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Cannabis rally set for Kirby Park on Saturday

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Work on water main break in West Pittston expected to be finished Wednesday afternoon

<p>When a parent experiences the loss of a child from the hands of another human being, there are no guidelines for coping with grief.</p><p>&#8220;What would I do?&#8221; is the question that motivated Kerry Patton to develop the story line in his latest film.</p><p>&#8220;Dark of Light&#8221; follows the intense torment of a retired military interrogator whose daughter is taken from him by a child predator. The film, shot mostly in Susquehanna County, was created on a <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/features/494870/wyoming-valley-is-film-studio-for-production-of-baby-frankenstein" target="_blank">budget less than $10,000</a> with a few actors and the help of Scranton producer Mark Denebaum and Montrose co-writer and producer Edward Luecke.</p><p>Patton, a father of four, was kept up at night by the story behind the nonprofit organization, Marley&#8217;s Mission, whose founder&#8217;s 5-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted in her Taylor home. It inspired him to explore his own conflicted thoughts in a fictional script.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve been socially conditioned in America, because we are a first-world country, that we have a justice system that is truly just and impartial and fair,&#8221; Patton said. &#8220;Yet human nature tells us that we are animals that protect our flock, our own.&#8221;</p><p>Patton had a successful career as a military specialist, defense contractor, teacher and author before he entered the film industry. He believes in a minimalist approach to creating intriguing cinema.</p><p>The Susquehanna County resident was introduced to the industry when a Los Angeles producer had an interest in turning one of his books &#8212; he couldn&#8217;t say which &#8212; into a movie. The film didn&#8217;t come to fruition, but Patton kept his tie with the producer who asked Patton to be a technical advisor on a few projects.</p><p>While advising on FX&#8217;s &#8220;Legit,&#8221; Patton was thrown into the role of stunt man and landed stunt and acting roles on &#8220;Librarians,&#8221; &#8220;Banshee&#8221; and, currently WGN America&#8217;s &#8220;Outsiders.&#8221;</p><p><ins>&#8220;It continuously progressed with big Hollywood, but at the same time, I saw a lot of interesting components within these big Hollywood sets, that I said to myself, &#8216;Through disruptive innovation &#8212; which I started to get into as a hobby, because of my military and contractual background &#8212; there&#8217;s ways we can do some of the things they&#8217;re doing here a lot quicker, cheaper and more efficiently,&#8217;&#8221; Patton said.</ins></p><p>As his main character embarks on a path of vigilance, fueled by an inadequate justice system, Patton and crew tell the story with little dialogue, mild violence and an attention to setting.</p><p>&#8220;Because of the intensity of the movie, you don&#8217;t need a lot of dialogue,&#8221; Patton said. &#8220;You need to show people are in thought, people are in distress, people are full of emotion.&#8221;</p><p>Interrogation scenes in the film tend to be more suggestive than outwardly violent.</p><p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t need to see somebody get their head blown off,&#8221; Patton said. &#8220;That&#8217;s not impactful. What&#8217;s more impactful is seeing the soldier that took that shot for the first time, their reaction, their emotion, because it&#8217;s an emotional state.&#8221;</p><p><ins>A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Survival, Escape, Resist and Evade (S.E.R.E.) School, Patton wanted to explore the limits of a professional in distress.</ins></p><p><ins>&#8220;The interrogator in the film looks amateurish to anyone who&#8217;s ever been in that world, because he breaks all the rules,&#8221; Patton said. &#8220;Even if you&#8217;re the best, most highly trained practitioner, when you&#8217;re family is involved, it becomes personal.&#8221;</ins></p><p>With only four actors, including a short appearance by Patton&#8217;s daughter, the film employs long, panning shots of Susquehanna County.</p><p>&#8220;Here, in Northeastern Pennsylvania, we have some of the most pristine scenery in the entire country, in my opinion,&#8221; Patton said. &#8220;If you can capture the scenery with these emotions, you&#8217;re making the emotions stand out that much better. It&#8217;s almost as if you have a supporting actor.&#8221;</p><p>The film is scheduled for release on Amazon Prime, ITunes and Vimeo in late October or early November, but Patton won&#8217;t be taking it to any <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/features/581401/mountain-top-director-chris-fetchko-screens-acclaimed-film-in-wilkes-barre" target="_blank">film festivals.</a></p><p>&#8220;My reward is being able to accomplish our goals: filming in such a short amount of time with such a small cast, crew and budget,&#8221; Patton said. &#8220;I hope it gives hope to other aspiring artists to say to themselves, &#8216;With today&#8217;s technology, I don&#8217;t need to spend a ton of money.&#8217;&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Kerry Patton&#8217;s military, defense contracting and writing career led to work in stunts, acting and now, film making. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_KerryPatton.jpg</photo0><caption0>Kerry Patton&#8217;s military, defense contracting and writing career led to work in stunts, acting and now, film making. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_DarkOfLight1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The majority of &#8216;Dark of Light&#8217; was shot on location in Susquehanna County. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_DarkOfLight1.jpg</photo1><caption1>The majority of &#8216;Dark of Light&#8217; was shot on location in Susquehanna County. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photo </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_DarkOfLight2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Writer, director Kerry Patton said capturing Northeastern Pennsylvania&#8217;s pristine scenery was like adding a supporting actor to his film. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_DarkOfLight2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Writer, director Kerry Patton said capturing Northeastern Pennsylvania&#8217;s pristine scenery was like adding a supporting actor to his film. </caption2><photoCredit2>Submitted photo </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_DarkOfLight3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kerry Patton plays the role of a tormented father who loses his daughter to a child predator and walks down a vigilant path. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_DarkOfLight3.jpg</photo3><caption3>Kerry Patton plays the role of a tormented father who loses his daughter to a child predator and walks down a vigilant path. </caption3><photoCredit3>Submitted photo </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>&#8216;Dark of Light,&#8217; based off Taylor story, filmed in Susquehanna County</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Susquehanna County filmmaker Kerry Patton releases ‘Dark of Light’ this fall