In Other Shoes

"The Shoes of Hayim."

It was those four words that captured the imagination of Gravette citizens who happened to visit Main Street earlier this month. What could those four words mean?

Ask any of a dozen or so award-winning filmmakers who spent two days weaving a story on film that explains the significance of those four simple words.

Now, hundreds of feet of film are in a cutting room where Hayim will be explored, explained and refined into a short film, the work of an Arkansas crew including a 2013 honor graduate from Gravette High School, Zak Heald. He is a resident of Bella Vista and now attends John Brown University in Siloam Springs.

Heald is owner of Intercut Productions in Northwest Arkansas. He was winner of the Best Student Cinematographer Award at the prestigious Little Rock International Film Festival.

His website explains: Hayim is a word of Hebrew origin meaning "life," which in the film describes a young man who struggles with the news that his father Levi lost his life in combat. The story progresses, describing the fears the young man experiences as he discovers the "fine line between war and peace."

Intercut Productions set a low-budget goal of $7,000 to cover the costs to produce the film. That donation amount was reached in time for the filming to begin on schedule, March 8 and 9. Filming took place entirely in Gravette and included inside shots at the home of Byron and Tracy Warren, as well as other selected locations.

Final editing on "The Shoes of Hayim" is expected to be completed in early summer. The finished product will be submitted to the Little Rock International Film Festival and possibly to others where, the makers hope, it will be entered for judging.