Of course, the movie also makes it debut in regular theatrical release here in Savannah.

This is a big deal. Savannah is not only set in the local area, but was also written, produced, and filmed here, and based on local history.

The headline actors — Jim Caviezel, Sam Shepard, Jaimie Alexander, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jack McBrayer, and Hal Holbrook — all have major films on their resumes.

From Linda Sickler’s article in Do in today’s Savannah Morning News:

Savannah is one of 12 cities chosen across the country for the opening-day release of the film, set for Aug. 23 at Victory Square Cinema. Written by Kenneth F. Carter and Annette Haywood-Carter, it tells the story of Ward Allen of Savannah, who rejected his heritage of wealth to provide markets with fowl he hunted along the Savannah River in the early 20th century.

With his longtime friend, freed slave Christmas Moultrie, Allen fought for his rights as a hunter.

Along the way, he won the hand and heart of his high-society wife, Lucy, who defied her father to marry him.

The screenplay is based on a book, “Ward Allen: Savannah River Market Hunter,” written by John “Jack” Eugene Cay Jr. A collection of anecdotes, it was originally written as a paper for the Madeira Club and was later self-published as a book.

Here’s the list of cities where the movie will run this weekend and next, embedded from the movie’s active Facebook page:

Check out the Facebook invitation for the “red carpet screening” at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 23 here in Savannah. That page contains information on how to buy tickets for that special event.

I first wrote about the film in a City Talk column in spring 2012 after seeing a special screening at Trustees Theater, which was attended largely by the local crew, cast, production team, and assorted friends.

From that column:

The lush visuals of “Savannah” fittingly focus more on area waterways than on our iconic architecture.

After all, the highly educated Allen feels compelled to challenge himself with “the test of wildness.”

And that turns out to be a tough test.

Allen seems dispirited by the beginnings of industrialization along the Savannah River. And government limits on duck hunting, first treated by Allen as a joke, eventually catch up with him.

And time is always nipping at his heels, as his relationships with his friend Christmas and his wife Lucy are sorely tested.

From a followup blog post:

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

The movie hits some themes that I would call truly conservative — the despoiling of the natural environment and the creeping restrictions of modernity on American individualism and libertarianism. Sometimes those twin impulses come into stark conflict for the increasingly troubled Allen.

The darker plot turns and themes are going to surprise some viewers, and I could imagine that some won’t feel closely enough connected to the individual characters.

But there’s a tragic majesty to the story of Ward Allen.

A strong opening weekend could be a boon not only for Savannah but also for the city of Savannah and its future as a filmmaking hub.

So if you’re even halfway interested in seeing the film and judging it for yourself, you might want to check it out in the next few days.

Here’s one of the trailers (go full screen to enjoy this to its full effect):

Set in the post-civil war era, Savannah is the true story of the legendary Ward Allen (Caviezel), an Aristocrat-turned-market hunter, his, business partner — a freed slave named Christmas Moultrie (Ejiofor), and the love of his life, free-spirited Lucy Stubbs (Alexander). As the changing times force the brilliant but troubled Ward to challenge the government to recognize his rights as a market hunter, Ward fights to preserve his love, his life-long friendship with Moultrie and above all, his cherished way of life on the Savannah River.

Savannah stars Jim Caviezel, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jaimie Alexander, Hal Holbrook, and Sam Shepard.

The movie, which is scheduled for an August 23rd release, was directed by Annette Haywood-Carter and written by Haywood-Carter and her husband Ken Carter, both formerly of Savannah. The movie is based on John Cay’s Ward Allen: Savannah River Market Hunter. You can see the full cast and crew at IMDB.

I really liked Savannah, which explored darker themes than I anticipated and which I first lauded back in spring 2012.

The new trailer is considerably different from the previous marketing trailer. The narrative framing device with the story being told by an elderly Christmas Moultrie has been swapped for more immediate connections to the action and shots of the intense, attractive cast.

Connect Savannah featured a cover story about Savannah just a couple of weeks ago.

Here’s the trailer embedded (sorry if you have to wade through a commercial — I can’t remove that):

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:

Iâ€m not going to include spoilers here, but the film was darker in its themes than I expected. And thatâ€s a good thing. There are some deeply sad elements to Ward Allenâ€s story — and to the story of Christmas Moultrie, the last child born into slavery at Mulberry Grove Plantation and later Allenâ€s hunting friend and assistant. The multi-layered narrative doesnâ€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 Carterâ€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 Charlestonâ€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.