By Mike Wood

The challenges of making an independent film are vast and varied, but with a committed team, writer-producer Robert Heske got his screenplay, Blessid, off the page, off the ground and running, right here in our neck of the woods. Heske, a Massachusetts native and Shrewsbury resident for the last 18 years, had a vision of getting his film made locally in towns like Webster, Holden, Spencer and Holliston.

“I am married with two young children and a full-time day job,” Heske said, “so the only way I could make a movie was to film it in Massachusetts [because of the] logistics of having to fit making an independent film around my job and family.”

The story revolves around a woman, depressed, pregnant and alone, until she makes an unlikely acquaintance in her 2,000-year-old neighbor.

“I always liked the idea of an immortal character in a movie,” Heske said. “Blessid really is a story about self-forgiveness. I found it intriguing to tell a story where characters who are polar opposites meet, one who has survived forever ~ at least for over 2,000 years ~ and the other who struggles to survive every single day.”

Getting this film together and making it happen in Central Massachusetts, according to Heske, was no easy task, “We didn’t have a lot of time to shoot this film, but we ended up with the best crew of professionals that I could possibly hope for, and the shoot went off like a well-oiled machine!”

Heske had originally reached out to the film’s director, Rob Fitz, to do the makeup and special effects for the film, since the majority of his résumé touts his expertise as such. But when Heske discovered that Fitz had also directed a film, he gleaned his interest in taking the helm of Blessid as its director.

“When I read it, I felt strongly about the thematic elements of the film,” Fitz said. “And I think when I have the opportunity to direct, I feel like it’s the ultimate artistic expression. It’s like a huge bonus!”

Heske said that while Fitz and he are both self-professed “horror guys,” they laughed when they watched the final product and realized they had, in fact, made a drama.

“They say there are three stories in every film: 1.) The film you write, 2.) The film you shoot, 3.) The film you cut,” Heske said. “Our original vision was a dark, suspenseful film that tiptoes on the edge of horror.”

But the film became something else. “It really became actress Rachel Kerbs’ movie,” Heske said. “She’s in 90 percent of the scenes and does a brilliant job with a dark, moody character.”

Kerbs came from Los Angeles to shoot the film ~ her first time in Massachusetts ~ and was lured away from Tinseltown because she was intrigued by the concept right away, she said. “The wonderful Robert Heske sent me a letter of interest and the script … and that was that. I was hooked! The theme of the story is what got me. Forgiveness is a tricky thing. My character, Sarah, has a lot of baggage. She is an old soul with a lot to learn. I fell in love with her right away.”

Heske is in the process of submitting Blessid to festivals and hoping that its theme and message will connect with audiences. The film’s director Fitz sums it up: “I’d like people to come out of this feeling as if no matter how deep you are in despair, there is hope and that it begins with you forgiving yourself. That’s the key; a lot of times we are our own worst enemy, and being able to forgive yourself and move on is the hardest part.”

Learn more about the film at blessidthemovie.com. 

PHOTOS

Lead actress Rachel Kerbs and Northborough native Chris DiVecchio in a scene from Blessid.

Actor Rick Montgomery Jr. in Blessid.

Actors Rachel Kerbs and Gene Silvers in a scene from Blessid.