WORDS / KODY FORD
PHOTO / CHERI ROOT

The story came to them on a park bench.  Kenn Woodard and Zak Heald were taking five between interviews in Siloam Springs for a film. The veteran writer/director and the young, aspiring screenwriter began bouncing ideas for a story around and it quickly took shape.  By the time they went back to work, they had an outline in their heads.  But time and life interfered and nothing came of it.  Then four months later, Zak was walking around Siloam and he realized that he and Kenn had unfinished business.

He called Kenn up and they set a time to meet.  Much of the writing session took place at Arsaga’s at The Depot, which Kenn dubbed “a hub of creativity” in Fayetteville.  After an 18-hour day, they had a script for a short film called “The Shoes of Hayim,” but this didn’t come without some assistance from strangers along the way.

The first stranger they met was a military recruiter who had stopped by Arsaga’s to get coffee.  Kenn felt the need to talk to him and seized on the serendipitous opportunity.  The soldier spoke with him for a few minutes and ended up inadvertently supplying them with some of the scripts central themes and dialogue. Later, that evening, they met a man who had lost his father to Agent Orange and he also inspired a character.

The story has plot elements and themes related to the military.  The synopsis reads:

“’Hayim’ is a word of Hebrew origin meaning “Life”.  In our film, a young man struggles with the news that his father, Levi, has lost his life in combat.  Crippled in thought, he pushes the boundaries of time and space when he meets a veteran of war who steps in to soothe his raging wounds. Unexpectedly, the young man confronts his fear and discovers the thin line that exists between war and peace.”

Zak described the experience by saying, “[Telling this story was] emotionally moving for both of us throughout the night. We’d write something and be like ‘whoa’ we’d get chills.”

While they are guarded about some of the story, Kenn revealed that the film opens up a discussion for what defines a hero, who we are as human beings and what is our purpose. “It’s a 15 minute film and we felt it’s an impactful story that we could tell within that narrative,” he says.

Producer Amber Lindley is excited about working on the film. She says, “This is a very inspiring story of redemption, a story of sacrifice.  Sometimes as artists we delve itno all of these emotions.  It is kind of refreshing to work on something so positive.”

Kenn is directing the film while Zak is an executive producer and cinematographer. A student at John Brown University, he won the student cinematographer award at the Little Rock Film Festival in 2013. They currently have the majority of the film cast and plan to use music by Arkansas musicians such as Air Loom.  Everything is ready to go except for funding.  They have an IndieGoGo campaign to raise the funds with many perks including a copy of the DVD and a chance to appear as an extra.

Zak added, “Everybody has had some kind of a military interaction, whether it’s a family member or a friend. This film…challenges the audience and gives a different perspective than most people will give in a film.  Makes the audience ask, ‘Does this change what I believe about a hero?’  I think when people finish watching this film they’re gonna be moved in ways they haven’t been before.”

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