FARMINGTON — A special showing of “Milltown Pride,” a new feature-length film with local Becka Rebert playing a supporting role, will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 3 and 4, in Lincoln Auditorium in the Learning Center at the University of Maine at Farmington.

Admission is free and the public is invited to view “the story of a young man who dreams of playing professional baseball, but in South Carolina in the 1920s, the only path to the pros was through a local textile mill,” according to a release from Rebert’s parents, the Rev. Brian and Sandi Rebert.

Rebert, 23, grew up in Farmington and graduated last year from Bob Jones University in South Carolina with a degree in cinema, Sandi Rebert said. She was home-schooled prior to going to the college.

Her role in the film developed after she spent a couple of summers working in production on the film. Last summer, a  professor who had seen her act in a directing class recommended her for the supporting role, a comic-relief character in the movie, she said. 

She’s in a lot of scenes and plays a shy young woman, which is out of character, her mother said. “She’s not a shy person.”

She also doesn’t look quite like herself, with crimped hair and glasses.

Rebert wants to go into filmmaking and this gave her experience on both sides of the camera, her mother said.

Her production work included things such as making new overalls look old and worn. At times she would spend a whole day putting 200 people in costume for five minutes worth of film, Sandi said.

During a visit from her father and brother, Jonathan, 18, of Farmington, the younger Rebert was also pulled into playing an extra in the outfield for the baseball team.

The Reberts are no strangers to the stage. Sandi Rebert writes plays and markets them on the Internet, she said. Many have been produced at Pastor Rebert’s church, New Hope Baptist Church in Farmington. 

Becka Rebert used to do some filming of the church plays and played minor roles. She started at age 7, her mother said.

She is now working at Bob Jones University campus on instructional DVDs used by home-schoolers.

This is the seventh feature-length film produced by the Christian university, but it has been 20 years since the last one was made.

“It’s an engaging story with several messages,” Sandi Rebert said.

Churches around the country are sponsoring premiere showings of the film, she said. All are welcome to attend.

abryant@sunjournal.com

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