A TLW Visit to Salem?

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Massachusetts again. It was an important visit but as an independently, privately funded production, our budget is very tight. We are constantly living on the edge and trusting my faith that the money will come. I don’t know when or from who, but I know that the money will come. So far, thanks to our community, they have.

Be that as it may, it’s a rollercoaster. I almost considered not going, because I wanted to spend all available funds on editing. After several evenings of doing maths and calculating where to scrimp and shave, I closed my eyes and decided to take the plunge. I accepted the invitation, and I’m so glad that I did.

The reason for my visit was to meet with the Peabody Essex Museum. PEM is one of our biggest cheerleaders. We have filmed with them before and I knew that we wanted to film with them again. Planning that shoot was the reason for flying from California, where I live, to meet with them.

After spending just a few moments with wonderful members of the PEM staff, I was able to explore the exhibit that I want to film in August and to see more artifacts from the history of the Salem Witch Trials than I had seen before. Excitedly we planned out the day and our collaboration.

As I reflected back on the visit at the end of that day, I knew that I had made the right decision to come. Filming at the museum for just one day will give us a few incredible scenes that will round out the third act of our documentary with some of the last interviews and commentaries about Elizabeth Johnson Jr’s journey to exoneration and claiming a voice in today’s democracy.

The following days I met with several community groups, teachers, historians and parents of the students who undertook the challenge to exonerate someone who was wrongfully convicted of a capital crime. Together we talked about strategies to collaborate so that we can make THE LAST WITCH unforgettable. It takes a community to tell a story about a community, and ours is one of the best.

My team and I are thrilled and excited to continue on this quest to capture how a pivotal moment in history that could have been overlooked or forgotten is key to finding our way to the future. Our August production will likely be our penultimate (second to last) round of shooting before finishing THE LAST WITCH with our final reenactment scenes which we will film once most of the film has been edited.