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Film student focuses on local history
BY BRENDA SULLIVAN ReminderNews
Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass , John Brown – these are names that come to mind when people talk about the “Underground Railroad” or the fight to end slavery in this country. There are many more local stories of courage, however, that have disappeared with time, or are in danger of doing so.
Matt Troy, who grew up in Hebron and is now in his final year of film school at NYU, intends to capture one such story that took place in this small rural town, about the rescue of slaves Cesar and Lowis Peters by Hebron townspeople.
The story has become well known in Hebron today, because of the controversy over a house that is tied to the event – the Peters House at 150 East Street. Troy now hopes to bring the story to a larger audience.
Originally conceived of as a short film that he would make as part of his studies at film school, the project has blossomed into a full-fledged project for television, complete with an Emmy Award-winning producer, thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
Producers Karyl Evans – whose film credits include the Steven Spielberg film, “Amistad” – has agreed to collaborate with 21-year-old Troy, who is writing the script and will direct the film.
Work on the project has to be set aside while Troy completes his academic commitments, but he expects to work on the project after graduation.
“It’s very exciting to have an accomplished professional involved, because the scope of the project has escalated from a short film to a half-hour television spot,” Troy said in a phone interview last week.
Evans will handle such things as casting, financing, scouting locations and overseeing post-production . “It’s great to have someone who knows what she’s doing,” Troy said.
Evans learned about Troy’s film project when she came to Hebron in connection with a documentary series on the history of slavery, developed by Yale University. At that time, she met Donna McCalla, the president of the Hebron Historical Society, who has been at the forefront of preserving the Peters House and is a strong supporter of Troy’s vision.
Evans is drawn to the film as someone who has focused much of her 27-year career in television and film on the history of Black Americans, particularly in Connecticut. Five of those projects earned Emmy awards.
“I did a film for Connecticut Public Television on the history of African-Americans in Connecticut... I also did a film on the Freedom Trail in Connecticut , and before that, I did a film on the Amistad... So for the last 18 years, I’ve been working on films about African-American history,” Evans said.
And Evans sees a larger message in Hebron’s contribution to that history. “It’s so inspirational to think of the kind of courage people had to have to do these kinds of things,” she said. “People today take it for granted... we forget that people were breaking laws and risking their lives.”
Cesar and Lowis Peters were the “property” of the Rev. Samuel Peters, who fled to England at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. He left his home in the care of the couple, who had been accepted as part of the town’s life. Then, in 1787, in order to pay off his debts, Peters sold the slaves to a South Carolina slave trader. When the new owner came to Hebron and seized Cesar , Lowis and their children, townspeople went after the slave trader and were able to bring the family back to Hebron by making up a story that Cesar was a thief because he had not paid a bill at the local tailor shop.
Troy said he is drawn to the story on two levels: his pride in his home town and the historical significance of the event. He noted that by helping Cesar and Lowis, Hebron townspeople were defying slavery laws more than 50 years before the Civil War began.
The story is based on actual documents – testimony of citizens telling the story at the time. “So, it’s great that we have direct documentation and that this is rooted in truth,” he said.
Troy also is grateful for the people who have encouraged him to follow his passion for filmmaking. “I feel the community has really embraced not just me, but a lot of the students who have come through RHAM High School, and they are willing to help... So, I want to include the stories of where I am from,” he said.
He hopes the state will see there is economic promise in supporting independent filmmakers. “Everyone is talking about creating a ‘Hollywood East’ with things like tax incentives – which is great – to get more studio films made here, but if the state really wants to push this initiative, it should be looking at more small projects like this. That’s what will make Connecticut more visible in the film industry,” he said. Instead of losing talented up-and-coming filmmakers to Hollywood and New York, “they should catch the younger filmmakers now,” he said.
