Movie about military wife screening locally
Sarah Beth Solop has spent the last year working on a deeply personal film project with friends new and old about her experience as a military spouse while her husband is on deployment.
“We are done,” Solop said. “Praise the Lord. We finished post-production just this past week.”
The film is entitled “Deployed” and Solop will host a screening with her director and long-time friend Jaclyn Bethany at the Ecoshed, 133 Commerce Park Drive in Jackson, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 7.
They will show “Deployed” which runs 10 minutes and Bethany’s latest feature-length film “Highway One.”
Barrett Higginbotham, the general manager of the Ecoshed, said that they had previously hosted a private screening in the past but look forward to something that will be open to the public.
“We were really interested in this event because the filmmaker is local,” Higginbotham said. “We invite everyone to come out and support these artists and watch a local film in a cool space.”
They shot near Canton last April at the family cabin of Solop’s in-laws, Chris and Juanaree Solop. Solop raised much of the money for the movie herself through a crowdsourcing site.
Solop said she learned a lot during the shoot, specifically about what could go wrong. She said the crew had to “scramble” and encountered several “hiccups” that cost them nearly a day and a half of filming. That required them to make last-minute adjustments and cuts to the script.
“Overcoming obstacles strengthened us as a crew,” Solop said. “We made it happen and we had a good time.”
Bethany met Solop in a dance class when they were maybe 3 years old. They would remain friends through their time at Jackson Prep, college and today.
Solop said Bethany made her ideas a reality and helped ground a project that previously existed on paper.
“We partnered so well,” Solop said. “She is a good decision maker and good at making things happen.
Solop said she is filled with “satisfaction and joy” now that the project is complete and cannot wait to show it to people.
“The Ecoshed is a fantastic venue and I am excited to collaborate with them,” Solop said. “I am just so excited to be able to hug and thank all of our supporters and celebrate this movie in person.”
In addition to the upcoming screening, Solop and Bethany have begun to submit “Deployed” to film festivals and hope to have the movie available to rent on a streaming platfor soon.
The duo has already begun looking toward the future. Solop said they have several projects in the works and it looks like the next one that will happen will be a film hopefully shot in New York City in October.
Solop grew up in Ridgeland. She is the daughter of Bill and Mindy Tew.
Her husband, 1st Lt. Harper Solop is now in the Army National Guard and is a Marine Corps combat veteran. They live in Gluckstadt with their children Ava, 7, Wilder, 4, and Sterling, 2, who play her children in the movie.
For ticket information for the screening of “Deployed” and “Highway One” on May 7 visit eventbrite.com and search for the event titled “Ecoshed Film Night.” Tickets are $10.