New Holland, PA
You may not know the names Nate and Stan Deen today, but if you like to go to the movies, you may soon know their names and celebrate them like most people connected to New Holland, PA and Garden Spot High School already do. The story of Nate and Stan, as told through the eyes of Nate, was turned into a nationally distributed film called ‘Brave the Dark’ that is now available to watch in many theatres, distributed by notable Angel Studios. The story is an honest and remarkable retelling of a student experiencing homelessness (Nate) who is taken in and mentored by a teacher (Stan), only for the teacher to discover the trauma that the student has been experiencing, and showing how just one person investing in another person can change a life and also create a lasting testimony that can and does reach many more hearts.
Local businessperson Gina Dissinger included in her review of the movie that she saw, “What begins as a quiet act of concern unfolds into a deeply personal and transformative journey for both men, navigating themes of doubt, betrayal, trust, and redemption.” Nate would eventually be adopted by Stan, and Stan remained as a long tenured teacher at Garden Spot, teaching many in the community over several decades. When Nate sought to tell the story about his life and the gift that Stan was to him, he worked with a local-to-Lancaster county production company to bring the story to life on camera, and was intentional to keep the sights authentic and invest in the community throughout the filming.
In 2021, the cast and crew began to film the movie throughout New Holland, recruiting homes that kept a 1980’s aesthetic and inviting the area classic car collectors to bring their rides to be props. But as with any production, they sought find locations that could serve multiple purposes; why travel to 5 different places for filming when you can creatively set up different shots to represent those 5 scenes from the same place?
Ranck’s United Methodist Church was fortunate enough to be selected for just that; one location with several feature moments in the movie. For several days in the fall of 2021, a crew of over 60 people descended on the church for several scenes that are now featured in the film that hit theaters on January 24th. Hollywood A-list actors and crew members were using the church library as a green room, while additional crews turned the narthex into the Bridgetown Police Department (seen roughly 70 minutes into the film).
Jared Harris, who starred in HBO’s Chernobyl and was featured in AMC’s Mad Men, plays Stan Deen in the film, can be seen around the church’s cemetery for several minutes an hour and forty minutes into the film, along with his co-star Nicholas Hamilton, who plays Nate. Even neighbors of the church, including the church pastor and sexton were invited to have extra roles in the film, even though the scenes featuring them were eventually cut for time to bring the movie in under a two-hour run time.
As exciting as this all was, there was, for several years, not much news around the film and it was unknown if the movie would ever be bought for release (a common behind-the-scenes practice and experience for independent films like this). Then suddenly the film was finished and started being shown at film festivals in addition to winning awards there. Suddenly the story of Stan and Nate, and the local sights of New Holland including Ranck’s, started to be seen by many, before eventually setting a release date nationwide. Heather Hainley, sexton for Ranck’s Church, says that the movie “…honor(s) the great Stan Deen and celebrate(s) Nate Deen’s spirit of perseverance and hope! The integrity, compassion, and love that these two men display is something to admire and strive to emulate!”
The movie may not be available in your local theater but will be available digitally in the not to distant future, but if you are fortunate enough to be close to a theater with showtimes, this is a wonderful way to spend an evening.