By Casey Jarmes
The News-Review
KEOTA – “The Gates,” an indie supernatural drama film directed by Keota alum Tiffany Ketcham, is set to premiere via a pair of public showings on March 15; one at the Cedar Rapids Public Library at 12:30 p.m. and one at the Keota High School Auditorium at 6 p.m. The Keota showing will feature a free-will offering to support the drama program.
“I got my start on the Keota stage,” said Ketcham. “I was in ten plays, I think, when I was in high school. So, getting started acting definitely kicked me on this path to then writing and directing films.”
“The Gates” is the second film directed by Ketcham, following “Chasing You,” which was released in 2011. It tells the story of Alex Black, played by Ketcham’s husband Andrew, a murdered con-man who tricks the gatekeeper of the afterlife into letting him return to the land of the living, where he seeks out revenge on his partner who betrayed and murdered him. Ketcham described the film as a “bad guy to good guy story” where Black is forced to choose between turning his life around or continuing the path of revenge.
“I love this story because, really, at the end of the day, it’s a story about redemption,” said Ketcham. “In the Iowa film community, when I first started out, I did not really have any contacts. I was starting from the bottom and working my way up. Even though I had done a film before, it had been so long that I was out of the game. And I just love the story so much that, instead of sending the script around, hoping someone would pick it up, I really wanted to make the story come alive myself and make sure that it was done right, and that the redemption arc came through.”
“The Gates” was filmed primarily in Newton, Iowa, and took two years to complete. Ketcham stated this was because of its small crew, which forced her to “wear so many hats,” handling producing, editing, casting, costuming, special effects and makeup in addition to writing and directing the film.
“After this film was completed and I started marketing myself more, going to more filmmaker events, meeting people who are also in the film community and looking around, there are lots of women in the film community, but I haven’t met one yet that has a family like I do and a full-time job,” said Ketcham. “And so to be able to not only have a full-time job and a family and everything that entails, to also be able to put our time and energy and money into making a film like this is kind of extraordinary, and it did take a long time, but I’m so happy that I did it and was able to show my three girls that, you know, even if your dreams take a while, if you want it bad enough, you can do it. ‘The Gates’ really is a testament to what I hope to bring to the film community, because I think I have a little bit of a different point of view. It might take me a bit longer to do things, but I think that I do still have a very important voice and I hope to keep sharing that in the film community.”
Cody McKinney, Ketcham’s cameraman and assistant director, also has ties to the area, due to his mother Kathy being a Keota graduate. Ketcham’s brother and sister-in-law, Tanner and Nikki McLean, who recorded a song that appears in the film, are from Keota as well. In addition, Tanner McLean acted in the film. “I really wanted to bring it to our home town, because there are quite a few ties to the town within the movie,” said Ketcham.
Ketcham stated that the film had been accepted to the Cedar Rapids Independent Festival. After taking it to festivals, Ketcham intends to release the film online to film her next project, a short film titled “Littles” that will have a child cast and be made by the same team as “The Gates.”
