‘Truly something special at work out there,’ he says
By Gary Lloyd
CLAY — The first time Christian Sutton stepped foot on The Red Barn’s property in Leeds, he felt at peace.
Having struggled with an anxiety disorder off and on for the past six years, Sutton’s first time there in 2012 provided a peaceful feeling no other place did.
“There truly is something special at work out there,” said Sutton, a 2008 Clay-Chalkville High School graduate.
The Red Barn, located on the banks of the Little Cahaba River, is a 501(c)3 organization that offers children and adults the opportunity to work with and learn to ride horses. Programs include traditional riding lessons, therapeutic riding, equine-assisted therapy and related academic enrichment activities.
Sutton has written and directed a documentary about The Red Barn, called “The Red Barn: A Legacy of Love,” and it premiered Sunday, Nov. 23 at the Alabama Theatre in Birmingham. The documentary was produced by Sutton’s parents, Rick and Sheila. Joy O’Neal is the executive producer.
Christian Sutton
submitted photo
Sutton said writing and directing the feature length documentary was a “no brainer.”
The documentary tells how The Red Barn got its start, from the lady who inspired it to the one who made the dream become a reality. It’s the story of children and adults whose lives are changed for the better for having been there. It’s also about the horses and workers there.
“Our hope with this documentary is to seek distribution,” Sutton said. “We want the story of The Red Barn to be experienced by as many people as possible. They are a nonprofit, so exposure always helps, but also the stories in this documentary are just so moving, that I think people, maybe even 3,000 miles from here, need to hear them and have their souls lifted.”
Sutton said the plan is to take the movie to film festivals around the country for the next six to nine months, hoping to pick up awards, get out the word about it, and draw the attention of a distributor willing to release the film nationally on DVD, BluRay and digitally.
“My ultimate dream would be to see the film released in theaters nationwide, but that is probably an unrealistic goal,” Sutton said. “Documentaries rarely get theatrical releases. We want to get the film to as many people as possible, whatever route that takes.”
Sutton’s opportunity to write and direct the documentary came quickly. He was contacted in the fall of 2012 by O’Neal, the executive director of The Red Barn, about doing a three-minute promotional video. Sutton was in his last semester at UAB, majoring in film, and O’Neal had emailed professors, looking for a student who could produce the short video. Sutton was recommended.
“I went out and met with Joy, and had just never met a person quite like her,” Sutton said. “Her name really summed up her personality. After walking and talking with her around the property for three hours, she officially offered me the gig without having ever seen a single frame of footage I had ever shot. You rarely see acts of faith like that.”
O’Neal told Sutton that day that The Red Barn had always wanted someone to make a documentary about it, but it never had the funds.
“After some prayer and leadership from the Lord, my parents and I felt led to do it for them,” Sutton said.
Sutton, who was in band, choir and theatre at Clay-Chalkville High School, has written stories for as long as he can remember.
“When I was a kid, rather than talking in class, I would often get in trouble for drawing or writing make-believe stories instead of doing my classwork,” he said. “It also helped that I had a dad who did video production, and parents who exposed my siblings and me to classic movies, so I sort of just learned how to tell stories visually as I grew up.”
Sutton knew how to operate a camera professionally by the time he was 12. He still works with his dad as a partner in his production company, Sutton Place Productions.
Sutton’s immediate goals are to continue making movies in hopes of attracting the attention of Hollywood. He’s currently working on a number of movie scripts he’s seeking financing for.
“I have always dreamed of winning an Oscar, so that’s somewhere I’d like to eventually be, up on that stage, thanking everyone I’ve ever known,” Sutton said.
More so than the Oscar, the dream he’s most eager to make come true is writing and directing big, original blockbuster movies in the same vein as “Star Wars.”
“I really do believe that this documentary is the first step in a larger plan, so who knows,” Sutton said.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
