Scott Roberts had such warm memories of growing up in Platte City, he decided to forever preserve them according to his specialty: he chronicled them on film.
Twenty-five years ago, when he was 27, the professional actor and filmmaker recreated and recorded some of his fondest memories on about 40 rolls of 16 mm film. But when he quickly ran through the $25,000 he had contributed, including money borrowed from childhood friends and family, he reluctantly placed the film in a climate-controlled Hollywood storage facility.
The film languished for the past quarter century until recently when he again viewed the footage. Roberts decided there was enough good content to create a decent largely autobiographical film. He used his expertise to transfer the film to a modern digital format and pieced together scenes into a 76-minute feature movie, which he entered in a Wichita festival for small independent films.
He was surprised when the theatre contacted him, stating his work was among only a few chosen from the hundreds who entered the competition.
“Everything has just been so magical,” Roberts said of the selection news during a recent telephone interview from his home in New York. “I think you always hope, but when it happens, it’s still really amazing.”
The movie, which is written and directed by Roberts, was co-produced with his brother, Paul Roberts, chronicles the story of a nerdy boy who moves to Platte City and worries about “fitting in.”
Roberts, now 52, said he has lived in New York for the past two years, following nearly two decades in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where he has pursued his passion for film by working part-time in the industry while supporting himself with a day job in information technology.
But the 1989 Platte County High School graduate has never forgotten his roots, its residents having unique qualities.
“People (in Platte City) care about each other deeply…I haven’t seen that anywhere else,” he said. Roberts has such fond memories of this area that he returns “every few years to visit family and high school theatre friends, whenever I can find an excuse,” he said.
“Letters Home,” a comedy/drama, will premiere Saturday, Oct. 7 at the historic Orpheum Theatre in Wichita, Kan.
Tallgrass Film Association officials chose his piece to be shown in a “world premiere.”
Festival officials said they chose the film because it was unique in the historical context of its creation and how the movie was made.
“It is extremely rare to see a film that was shot so far in the past that was only able to be completed recently,” said programming director Andre Seward in an emailed comment. She also praised the film’s quality, stating it was “quite impressive” given the lack of resources “available to the director and film team.” Seward also was a fan of the film’s content, stating it was a fun approach and “reminds me of something I would have watched on the TV growing up.”
The film’s technical aspects and the camera work “makes you feel like you are in the story with the characters,” she said. The film’s musical score also was superior and it “carries the emotion from one scene to the next,” she said.
“Letters Home” is one of three short films by Roberts which have won slots at independent film festivals, including his 2017 music video, “Heaven,” about a San Francisco rock musician, he said.
Tickets for the movie are available at https://tallgrassfilm.org/film-festival/film-fest-box-office/.
Cast members are listed as: Mark Vollrath, (who plays the high school version of Roberts), Carol Geesey, Greg Kirsch, Victor J. Hentzen, Hillary Clemens, Penny Porter, Logan Smith, and Lee Smith (Porter’s nephews), Chris Arnone, Katharine Molly Gumowitz, Joe Sciara and Brett Babcock and then-Platte County High School band teacher Wendall Doyle, who portrayed himself. Doyle died in 2020 at the age of 80.
The film also features about 40 grade school and 30 high school aged extras who are not listed, he said.
He shot the “Letters Home” footage during 16 days in August 1998. The work features Platte City residents turned “actors” and “actresses,” utilizing some of his close friends with whom he worked in high school productions and continues a friendship.
The footage was shot “on location” at many familiar Platte City sites, including Platte County High School, a school annex (now a civic center) and downtown spots such as a historic Victorian house at 200 Marshall Road.
The film includes the re-enactment of a scene which actually happened in which a car, driven by his mother, collided with a school bus in the parking lot of Platte County High School. Roberts said he hired a stunt car to film the scene.
Penny Porter, who still lives in Platte City, grew up acting at Platte County High School and pursued the craft in college at Missouri Western State University.
Roberts, who is younger than Porter, said he remembered seeing Porter in a Platte County High School performance, so when she auditioned for a spot in the film, he chose her as a lead character.
Porter portrays a high school student, Irma Jean Boxberger, who teasingly blows a kiss to Doyle, the band teacher.
Porter said that knowing Roberts, she’s not surprised her friend resurrected the film. She described Roberts, with whom she’s remained in contact all these years, as a “dog with a bone.” She knew that someday the film would re-surface, due to its quality and Roberts’ tenacity.
Porter said she’s advertising the film’s showing on social media, where she’s captured a lot of interest and hopes Platte City area residents will show up to see and support the movie.
“Everybody in it gave their all,” she said and added, “I’m so excited—now it’s going to be out there for all to see.”