Saturday, February 7, 2009
Warrup’s Farm: Film set for Douglass documentary

Lincoln Hill of Redding worked as a production assistant. Here he is marking the shot. Behind him is Jamie Hector (best known from HBO’s “The Wire”) as young Frederick Douglass. The actor to Lincoln’s left, Chazz Menendez, plays the plantation master who gets his just deserts. —Laura Selleck photo

Written by Susan Wolf
Saturday, February 07, 2009

Warrup’s Farm was turned into a film set last May, used in several scenes for the story, Frederick Douglass: Pathway from Slavery to Freedom, which premieres this Saturday, Feb. 7, at 10:30 a.m. on CPTV, part of the Young American Heroes series. Frederick Douglass was one of the foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement in the decades before the Civil War.

“It was fascinating to see what goes into a film,” said Bill Hill, who owns Warrup’s Farm. “There is a lot of waiting, and it takes patience,” he added.

Mr. Hill and his wife, Laura Selleck, were contacted last March about using Warrup’s Farm in the half-hour documentary.

A producer for Palace Digital Studios in South Norwalk “happened to drive by Warrup’s Farm and it was the perfect place” for some filming, said Deborah Weingrad, vice president and editorial director with Palace Digital Studios. The show was edited by the firm at its television/film studio.

“We looked at a lot of different places in Connecticut. The goal was to shoot it all in Connecticut,” said Ms. Weingrad, pointing to the state’s tax credit program for films.

The set designers turned a 20th Century farm into an 1830s [Maryland] plantation,” said Ms. Weingrad. The barn, several fields, and part of the main house were used in the production.

For several days, the farm was a beehive of activity, beginning with set design work. There were 30 to 40 people on the crew, said Mr. Hill, adding there were three RVs parked at the farm.

“They only used a minute or two of the farm,” said Mr. Hill, who viewed the film with his family at a small Stamford theater in October.

Director Chris Campbell, center, gives instructions to Chazz Menendez, left, and John Halas before they film a pivotal fight scene in Frederick Douglass: Pathway from Slavery to Freedom. The scene was shot by the crew from Norwalk’s Palace Digital Studios at Warrup’s Farm in Redding last May. The production company transformed the local farm into a Maryland plantation circa 1830 for the film. —Deborah Weingrad photo

The story

The film tells the story of the young Frederick Douglass and his escape from the horrors of slavery at the age of 20. It is based on his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave Written by Himself. It uses his own words to tell his story.

Jamie Hector, best known for playing Marlo Stanfield on the HBO series The Wire and a leading player on NBC’s Heroes, stars as Frederick Douglass. Several Connecticut residents have roles in the film.
While Mr. Hill and Ms. Selleck had no role in the production of the historical documentary, their son Lincoln, 17, a Joel Barlow High School junior, did. He got a job as a production assistant that included work with set decoration, as a grip and resource assistant, as well as an assistant on the Palace Digital sound stage.

During the two days of preparing the farm for the shooting, Lincoln worked late with the set design crew.

The lower level of a barn at Warrup’s Farm was turned into a horse barn, and the three farmstands were transformed into slave quarters — at least the fronts of the stands served that role. Lincoln explained that siding was created to make the fronts of the stands look old.
Lincoln also got to work as a set dresser, meaning he had jobs like moving hay or a wood pile to their proper places for a scene.

“I definitely got the experience of what it’s like to make a film,” said Lincoln. He had a first-hand view of the action.

“I don’t know if this is a career option for me, but people say the best way [to know] is to be on location instead of in film school, but you could do both,” he said.

Lincoln has prepared a film of his own — Carpe Diem — for Joel Barlow’s Film Festival on Feb. 6. The 13-minute film is about a high school student at a crossroads in life, said Lincoln. He produced, directed, filmed and starred in this film, which also features fellow student Maya Kotsogiannis.

Production assistants work the back of the boom cam for a sweeping view of a field scene, site of the Warrup’s Farm’s flower field. In the rear are the farmstands, one-half faced with stained and aged slabs of wood and shingles. —Laura Selleck photo

Another local connection

The Frederick Douglass film has another Redding connection. A horse owned by Stacy Taylor was used in the film. Stacy is the daughter of Lyn Simmelink, a local veterinarian. She is at Gettysburg College, where she is majoring in biochemistry since she’s thinking about following in her mother’s footsteps.

Stacy spent a day at Warrup’s Farm with her horse, Tower Hills Darby Dun, a Connemara, which is an Irish breed. There was a fight scene in front of Darby in the barn, she said.
“It was really neat. I’ve never seen actual film making before. I got to talk to the director. It was a lifetime experience.”

Dr. Simmelink said her daughter is an accomplished equestrian, whose horse Darby was Connemara of the Year for 2008. Stacy was fifth in training level in Area 1 (this part of the country) for the U.S. Eventing Association.

Airing times

Anyone who misses the Feb. 7 airing of the Frederick Douglass documentary will get a chance to see it again on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 9, at 10:30 p.m. and Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 4:30 p.m.

In addition to producing the TV show and Web site — www.youngamericanheroes.com — the producers have created a five-day Frederick Douglass classroom curriculum designed around key choice points in his young life.

After the film on Douglass, the producers plan four more programs on other “young heroes,” and eventually up to 52 programs for the series. A classroom DVD, retail DVD, and a graphic novel based on each of the TV shows, as well as a student 2.0 Web site with games and links to historical archives, and a teacher Web site, are also planned.

Chris Campbell is managing partner for Young American Heroes and owner/creative director of Palace Production Center in South Norwalk. Executive producers are Mr. Campbell and Tim Smith, who also wrote the Frederick Douglass film script.

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