By Taylor Boyd
Evangeline Walker, a Stuart-area teenager, recently filmed “My Ripple Effect,” her fourth movie with Jcfilms, a West Virginia-based filming studio.
Thomas Walker, Evangeline’s father, said her interest in acting started about five years ago. He served on the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors around the same time, and a tourism group was putting out feelers to get filming in Virginia.
“They wanted all of us to go around and get pictures of scenic sites and filming permissions from different people, and upload it to a website,” he said.
While doing this, Walker said he contacted an old Army friend who now works as a movie director.
“Later, when my daughter started getting into acting, she did a couple of different plays and we asked around if there was anywhere to do acting. I was on Facebook asking friends, and he told me about” Jcfilms, and noted that Jason Campbell, president of the group, “was looking for people to do movies,” he said.
Walker kept that in the back of his mind, even though his daughter hadn’t expressed an interest at the time. However, after doing more local plays and theatre productions, Evangeline fell more in love with acting, and it was then that he then reached out to Campbell.
“We went out there, and…it became kind of a background actor/tryout. He (Campbell) does a little bit of basic description of how to work in the movies, and he did a couple of hours with us. We got to hang out with Kevin Sorbos, and get acting tips and agent-type tips,” Walker said.
Although initially scheduled to be in the background, Evangeline was given a couple of lines once the company learned what she could do, Walker said.
“Then, they were kind of going from there. Every time we do it, she learns more about it. She loves it more, and she gets better at it. I guess she also gets more lines and more screentime,” he said.
Walker said his daughter’s first time doing her filming was for “The Fort.” It was on Halloween in 40-degree weather at an abandoned college hotel.
“We’re all cold and it was kind of wet. If there was ever a bad experience that would drive you away it was that,” he said. “It was sitting all night waiting for your turn in the sort environment and she loved it. It was definitely not her parents trying to get her to do it. She’s enjoying it.”
Walker said his daughter is scheduled to film another movie, “The Night at the Bible Museum,” in August. Her scenes will be filmed in Washington D.C.
While his daughter has more of an interest in acting, Walker said he and his son, Bailey, also make appearances in the movies.
Bailey is “not super excited about being an actor. He’s only there because his sister was there, and they needed somebody else,” Walker said with a chuckle. “In one of the movies, he (Bailey) actually is shown quite a few items and has several lines to say, even though he really didn’t want to be there.”
Campbell said he continues to cast Evangeline Walker in his movies because she’s a good actress.
“She’s a solid actress, very animated, knows her lines, gets along with others, and you can tell she really enjoys doing what she does,” Campbell said, adding that he plans to keep casting her in his works.
“I think she’s got a couple of things coming up on her radar with Jcfilms,” Campbell said.
Walker said Jcfilms focuses on producing films in the faith and family-oriented genre.
“They’re not trying to do the ‘Avengers’ movies. They’re trying to do Hallmark movies,” Walker said.
“Our main purpose is twofold. One is to make films that point people to Jesus, and the second thing is to do whatever we can do to help young people get more involved in making films and being creative,” Campbell said.
According to the Jcfilms website, “My Ripple Effect” follows a recently divorced father who encounters a mysterious man at an old, abandoned church before discovering that his life has more meaning than he ever thought.
The movie stars Dean Cain, Kevin Sorbo, Michael Sigler, and Eddie McClintock.
Jcfilms has completed nearly 100 movies with many of them available on its YouTube page officialjcfilms.
