PORT ANGELES — A former Port Angeles resident-turned-movie producer hopes her latest film provides an uplifting experience for viewers.
“If you’re looking for meaning, why bad things happen to good people, this film explores those answers,” Cecelia Stevenson said.
Stevenson, 33, is a 2010 Port Angeles High School graduate who graduated from Texas A&M in 2014 and went into filmmaking.
Her first feature-length film premiered Monday in Dallas.
“It was awesome,” she said. “We held it at the University of Texas at Dallas; they have a very large theater on their campus in the arts building.”
The film, “The Triumph of the Heart,” is the true story of the last days of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s life.
“In the harrowing confines of Auschwitz’s starvation cell, Catholic priest St. Maximilian Kolbe volunteers to die in place of another prisoner, joining nine others condemned by the Nazis,” according to triumphoftheheart.com.
“As despair and fear grip the group, the pressures of starvation (and) internal ideological division, mount. But throughout, Kolbe’s appeal to their shared humanity and Polish identity forges a brotherhood that culminates in a poignant act of sacrifice that echoes beyond the cell, illuminating hope in one of history’s darkest moments.”
The premiere, Stevenson said, was a beautiful evening with about 800 to 900 people in attendance followed by a reception with about 400 people.
“People were thanking us and red-eyed from crying in the movie,” she said. “The film was very well-received with a standing ovation during the credits. We got really positive feedback.”
The film is showing in about 170 theaters, she said, and she’s hoping it gets into up to 200 theaters for the second weekend.
“The hope is those 170 will do really well on opening weekend and we’ll be able to get a lot more theaters for the second weekend,” Stevenson said. “I think there’s a demand for the film. I have a lot of people in Port Angeles who want to come see the movie, but unfortunately Deer Park is not showing it this weekend. My hope is if enough people call up and ask for it, Deer Park will show it. We have to prove to theaters that there is a demand.”
The film does not have an official rating, but Stevenson said it is recommended for those 13 and older.
“Our film is different than a lot of films that are out there,” she said. “The subject matter is heavy, but it is definitely worth the watch. People, I think, after watching the movie tend to have some sort of experience outside of being entertained. I think it’s worth taking the two hours out of your day to try to experience something new and learn about Maximilian Kolbe.”
Stevenson said she started working with movies when she was in high school as a hobby and then did a couple of internships while she was in college.
“Then when I graduated, I was like I guess I’ve been doing this video thing for a while now and got another internship,” she said. “Eventually, I got paid work and found my way into narrative film and kind of instantly fell in love. It was 2016 when the door of film was opened for me.”
That’s the year she met Anthony D’Ambrosio, the writer/director of “Triumph of the Heart.” The pair did a short film version of the movie in 2017, and D’Ambrosio finished the full-length script in 2022. He asked Stevenson to be the producer.
“I love working with him and I love the film, so I said yes to producing it,” she said. “It was an obvious choice. I do think the story needs to be told, especially in a day and age when there’s a lot of hopelessness and people struggling to find meaning. All of that is just on the rise. This movie in particular addresses a lot of those things that people are struggling with. I think it’s really perfect for what people are going through right now.”
________
Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
