FILMMAKER COMES HOME

Movie director and Stevens County native Jennifer E. Montgomery plans to visit her hometown of Colville with her debut feature film next week. Montgomery’s psycho- logical thriller, “This Tempting Madness,” is scheduled to screen at the Alpine Theatre on June 24 and 25 at 7 p.m. Theatre co-owner Andrew Ross said both evenings will close with an exclusive, live Q&A session with Mont- gomery and her husband, Andrew Davis, who co-wrote the screenplay. Tracey Delyea, National Board-Certified Career & Technical Education Instructor for Visual Arts programs at Colville High School is set to moderate the sessions. Montgomery’s parents said a portion of the pro- ceeds will go back into the community. “This Tempting Madness” marks Montgomery’s fea- ture directorial debut; she said the film’s story was in- spired by the true story of one of her closest friends. The movie premiered at the International Film Festival of In- dia in Goa and stars Simone Ashley, who some may know from Netflix’s “Bridgerton” and “The Devil Wears Pra- da 2,” alongside Austin Stowell (“NCIS: Origins” and “Bridge of Spies”), Suraj Sharma (“Life of Pi”), and Zeno- bia Shroff (“The Marvels” and “The Big Sick”). According to the film’s description, the story follows a young wom- an who wakes from a coma gravely injured, her memory in fragments, and her husband missing. As she pieces together what happened to her, she begins to doubt her own actions and question what is real. Upon previewing the film, Montgomery’s parents, Chris and Susan Montgomery, said, “Words cannot express how amazed and grateful we are to share in the journey Jennifer and Andrew have undertaken. They created a film that deals with many of today’s real issues while still entertaining and opening the doors for dialogue.” The duo added, “Art can touch our hearts in ways we can only imagine. Heart makes our community strong.” Ross, another Colville-native, talked about how astounding it is to get to show Montgomery’s film at his theater. “It’s just so incredible to be showing a film that was made by somebody I know,” Ross said. “I know Jennifer personally, we went to school together. To have a family friend who has produced a film and now I get to show that in my theater, I can’t say how incredible that is. It kind of blows my mind.” Ross continued, “I never would have thought 20- some years ago in school that this is where we would end up, with me owning an exhibition house and showing movies here that are made by one of my classmates, also from Colville. So it’s pretty neat to be able to do that.” Ross highlighted how showing this film demonstrates to the local youth that “it doesn’t matter if you’re from Colville, if you’re from Kettle Falls, if you’re from some little tiny town in the middle of northeast Washington, you can still do amazing things.” The film is presented in partnership with local nonprofit Colville Together. According to Chris Montgomery, a portion of the proceeds from the special screenings will go towards the preservation of the Alpine Theatre’s façade and marquee. “By attending, moviegoers will help preserve an important downtown landmark while celebrating the success of local filmmakers,” he said.