Testimonies of a Quiet New England Town: The Film

A film by Matthew Troy, Patio Productions

Testimonies of a Quiet New England Town: The Film

Matthew Troy

Testimonies vividly describes the 1787 seizure of the Connecticut slaves, Cesar and Lowis Peters and their eight children, and the family's ultimate rescue by their white Hebron neighbors. This event is the earliest documented abolitionist movement in New England, and pre-dates Prudance Crandall's efforts by almost 50 years.

 

Testimonies of a Quiet New England Town Preimers

Mark Your Calendars for Sunday, September 27.  The first viewing of Testimonies of a Quiet New England Town will be held at RHAM Auditorium, Hebron, from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m.   Please plan to attend and meet many of the actors and production crew!

 

Horses Cast for Testimonies Film

Hollie

Our sincere thanks to Holly Rebello, owner of Hidden Brook Stables in Lebanon, who is providing three magnificant horses for the film.  Learn more about Tucker, Ozzy and Mistery, and our actors who will be riding them, on the Cast page.

We are also deeply indebited to Kathy and Jim Gregory for providing our final horse, Dazzle.  In addition, Kathy has been providing riding lessons to our actors, training them for the film's dramatic scenes.  See Dazzle and his rider on our Cast page.

 

Testimonies is being funded primarily from a November 2008 Special Initiative Grant awarded to the Hebron Historical Society by the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism. The Society is also making a significant contribution to the project.

“We can’t thank Culture and Tourism enough for this opportunity to bring the story of Cesar and Lowis Peters to film,” said Troy. “It is a story that needs to be shared with the world.”

Thanks to the support of the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, we have contracted with 5-time Emmy Award winner Karyl Evans, Karyl Evans Productions LLC, to serve as Executive Producer of the film. Karyl's most recent production on the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven was recently broadcast on CPTV. 

The Society has also recently contracted with Gregory Farmer, Agricola, Inc., to serve as the Historical Consultant on the film’s script and costuming accuracy and authenticity.

The production principals met in Hebron on Saturday, January 3, to review the script and do in-depth location scouting for the film.  Our next meeting is March 5 in Hamden. 

Casting is scheduled to be locked by March 31.  Filming will be held in Hebron and surrounding locations from May 22 through May 27.  We plan to premiere the film in Hebron on September 27; the public is cordially invited to attend.  More details on the premiere will be forthcoming.

Written and directed by Matthew Troy, Patio Productions.  Produced by Hebron Historical Society and funded in large part by the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.

Visit Yale University's Gilder Lehrman Center's educational web portal, Citizens All: African Americans in Connecticut 1700-1850, to learn more about the Cesar and Lowis Peters story.