Monday, Nov. 2 at 5:30 p.m.—MONTPELIER—Producer Nick Charyk and Big Heavy world announced that they have wrapped filming on their feature length film “The Ballad of Ethan Alien” and that it will be shown to audiences on the state house green on Monday, Nov. 2 at 5:30 p.m.
“This entire experience has far exceeded our expectations,” said Charyk, who conceptualized the project based on the song “Ethan Alien” which his band the Western Terrestrials co-wrote with Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show. “Vermont is brimming to the edges with a certain strange and beautiful artistic vision that I feel we have successfully captured in this film.”
Audiences will recognize many faces in the film, such as veteran Hollywood actor and Vermonter Luis Guzman, entertainer Rusty DeWees best known as his character “The Logger,” former U.S. Senate candidate Donny Osman, artist and songwriter Bow Thayer and former Vermont State Legislator and author Kiah Morris.
While much of the soundtrack is performed by Charyk’s band The Western Terrestrials, the full length, alien-science-fiction musical also features music from other well-known Vermont musicians such as Ben Dunham, Sara Grace, Dylan Giambatista, Urian Hackney, Bob Stannard and many others.
The film, which was created from start to finish during the pandemic, has aimed to give meaningful work to artists struggling to find any in the Covid-19 world which brought the entertainment industry to its knees.
“It’s been a thrill and a blessing to be a part of this,” said Vanessa Dunleavy, a professional actor who plays the role of Margie in The Ballad of Ethan Alien. “Not only has the work been much appreciated, the themes that the film deals with are extremely important and relevant to the time we are living through and someone needed to make this movie. I’m glad it was us.”
The film will be soft-released Halloween weekend and audiences can expect showings to pop up around the state. The Montpelier premier is free to the public, mask wearing and social distancing will be mandatory and strictly enforced.
Though filming has wrapped, the project is still seeking backers. Those interested in contributing to the project can visit kickstarter.com/projects/ethanalien/western-terrestrials-present-ballad-of-ethan-alien to donate.
