Warning: The film featured here, The Keeper, focuses on the topic of Veteran suicide. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers services to talk to a skilled counselor. If you are feeling distressed and need to talk to a counselor, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). FOR VETERANS PRESS 1, EN ESPAÑOL OPRIMA EL 2
Today, I continue my ongoing series with awesome storytellers creating fantastic projects as I’m joined by Angus Benfeld, the Director and star of the new film The Keeper. Since this film deals with the very challenging topic of Veteran suicide, its opening on Memorial Day weekend feels well-timed to both share a true story of an American hero and to shine a light on a horrific problem in our country. I hope that along with seeing the film, you’ll also educate yourself and your family on the resources available to support our Veterans and their families. Thank you! Lisa
Q: Angus, congratulations on the upcoming release of The Keeper. I loved the film and cannot wait to share it with our community! Please briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi everyone, I am Angus Benfield. I portray Army veteran George Eshleman in The Keeper. I am also the co-director and producer of the film. I am originally from Australia and I have been living in the US with my family for the last seven years. We call America our home and we love living here.
Q: In the film, you portray George Eshleman, an Army veteran on a life-altering mission. How did you initially become aware of this story and connect with George?
I became aware of the story through a website called Ink Tip, which is a place where screenwriters can place their scripts so that producers can find them. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this script, I read it and thought it was incredible and powerful and was quite surprised no one had picked it up in Hollywood, but then again, that’s not so surprising when you see some of what they are making these days. I reached out to Todd the screenwriter and that led to developing a relationship with Todd and George. We started communicating and talking on the phone and getting to know each other, and eventually, we met in person. We did a little promo video hiking on a trail in California and months later, we made the film.
Q: Along with starring in the film, you share directorial duties with Kendall Bryant Jr. Please speak briefly about wearing both hats here and what working on this film has meant to you.
Initially I started out directing the film myself, but then I decided to bring Kenny on to co-direct as I was acting under some pretty exhausting situations, physically and emotionally. At the beginning, I was kind of carrying most of the load as a director, and then halfway through, Kenny really took the real weight of it as it kind of got more exhausting for me as an actor and emotionally draining as well. Kenny has a marine background and his perspective on the accuracy of that side of things for the film was incredibly important for me because we wanted veterans to watch this and connect with the genuineness of the story from their own experiences. Along with George and Todd, Kenny was able to oversee that side of things. It was also just great to have a partner to go through this process with and we’ve worked together on projects before so there was a definite camaraderie there.
Working on the film has meant a lot to me. It was a very life-changing and emotional experience and it’s something I’m very proud of.
Q: Please tell us about the talented men and women who act alongside you and how they portray the true stories of veterans.
We were incredibly fortunate to have a great group of actors. Not only with the core hikers (Michael Maclane, Haley Babula, Andrew Ferguson, Nicholas Asad) that are a major part of the story but also other actors who played smaller roles as well. We cast out of LA for some roles but also out of areas along the trail as well, so we got a lot of local actors on board, but yeah they were terrific actors, all four of them are fantastic! They are also portraying real people which was a whole other level and story for them to go through that process. I don’t want to talk too much about it because I’m going to give away the twist of the film, but they were fantastic to work with and as you can see when you watch the film there’s a wonderful chemistry between everybody, we really did become a family as cast and crew and we were very blessed to have them on board.
Q: Filming happened along the Appalachian Trail, and the project involved the talents of many military veterans. (A:) What did you learn personally from working along the trail and collaborating with these heroes? (B:) I’m sure you took tons of steps, but did you actually get to do any hiking?
(A:) I don’t have a military background so I’ve learned a ton from being around George and Todd and Kenny, the difference of departments, the jokes they make, from Army, Marine to Navy which are also woven throughout the film, are fun too. I’ve learned so much from the technical aspects of the military and obviously also learned so much from the emotional and mental strain that it has put on these men and women, which is the main reason why we’re making this film. I also learned a lot about the trail as well, and about being a hiker and that whole hiking universe and hiking community as we were meeting a lot of people on the Appalachian Trail. Understanding why people do thru-hikes, why they go on this six-month-long journey and it makes sense because people are trying to get away from things, they’re trying to deal with issues and problems and sometimes the only effective way to do that for them is to “get off the grid” so to speak and keep walking.
(B:) We couldn’t technically hike because we had a whole camera crew so it’s really hard, but we were hiking short distances. Some terrain was complicated to get through with all that gear, I certainly had a fully loaded pack and the name tapes and the weight of that was very real. We hiked more towards the end of the shoot when we got to Georgia, but it wasn’t as full-on as it is when you don’t have a film crew with you. I personally do a lot of hiking near where I live and I really enjoy it. If we’d had more time we would have all probably done a bit more hiking but unfortunately making a film you never have any time, so we were literally had to fly into a location, get into rental cars, get to the to the trail, set everything up, film and then get out again before the sun went down, so it’s a lot in itself. So while you’re not necessarily hiking, you’re certainly exerting a lot of energy. But there were certainly certain days when we hiked into certain spots on the trail, a mile or two here and there, short distances, but then again when you’re carrying camera gear and lights and everything else, it makes it all a little bit trickier.
