YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Valley-based filmmaker Adam Michael will begin shooting his next film, “Better Places to Go,” this fall.
The film takes place entirely in a small-town diner in Nebraska, where a group of locals who don’t know each other find themselves stranded together during a storm. All of them are longing to leave their town, and they have conversations that lead to decisions that change their lives.
Shooting will take place Nov. 10-24 at Carchedi’s Café in Lowellville, which is now a catering center and not a restaurant.
The film is expected to be completed in 2026, at which time Michael will enter it in film festivals.
The story was adapted by Michael from a play written by Wren Valentino, a California-based playwright, actor, director and producer.
“Better Places to Go” has been performed Off-Broadway and at other theaters nationwide.
Michael said he was contacted by many actors who wanted to be in the film because they knew of Valentino’s reputation.
He has hired two members of the original Off-Broadway cast – Margaret Champagne and Vanessa Menendez – to reprise their roles in his film. “Their knowledge of the story and dedication to the characters is something that has inspired me all through our conversations about the film,” Michael said.
The cast also includes Makayla McIntosh, Sofia Castellanos, Delaney Hathaway, Chase Strange and Reece Presley.
Michael, who has worked with Valentino in the past, said adapting and directing “Better Places to Go” has been a life-changing experience.
“It is such a beautiful story of isolation and despair but also a story of hope,” he said.
The production team has launched an effort to raise $20,000 on the Indiegogo crowdfunding website to finance the film. To donate, click HERE.
In a promotional video posted on the Indiegogo page, Michael praised the playwright. “It’s a relatively simple concept but the way [Valentino] wrote it … feels so grounded and real,” he said.
The plot explores a theme that has become a specialty for Valentino: ordinary people going through extraordinary circumstances that change them forever.
“Better Places to Go” is an exploration of people whose lives are often overlooked, Valentino said in the promotional video.
“When you get a chance to meet them, you get a sense there is so much there below the surface,” he said.
The inspiration for the play came to him when he found himself in a diner during a long road trip and could hear the conversations of the people sitting around him.
Valentino has written 21 novels and more than 70 plays, eight of which have been adapted for the screen.
Pictured at top: A promotional graphic for the movie “Better Places to Go.”