Sioux Falls Film Company Releases ‘Poor Mama’s Boy’

I like having creative people on The Patrick Lalley Show whenever we can. That includes musicians and writers and photographers. Maybe surprising to people living here, it also includes filmmakers.

The latest movie with local roots is "Poor Mama's Boy," written and directed by Dalton Coffey, a transplanted Arkansan living in Sioux Falls.

The movie stars Joe Hiatt -- a Sioux Falls Lincoln grad and current student at the University of Sioux Falls -- as Wesley Shipman. The movie is set and was filmed in rural Arkansas.

Here's how it's described:

17 year old Wesley Shipman has always been a quiet boy. After his mother leaves to be with her boyfriend, Wesley’s uncle takes him in and provides a stable life. Things start to look up for Wesley when he meets Adelia, a young girl drawn to Wesley’s quiet disposition. What starts out as an innocent encounter quickly veers into darkness when Adelia goes missing and all eyes are on Wesley… but the quiet boy ain’t talkin’. The Ozark Mountains serve as a backdrop for this chilling Southern tale about how far a young man is willing to go for family.

You can rent or buy the movie through Amazon, iTunes or Vimeo on Demand.

What's impressive for a local filmmaker is the cast that Coffey assembled around Hiatt. That includes:

• Natalie Canerday, how played the mother in Billy Bob Thornton's breakout movie "Sling Blade."
• Jennifer Pierce Mathus, who has multiple credits including the television series "Nashville."
• Lynnsee Provence ("The Gift," "War Eagle Arkansas," and "Shotgun Stories").
• Cody Block ("The People Vs. Larry Flynt," and "Black Snake Moan").

You can read more about the cast on IMDb.

You can watch the trailer above or get more on the "Poor Mama's Boy" website or on their Facebook page. For more Dalton Coffey's other work, check out his site.

Coffey and Hiatt were on The Patrick Lalley Show on Friday. We had a great time. I like talking to creative people about their craft. It's enlightening and reminds me that you can do whatever you want living here. Technology allows all sorts of collaboration that didn't exist 20 years ago. That's allowed people like Dalton Coffey to write and create movies with high-level talent all while living in Sioux Falls.

He's not the only one.

The Sioux Empire Film Festival in 2017 showed 50 movies, 15 of those were by South Dakotans.

If there's somebody you think should be on the show, drop me a note.

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