MONTAGUE — Two films shot in Montague will make their Hollywood debuts on Saturday, April 5, bringing the scenery of western Massachusetts to the West Coast.

“Sheepdog,” written and directed by Erving resident Steven Grayhm, and “Far Out: Life On & After the Commune,” directed by Guilford, Vermont resident Charles Light, will be shown to audiences in southern California. “Sheepdog” will be screened at the 25th Beverly Hills Film Festival at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, and “Far Out” will be shown at multiple Laemmle theater locations.

Both films have come to audiences in western Massachusetts and across the U.S. over the last few months. “Sheepdog” made its global debut at the 40th annual Boston Film Festival in September 2024 and “Far Out” was shown in Montague for the first time in December 2024.

‘Sheepdog’

Grayhm’s film has been on a large film festival circuit since its Boston Film Festival debut, garnering critical acclaim and support from veterans, active military members, first responders, and the families and friends of servicemen and women. He said the response has been “overwhelming,” pointing to sold-out screenings and positive feedback from audiences during question-and-answer sessions.

“We’ve been very fortunate to have had a sold-out film festival run, and a big component of that is our community outreach, which, again, is extended to active-duty military veterans, Gold Star family members, first responders, mental health workers and their loved ones,” Grayhm said. “And of course, civilians have really answered the call and shown up.”

He mentioned all three screenings at the Phoenix Film Festival were sold out, and a fourth was added that then sold out within 24 hours. Additionally, the American Legion will bring members to the showing in Hollywood, and members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles Fire Department are expected to attend.

The feature-length film shows the reality for many veterans who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but with a unique perspective on the post-traumatic growth (PTG) that can be possible from community compassion and personal growth.

The film, shot primarily in Turners Falls and Greenfield, begins by focusing on the main character, U.S Army veteran Calvin Cole (played by Grayhm), returning from his final deployment in Afghanistan. Cole is court-ordered to receive treatment for PTSD. He works with Veterans Affairs trauma therapist Dr. Elecia Knox (Virginia Madsen) to heal, and his father-in-law and Vietnam War veteran Whitney St. Germain (Vondie Curtis-Hall) comes back into his life unexpectedly.

Grayhm’s character is forced to confront the trauma from his deployment, which makes it difficult to cope, while at the same time navigating social systems like the VA. Although Cole and the characters around him are fictional and the movie is not a documentary, the experiences depicted come from real-life stories of veterans, VA personnel and communities.

Grayhm explained that these characters represent veterans, care providers, family members and people within a community. While focusing on those impacted by life after war, the film also highlights the concept of PTG, rather than solely focusing on PTSD.

Going forward, the film will be shown in San Diego on May 7 at the GI Film Festival, which only screens films by and for veterans. As the summer continues, Grayhm said the focus will shift from film festivals to theatrical release preparation, with screenings in western Massachusetts soon.

“We’ve been so grateful and humbled by this response, and we’re looking forward to continuing this momentum, certainly into the fall when ‘Sheepdog’ will be theatrically released,” Grahym said.

‘Far Out: Life On & After the Commune’

As “Sheepdog” makes its Los Angeles debut, “Far Out” will screen at the Laemmle theaters over three days, with the Encino theater being the first stop on April 5, with a panel discussion to follow featuring Light, musical composer Patty Carpenter and commune co-founder Harvey “Sluggo” Wasserman. A panel discussion after the April 6 screening in Glendale will be held, and the final panel will be on April 7 at the Santa Monica theater. Each theater will host five screenings each.

Light, who has already screened “Far Out” across the Northeast, said he’s been working over the last few months to get the film to these theaters. He’s working with Seventh Art Releasing as the distributor to help get the screenings booked, partnering with Kat Kramer for press and panel moderation, and working with the nonprofit radio station KPFK Pacifica Radio to promote ticket sales.

“What we’d like to get out of it is decent crowds, a good reception, [like] the kind of reaction we’ve been getting in the many showings in New England,” Light said.

The film covers the history of two communes through interviews with members and decades of archival footage. It tells the story of a group of radical journalists who left New York City for life in the country in the summer of 1968. They founded two communes, with one at Packer Corners in Guilford, Vermont, and the other on 60 acres in Montague.

The group intended to launch a newspaper at the Montague commune, but the rural winter set in and the ink in their printing press froze, thus dashing their hopes of continuing the news service. Members turned their attention to trying to farm the land, with help from neighbors. These communes helped influence the “back-to-the-land” farming movement, and members of the Montague commune became involved in the struggle to keep a twin nuclear power plant from being built at the Montague Plains.

The film has had successful screenings already, first showing at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro, Vermont, in September and October 2024, with total ticket sales exceeding 2,000, according to Light. The film also won Best New England Feature at the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival in September and was screened locally in Greenfield and other communities in Vermont, Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire. The hometown screening in Montague was a sold-out show at the Shea Theater Arts Center.

Locally, “Far Out” will be shown again on Thursday, May 8, at 7 p.m. at Amherst Cinema, with a panel discussion afterward.

Moving forward, Light is hopeful that the screenings in Los Angeles will help facilitate further connections to get a theatrical distribution, and possibly a streaming opportunity for the film.

“Hopefully we can arrange more of a national showing … and hopefully the LA showings will enhance the possibilities of finding greater theatrical distribution, and would lead to an online streaming kind of deal,” Light said.

To learn more about future screenings of “Sheepdog,” visit sheepdogthemovie.com. For more information on “Far Out,” visit 7thart.com/films/far-out.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.