Feature film “Savannah” will be opening 4th annual Charleston Film Festival

I get regular questions about the feature film Savannah, which was directed by Annette Haywood-Carter, written by Annette and her husband Ken Carter, starring Jim Caviezel and Sam Shepard, and produced by John Cay with a number of others.

The film screened to an appreciative full house in March 2012 at Trustees Theater on Broughton Street, but it has been under the radar since then. I wrote about it here on the blog: “Savannah” — a lush new feature film — the post contains a link to a City Talk column that mentioned the movie too.

From that post:

I’m not going to include spoilers here, but the film was darker in its themes than I expected. And that’s a good thing. There are some deeply sad elements to Ward Allen’s story — and to the story of Christmas Moultrie, the last child born into slavery at Mulberry Grove Plantation and later Allen’s hunting friend and assistant. The multi-layered narrative doesn’t shy from those dark moments.

And now some news from TheDigitelCharleston: Locally produced film “SAVANNAH” ‘special screening’ at Charleston Film Festival:

The Charleston Film Festival at the Terrace Theatre has announced that Annette Haywood Carter’s “SAVANNAH” will receive a ‘special screening’ at 7 p.m. on March 8 as a part of its fourth annual exhibit.

The film was produced by Charleston’s own John Cay and features Charleston-area actor Daniel Jones, alongside stars Jim Caviezel (“The Passion of the Christ”), Sam Shepard (“Safe House”) and Greenville native Jaimie Alexander (“Thor”). Both Carter and Cay will be in attendance for the screening.

Never before shown in a festival setting, “SAVANNAH” tells the true story of Ward Allen, a post-Civil War rebel who betrays his traditional Aristocratic upbringing to become a market hunter, crossing paths with a freed slave (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his pronounced love-interest (Alexander), all while taking up residence on the banks of the Savannah River.

There’s a bit more at the Terrace Theatre website.