Come Morning
Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Derrick Sims
Written by	Derrick Sims
Starring	Michael Ray Davis Thor Wahlestedt Elise Rovinsky Thomas Moore Blake Logan Maurice Mejia Dean Denton Richard Ledbetter
Music by	Justin Slaughter
Cinematography	Derrick Sims
Editing by	Derrick Sims
Release date(s)	October 21, 2012 (2012-10-21) (Austin Film Festival)
Running time	83 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Come Morning is a feature-length dramatic thriller written and directed by Derrick Sims. The film was produced by Fabled Motion Pictures and shot in October 2011 in Cleveland County, Arkansas. Come Morning premiered October 21, 2012 at the Austin Film Festival.^[1] The film won a special jury award for cinematography at the 2013 Oxford Film Festival.^[2]

Plot [edit]

In November 1973, Frank and his grandson go on a late afternoon hunt that forever changes their lives. Just before dusk, the hunters track down and find, to their horror, that they've not shot a deer but Marion Mitchell, a long-time neighbor and family enemy, trespassing on their land.

Due to the sour history of land disputes between their family and the Mitchell family, Frank assures the boy that the only way to take care of the issue is to take Marion's corpse deep into the woods. After hours of trouble and difficulty, Frank and the boy find themselves only deeper in darkness. Though Frank tells the skeptical grandson everything will soon pass, the boy is questionable whether everything will truly be okay, come morning.^[3]

According to an article in @Urban Magazine, the story of Come Morning is completely fictional but was partially inspired by Sims' boyhood hunting trips with his grandfather.^[4]

Cast [edit]

• Michael Ray Davis as Frank
• Thor Wahlestedt as D
• Elise Rovinsky as Morigan
• Thomas Moore as Marion Mitchell
• Blake Logan as Wes Mitchell
• Maurice Mejia as Jack
• Dean Denton as Jim
• Richard Ledbetter as Charlie

Production [edit]

Come Morning was shot over 12 days in mid October 2011. Filming took place just outside the small town of Kingsland, Arkansas,^[5] the boyhood home of director, Derrick Sims. Sims chose 1970s Kingsland, because he said “It captures the atmosphere and the hunting culture of southern Arkansas.^[6]” When asked why he set the film in 1973, Sims said hunting was different back then. "I didn't want the characters to bait the deer or have motion cameras to photograph them. I also didn't want them to have cellphones. There's just something unromantic about [them].^[7]"

According to the film's production diaries, during the final days of shooting it was 33 degrees. "We were standing in three feet of water...we had been shooting for 16 straight hours, and we were more like the walking dead than filmmakers. We had done the unthinkable; we had shot a feature-length film in just 12 days. That kind of thing doesn’t happen, and we fully understood why. Most films don’t call for heavy effects makeup, 75% night shoots, remote locations, living animals, bitter cold, shooting in water, gunshots, driving stunts...and child actors. Add an extremely low budget and 12 days of shooting on top of all of that. It’s pure madness".^[8]

Though the events of the film are completely fictional, Sims loosely based the characters of "D" and "Frank" off of himself and his grandfather who took him hunting as a child,^[9] and while the film takes place in a distinct cultural part of Arkansas, five of the more prominent roles (including Frank and D) went to actors from all around the U.S. However, there were still many roles filled by local actors and non-actors.^[10]

Due to tight budget constraints, the crew consisted of no more than ten people at any time.^[11] Many cast and crew members served in multiple roles behind the camera. Sims served not only as writer/director, but as cinematographer and editor as well.^[12] The film was shot on the RED MX with Cooke S4s. Sims' history as a cinematographer and the fact that nearly all of the film would be shot at night led to his insisting on using a sensitive camera with fast lenses.

Critical response [edit]

At the 2012 Austin Film Festival, Come Morning received generally good reviews. Austin Fusion Magazine said the film was "a subtle yet profound emotional roller coaster that will pull on your heart strings and unsettle your reasonings."^[13] KUT, Austin's NPR member station, said, "It’s an intense trip through the darkness of the woods and the soul, with phenomenal performances from a cast of unknowns and breathtaking cinematography." ^[14]

After screenings at the Oxford Film Festival in February 2013, WeGotThisCovered.com called it "a film that is far more than entertainment – it’s a piece of art itself".^[15] "Come Morning" went on to win a special jury award for cinematography at the festival that year.^[16]

Publicity [edit]

While attending the Oxford Film Festival in February 2013, WeGotThisCovered.com interviewed director Derrick Sims about the film. The site featured the Q&A-type interview in March 2013.^[17]

On November 29, 2012, "Come Morning" was prominently featured on the MPAA's website, TheCredits.org.^[18]

In February 2012, Arkansas Life, a publication of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, featured "Come Morning" in their Arkansas Artists edition. The film was also chosen, along with Jeff Nichols film Mud, as one of the top news stories of 2011 by SEARK Today.^[19]

The film has also been featured in @Urban Magazine, SEA Life Magazine, SEARK Today, Revel@Conway,^[20] and on multiple occasions, The Cleveland County Herald. Just before the shoot in October 2011, KQ102.3 did an on-air interview with Sims, Zac Heath, Thomas Moore, Maurice Mejia, and Richard Ledbetter.^[21]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Official website
• Come Morning at the Internet Movie Database
• MPAA's TheCredits.Org interviews Derrick Sims about "Come Morning"
• @Urban Magazine covers "Come Morning"
• Henderson State University Announces "Come Morning"
• SEARK Today covers "Come Morning"