Written and produced by Velinda Godfrey and directed by Maura Anderson, "Heartland" is a film that focuses on the family, on the rebuilding after the loss of a loved one and Oklahoma.
The story follows Lauren (Velinda Godfrey), a young lesbian artist who returns to her family in Oklahoma after the loss of her girlfriend to cancer. She finds her mother, who hopes her lesbian "phase" is over, and her brother Justin, who is visiting with her girlfriend Carrie (Laura Spencer). They are working together on the launch of a local winery.
Thinking to do well, Justin offers her sister to work on the artwork for the wine labels just to change her ideas and to help her to go through this hard ordeal.
Carrie, who works more on the marketing concept, decides to accompany Lauren in her image search illustrating Oklahoma. During this time together, the two women will get closer, each pushing the other to be free and to feel better.
Then a certain attraction will increasingly develop between the two, kisses will be exchanged before a tornado...
Although the story barely started, this film is really worth that interested. In fact, the introduction of the film is so full of emotion that the next part, which consists mainly of family reunion becomes a bit annoying. Let's say that this part is a little too long but certainly necessary to the story. However, at the end, one comes to think that the movie is too short.
The talent of the two actresses, Velinda Godfrey and Laura Spencer, deserves that one is interested in the film. Shout out to the performance of Velinda whose character oscillates between opposing and strong emotions she perfectly conveys.
After a premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival in early March, "Heartland" began to be screened at film festivals, I invite you to check out the Facebook page or the website of the film
for screening dates. The team hopes to widely distribute "Heartland" later in the year. Meanwhile here's the trailer:
For more information on "Heartland", be sure to read our interview with Maura and Velinda: Heartland: An Indie Movie About Woman, By Woman