Q: Are there any moments in the film that stand out to you the most? Why?
There were a lot of moments, again, I don’t really want to give away too much, although this is not a thriller or anything like that, but there’s still some moments that I don’t want to sort of give too much away. I know for George, being there when we were filming, there were certainly moments that really affected him that he had to walk away from because it was obviously incredibly close to home for him, because we’re literally in the same area where these things really happened, we’re at the same location etc. And he was reliving a lot of stuff.
Because it was shot in a very linear way it affected me more and more and more the further we got into it. When you start filming at the beginning, you’re finding locations and you’re settling in, you’re trying to get everything sorted,trying to make your days and all that sort of stuff makes you become slightly disconnected in a way. Then as you get more and more into the process, it becomes more organic and then you definitely get a lot more emotional and a lot more deeper into the character and story, but there were so many moments that affected me. Obviously the ending is a very personal experience for me, but again I can’t give away too much of that, and there’s certain key moments. Even on the first day there was a very traumatic scene that I had to do and I was like, “Wow, we’re really getting into this quite quickly.” I think a lot of the other moments were not just the scenes that we did but also interacting with people who we met along the trail and then hearing their stories.
There was a really powerful moment with one of the actors who had a small part in the film, he was a local actor and also a veteran, and he couldn’t even read the script as it was so impacting on him. He started talking to me and he was crying and I realized even then that this film is really affecting people, and we haven’t even shot it yet. Just hearing about it, reading about it.
Q: Please say a few words about filming the final scenes. This must have been quite an emotional experience! What should viewers watch out for near the end of the film?
Well this is one part of the film where I really don’t want to give anything away, but it was a very emotional moment for me as an actor, where I really found myself overwhelmed by the emotions of that very special moment. And I’ve found it’s one of those things where the more you watch it over and over again, the more the moment seeps into you and affects you. So it was a pretty impactful moment. I don’t know what viewers could watch out for except for, grab a tissue, it sort of hits you and it’s a bit of an emotional punch in the gut, it’s a pretty pretty powerful moment and especially when you know you’re you’re you’re dealing with real people, but as I said I can’t really go into too much detail, but when you watch the film, you’ll understand what I’m trying to say.
Q: One important message of the film is that “You’re never alone.” When the film launches on Memorial Day Weekend, what support is being offered to service members in crisis and their families?
We have partnered with many military foundations that offer support to veterans, including The American Legion. At the beginning of the film we play their Be The One PSA addressing the issue of Veteran Suicide, so straight away, we are giving that information. We have it on everything, everywhere, because we want people to be able to find that support. We pretty much have every single veteran support group listed on our website www.thekeepermovie.info, and at the end of the film we have the official government support line number and the veteran’s crisis line. As the film starts to spread, we are finding more and more people and organizations wanting to partner with us.
At the end of the day, one of the best things we can offer is the film itself as a means of creating conversation and potentially helping release that pressure that people are going through. I feel for veterans, they don’t always have that opportunity to share, you know, they’ve been trained to be fighters, to be brave and strong, not to shed tears and express themselves. It is our hope that the film in itself can be the start of the release of that pressure, to sharing, that first step towards a healthier mental state. It can be a tool that a family member or friend can bring somebody who’s a veteran or who has gone through any sort of form of trauma to watch the film and open up a dialogue where they can start to then say, “You know, maybe I’m not coping so well,” so the film as a whole can create that first step.
Beyond the film, you can go to our website, where you’ll find all the links to different organizations focused on helping veterans experiencing PTSD or suicidal thoughts and feelings. At the same we’re aware time it might be too much for certain people, depending on where someone is it could be a little too full-on, but it might be something that someone could watch and then share the story with someone else to see how how it makes them feel and maybe that might be enough for them to open up their heart and sort of express how they feel.
The theme is “You don’t walk the trail alone,” which is a metaphor for life. Even though the world feels pretty lonely sometimes, you’re never alone. That’s what we hope that the film can offer: that there are people who know what you are going through and want to help, friends, family, organizations, the works. There’s someone out there for you no matter where you are at in your walk as a veteran or a civilian. You’re not alone.
Q: Thank you again for a phenomenal film. Are there any additional comments you would like to share?
We just hope everyone can go and support this film, buy a ticket for a veteran, take your family, your friends, head to the website to see where we are screening https://www.thekeepermovie.info/screenings if we aren’t screening near you, contact your local theater and tell them people want to see it.
Obviously, it’s a small film and we’re using grassroots, word of mouth, and anything we can to get it out because we know this message is so important to so many people. We’re not a big blockbuster superhero film, but it’s a real beautiful emotional heart-on-your-sleeve kind of movie which we’ve done for pennies really compared to these other blockbusters, but with the stunning Appalachian Trail as its backdrop, so it can’t help but look like a million dollars.
This Memorial Day weekend, go and see a movie that means something to our men and women fighting for our country. We really would love people to check it, we need that support. I know there are a lot of big movies coming out Memorial Day weekend, but watch The Keeper as well. On the website, we’ve got special premiere screenings coming up and then we’ve got select theaters screening it on Memorial Day. So please tell your friends and family, take a group, and go and see The Keeper. Thank you.
Learn more about The Keeper: