Local Filmmaker Has New Projects
Local filmmaker Sean Hunt has three new projects in the works to follow up his feature film, The White Rider.
The White Rider came out at Christmas of 2016 and was nominated for three awards at the Branson International Film Festival in 2019. It won Best Young Actress and was also nominated for Best Actor and Best Feature Film. The movie is a faith-based story about a girl in the Old West who sets out on a quest to find the White Rider, who is the only one who can save her town from destruction.
The first new project Hunt is working on is The White Rider Returns. In the sequel, the main characters are trying to free the family of Bernie Williams, a freed slave from the first film, whose family is being held by the evil Grisham family in the deep South.
Returning in the second film is Sarah Fore of Noel, who plays
Gracie Gail, and who received the award for Best Young Actress in The White Rider. She is a 2016 graduate of McDonald County High School and just finished college.
“I love it because I love acting and performing. Being able to utilize that in a way that honors
God and inspires others has been a real blessing, so I’m thankful for those opportunities,” she said.
Also returning is Rick Thomas, who plays Roanan, a redeemed hero in the new movie who was a villainous bounty hunter in the first movie. In addition to acting in the films, he built several sets for the first film. He is also pastor of Zena Baptist Church, located between Grove and Jay, Okla.
“I’m always happy and excited to be part of anything that moves the gospel forward,” he said.
The projected finish date for The White Rider Returns is Christmas 2021. Hunt said he will not start filming until fall because he likes the look of the autumn leaves for a western.
The White Rider is available on Amazon Prime. Hunt is also working on an Amazon Original Series, The White Rider series.
The series fills in all the gaps and answers questions people may have after the two movies, Hunt said. Each episode has a parable or lesson from the Bible to encourage the audience, he said. It takes place after the second film and reveals a lot of backstories that the film did not have time to go into, he added.
Hunt’s third project is a film called Tarnish, a modernday coming of age film that is inspirational and faith-based. It is about encouraging young people to follow their dreams. It will be filmed at McDonald County High School and in surrounding areas. It is about a group of teens who graduate and attempt to pursue their dreams. Reality hits, and they have to decide whether to continue, he said. Tarnish is registered on IMDB.
All the projects include local actors. Tarnish has a few from across the country as well, Hunt said.
Hunt’s wife, Kylie, is the secretary for Hunt Production Studios and executive producer for The White Rider Returns.
She said, “It has been exciting to see what the Lord has done and the doors he has opened with the first White Rider film, and I am excited to see what he has in store for Tarnish, The White Rider Returns and The White Rider Series.
A fundraiser for these projects will be held at 7 p.m. March 28 at Banner Church of the Nazarene, 597 Northfork Road in Anderson. There will be free chicken from Chick-fil-A and other food, and those who attend are asked to contribute something.
For more information, visit seanhuntpresents.com. To contribute, or to send audition material, email hunt productionstudios2014@yahoo.com.