Growing up in Platte City was a memorable part of Scott Roberts’ life - so much so that he has made a movie about this endearing segment of his life journey.
Roberts’ film, “Letters Home” which was filmed entirely in Platte City, will be released Friday on streaming services.
His family moved to Platte City in 1980, when he was 9 years old. He graduated from Platte County R-3 and then moved to Los Angeles where he majored in theater/film at UCLA. He stayed on the West Coast for about 30 years before moving to New York City in 2021.
“After graduating from UCLA in 1993, I was anxious to make use of my training,” Roberts said. “A film was the natural outlet. But first, I needed a script. I remembered the longtime advice to writers of all types: ‘write what you know’. So eventually, I decided that my time growing up in Platte City was the best topic for a movie”
Roberts said the events that are chronicled in Letters Home are the exact memorable and special events that, ironically, eventually prompted him to make the film. He was 27 when he made the movie in 1998, but funds ran out shortly after filming, leaving nothing for post-production (editing, sound mixing, scoring etc.).
“At that time, it was my very first film of any type, writing or directing,” Roberts said. “That’s changed, of course - I’ve done a number of projects since then. The film, literally, the raw film, sat on the shelves of a Hollywood storage facility for over 20 years. It was only a few years ago that I found the right people and resources to help me finish the movie, at long last.”
As chronicled in the film, Roberts struggled to fit in when his family first moved to Platte City from Independence.
“It was very hard at first,” Roberts said, but it was hard because I was shy and nerdy - not because of Platte City or small towns. By contrast, my outgoing brother made friends quickly and easily. I eventually found my way (and my friends), and grew to love PC’s tight-knit community, the incredible schools, the relaxed way of life and the lack of so many ‘big city’ problems like noise and crime (or at least, big-city crime).”
Even in 1998, Roberts knew that very few low-budget films (those not made by studios) received theatrical release.
Streaming has become the most common way for new films to be shown, and Roberts believes streaming is the perfect home for his movie since most people prefer to view films in their homes rather than theaters.
“At that time, I figured that Letters Home would probably find an audience at film festivals, then somewhere on cable TV. Of course, since then streaming has taken over the world, and theatrical release has gotten smaller than ever (which makes me sad, as a lover of the theater experience). But streaming is also what made the current deal with my distributor, Buffalo 8, possible. Because of streaming, literally anyone, anywhere in the world, has a chance to see Letters Home. So I’m immensely grateful to Buffalo 8 for making it possible.”
While it was frustrating for Roberts that it took more than 20 years to raise the finances to get the movie distributed, he knows the film wouldn’t be what it is today if they hadn’t waited.
“It was only in the last few years that I had accumulated the life experience, the storytelling sophistication, and most importantly, the industry relationships to craft that raw material into the Letters Home that releases Jan. 17. After our initial film festival screening (October 2023, Tallgrass Film Festival, (Wichita), I met a filmmaker friend who inspired me to record a voice-over (narration) track, in my own voice. That narration completely changed the trajectory of the movie, for the better.”
The film has also been shown at film festivals at First City (Leavenworth, Kan. (March 2024) and at the KC FilmFest (April 2024).
The movie is about a young boy (Roberts’ counterpart) who moves to, and grows up in a small town, gradually finding acceptance and confidence in himself. As the years pass, the now young man realizes just how indelibly that town has become part of his identity. Although some characters in the movie are lightly fictionalized, each one has a real life counterpart.
“There are roughly a dozen (primary) characters in the movie, with many more secondary characters that provide color and humor to the story,” Roberts said. “A few actors/actresses were local to Platte City. The actress who plays my mom (Carol Geesey) was local at the time of filming, though she has since moved. The actress Penny Porter plays leading character Irma, my close friend and sometimes ‘frenemy.’ Penny lives in Platte City to this day.”
Roberts said that Letters Home is a miracle of low-budget storytelling, costing less than $100,000 in total.
“The average studio film - meaning, low budget comedy, costs $10 million, or more,” Roberts said. “Our early funders, family, friends, even cast members, helped get the actual ‘film in the can,’ as they say. That was huge. But in truth, once that early money was gone, I had to get very creative. Most of the post-production budget (probably half of that $100K) came out of my own pocket over the years. I have bankrupted myself - literally and figuratively - several times over, just getting the film across the finish line. It’s been pretty rough. But I’m tremendously proud of the result. More than one ‘industry insider’ has commented that they can’t believe how good the movie looks (and is) for this budget.”
While Roberts is very excited about the film’s release, writing, directing and producing his film had many challenging moments.
Writing proved to be a very lonely process and he craved a writing partner, but never found one.
“I just had to push through on my own,” Roberts said. “Directing was challenging in the leadership sense: rallying a cast and crew, day after day. They all looked to me, for ideas, inspiration, sometimes even energy to get to the end of long shooting days. And producing is challenging in the organizational sense. You have to keep your ‘eye on the ball’, but really it’s dozens of balls: money, time, locations, people, resources. It never ends. And if the creative ‘buck’ stops with the director, the final result is actually the responsibility of the producer. Only the producer sees it through, every aspect, ever day, until the final image reaches your screen.”
After more than two decades of time and effort Roberts has devoted to Letters Home, he is most proud that with its upcoming release, the world will see Platte City on screen, captured forever on film.
“Letters Home is really a love letter to small towns, and of course to Platte City (and its citizens) too,” Roberts said. “Most of that first day - Friday, Jan. 17 - I’ll be pacing the floors nervously, just hoping that everything works okay with the various streaming services (we premiere on Amazon Prime video, Fandango at Home, and Plex). Later that day, I hope to meet up with my NYC friends for a celebratory dinner!”