A Merced County filmmaker came home to make his first feature movie. Here’s how to watch it
Filmmaker and Merced County native Eli Daughdrill is living out his lifelong dream of making movies — but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten where he’s come from.
The 43-year-old Atwater native recently wrote and directed a movie shot in Merced County, and it’s now available on streaming services like Amazon Prime and Apple TV.
Titled “Faith,” the movie was Daughdrill’s first feature project, shot in Merced and Atwater in 2018.
In writing the screenplay, Daughdrill drew off his experiences of growing up in Atwater.
“I came from a background of living on a farm in Atwater and we attended an evangelical church in Atwater,” Daughdrill said. “As I got older I grew apart from that, but I was still interested in the church, the people and that world so I wrote a story.”
“Faith” stars actor Brian Geraghty, who has appeared in movies like “The Hurt Locker” and “Flight.” He plays a devout evangelical Christian who has his faith tested after unexpected tragedy strikes.
Filming in Merced County
Daughdrill says shooting the movie locally was always in his plans.
“I wrote it that way,” he said. “We shot it at the farm where I grew up. We shot at the church I went to and my the church my parents still go to.”
Most of the extras that appear in the movie are local residents.
Many will recognize some of the familiar locations Daughdrill used in the movie, like Fosters Freeze and the Wilson Family Funeral Chapel in Atwater.
The Art Kamangar Theatre’s iconic tower with “Merced” lit up over the spectacular neon marquee can also be seen in the movie.
“I think it was more fun for residents in Merced County because it’s such a novelty,” Daughdrill said. “Not many movies are shot there. It’s different than when a movie is shot in Los Angeles or New York because people are used to it.”
“Everybody in Merced County was nice and accommodating,” he added.
Movie background
Daughdrill has always been interested in making movies — a calling that led to studying film at San Francisco State University and later Loyola Marymount.
“I had no social life in high school so I ended up watching a lot of movies,” he explained.
He graduated from Atwater High in 1995 and Merced College in 1997.
Daughdrill has previously drawn on his personal experience in films. He made a documentary called “Jonas” about his brother’s life with schizophrenia. He’s also made multiple short films.
He’s also helping other aspiring filmmakers realize their dreams, working as the department chair of the Visual and Media Arts Department at Long Beach City College.
Daughdrill wrote Faith’s first draft 10 years ago. After many rewrites, he found Mike Ryan, a New York producer who has been behind other small, independent films.
Together, they were able to raise money, search for a cast and get the wheels in motion.
The early response to the movie has been good. “I’m proud of it,” Daughdrill said.
“It’s not perfect. It’s like anything, when you watch it again there are things you’d like to tweak or fix. It’s kind of like music. It’s good to have it out there in the world. It’s nice that it exists so people can see it.”
This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 9:48 AM.
