will be screened: “Solitarity,” “Spaceman” and “Speechless,” all focus on different aspects of mental health, Riker said. The films touch on themes such as depression, domestic abuse and grief.

Actor Jack Quint (from left) and Director/ Producer Shanna Riker work on Honey & Hemlock Production's short film 'Spaceman,' which focuses on heavy topics such as domestic abuse, fitting the theme of the company's other Support on Screen films.

Actor Jack Quint (from left) and Director/Producer Shanna Riker work on Honey & Hemlock Production's short film 'Spaceman,' which focuses on heavy topics such as domestic abuse, fitting the theme of the company's other Support on Screen films. (Photo provided by Honey & Hemlock Productions)

“These three scripts were all written by people who have been through the things that are covered in these completely fictional films, but they have been through these traumas and wanted to create a space for people in the audience to watch them and to realize that they are not alone — even if they haven’t been through one of these particular things,” Riker said.

Film screening will begin around 7 p.m. and will be followed by a Q&A featuring Riker, Bronski and some cast members from the films.

Riker explained that she and Bronski want to remind the audience that they are in the area and want to become more connected with the nearby community.

“We want everybody to know that we’re planning to bring more film production to this area,” Riker said. “I mean, we want them to sort of know who we are, and we want to introduce ourselves.”

The pair will be filming a short film titled “Dueling Watchers” in the Sandwich area this June. This film was the winner of Honey’s 2023 Screenwriting Competition. Riker said the company is the film’s in pre-production and is looking to hire a crew.

“We definitely want it to be a community event,” Riker said. “If anyone wants to be on set, we’d love for people to reach out.”

Tickets for “A Night at the Movies” are $10 and pre-registration is available at eventbrite.com/e/honey-hemlock-productions-support-on-screen-a-film-series-tickets-836303314727?aff=oddtdtcreator or attendees can pay at the door.

More information on Honey & Hemlock Productions and their films can be found at honeyandhemlock.productions/.