Actor Cedric Stewart (left) and director Laurence Hewitt (right) scope out the next scene in Hewitt’s first movie, My Brother...My Keeper. Hewitt works as a physical therapy tech at Walter Reed. The movie opens at 6 p.m. on May 24 at the historic Lincoln Theatre in D.C.
Twenty years ago, Laurence Hewitt was a shy kid who played a lot of basketball and jotted in his journal whenever he got inspired. He wrote about the boys he knew and the friendships made and lost on the basketball court in Southeast, Washington, D.C.
ìI guess I wrote so much ëcause I was shy,î smiled Hewitt, a physical therapy tech at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for eight years.
Originally intended as a book, Hewittís writings eventually evolved into a script for his first film, My BrotherÖMy Keeper, premiering May 24 at the historic Lincoln Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Hewitt hopes the movie garners recognition at two Black film festivals this June, one in Hollywood and the other in San Francisco.
My BrotherÖMy Keeper is about Bernard Hill, a high school basketball player whose world is turned upside down when injuries from a car accident cause him to lose his hearing. In order to fulfill his dream of one day playing college basketball, Bernard must overcome the obstacles that come with his disability. As his life begins to spiral out of control, only his friends and family are able to get his life back on track.
ìItís a positive, inspirational movie,î said Hewitt. ìI purposely stayed away from violence.î The D.C. native said he wanted to show another side of his hometown than the one often portrayed in other films. ìThis is a movie you can bring the kids to see,î he said.
The movie script sat on a shelf for nearly 15 years until a happenstance meeting between Hewitt and a childhood friend on the Metro.
ìMy buddy remembered the script and asked me about it,î said the former Army sergeant. His friend told him about digital video and Hewitt researched the process. He could turn his script into a movie but he needed a director.
ìThe same friend asked me, ëWho knows this story better than you?íî said Hewitt. ìHe kept encouraging me.î The movie director said that he kept in touch with his buddy from the basketball court for the next two months until he disappeared.
ìI think God brought him in my life for that purpose [to make the movie].î
Hewitt first sought grants and fellowships to fund the $12,000 project but became frustrated with the process and decided on financing the film himself. He bought the camera and tapes out of his own pocket. He catered on-set meals and shuttled cast and crew to locations.
ìIím either crazy or rich,î smiled Hewitt. ìPeople ask me all the time, ëMan, how did you do it?í You have to be creative. The less money you have the more creative you have to be. We donít have the money to do this but letís find a way to do [it].î
Financing the movie wasnít the first-time filmmakerís only challenge. The two-hour long movie was shot strictly on weekends over the course of two and a half months.
Hewitt said, ìI was able to do a lotóbut the gym scene was the toughest, I never thought it would be so hard.î It took him more than seven months to find a gym for the 20-minute scene that took two days to shoot.
On the day of the shoot, ìMy leading man ended up with a busted lip. I had a 100 people there and had to cancel the shoot. Everything was postponed for two weeks until he healed,î said Hewitt. ìIt was just crazy.î
It took six months to edit the movie, editing one scene a weekómore than three times the length of time it took to actually film it. Hewitt said a computer crash while editing the second half of the movie, ìAte the whole movie. We had to re-edit everything.î
ìI couldnít have done it without the dedication of the team. I had a dynamite cast and crew. I know they liked the project but they were dedicated. They learned their lines,î he said.
Hewitt tapped into the deaf community at Galludet University for actress Samantha Dill. Leading man Jahaun Jones left the area in December to chase the Hollywood dream. The moviemaker said the project got the actors motivated to pursue other projects.
Close-captioned for the hearing impaired, My BrotherÖMy Keeper opens at 6 p.m. May 24 at 1215 U Street, NW Washington, D.C. Hewitt has planned a complete night of family entertainment for the premiere, including a Christian comedian and R&B singer. For tickets and more information, contact Hewitt at (240) 893-6672. Log on to www.uandcmovies.com to view the movie trailer.
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