Feature film draws on stories from Smithville,
“Beginning in Smithville, going around the world, and ending in Smithville” is the catch phrase of “The Teller and the Truth,” a movie whose storyline is a compilation of several true stories, some of them from Smithville.
The film is about the 1974 disappearance of a beautiful young bank teller, Frances Wetherbee, told 40 years later by those affected by her with flashbacks to actual events.
The film is labeled a docudrama, but it is much more. “Teller” is an 82-minute, thought-provoking, emotional ride through a life of no regrets that leaves the viewer glued to the screen to find out what happens next.
The vast majority of dialogue came from the narrators describing events from 40 years prior. Leilani Galvan in the title role, and Russell Gustave Ochoa together have less than a handful of words onscreen, and their lines were not missed. Performed by an orchestra for this project, the original musical score by Carl Thiel, Stephen Barber and Nathan Felix spoke for the main characters in an evocative manner that made the need for verbosity unnecessary.
The viewer also realized that the narrators, who thought they knew Frances, didn’t know much at all. The truth is each person’s own perception of the past, with true reality revealed after the narrators go quiet. The film title could represent the bank occupation of Frances or the narrators telling her story.
Film locations included France, Uruguay, Argentina, India and Panama; and in the United States, California and Arizona. In Texas, scenes were shot in Smithville, Austin, Marfa, Three Rivers and Denton, and the film uses Smithville’s name as the town where it all started and where it ended.
Writer/director Andrew Shapter spoke about the film after a recent private screening in Smithville.
After a series of radiation treat- ments, cancer survivor Shapter was glad to have this story finally told.
“That delayed the film, but it’s made it that much sweeter that it’s done,” Shapter said.
With several local residents acting in the movie, Shapter described his directing style with actors with limited experience: He tells them a story and has them repeat it back on film.
“Instead of having them memorize lines, just have them tell the story back in their own words,” said Shapter. “With this technique, you turn anyone into an actor and make it believable.”
Skeeter Sewart, chairman of the Smithville Film Commission, said that because of the believability of the film and storyline, Houston police contacted Shapter after finding a body that they thought might be Wetherbee’s.
“I had to contact the federal authorities,” said Shapter.
The private screening at the Playhouse Smithville raised over $500 for the Smithville Medical Clinic, a lowcost medical facility for those with limited means. The event was hosted by the theater, Smithville Film Commission and Smithville Area Chamber of Commerce.
To find out more about the film or upcoming screenings, visit thetellerandthetruth.com.