KPC News
Jan 28 2020
Filmmaker's latest project to take him to Armenia
BY KATHRYN BASSETT
AUBURN —A northeast Indiana producer and director who has made movies in DeKalb County and the surrounding area will travel to Armenia to work on his latest project.
George Johnson, formerly of Auburn and now of Huntertown, is working on a new documentary and feature film, based on the true story of a Ukrainian woman, Anita, whose husband lost her in a card game.
Anita’s husband was a gambler who bet more than he had. When men showed up to collect on the debt, Anita’s husband fled and they took Anita instead, Johnson explained.
“She was abducted in the night, separated from her children, and sold into the trafficking industry for nearly three years. Once she escaped, she had an encounter with God, gave her life to Him, and then witnessed an amazing series of miracles as she searched to see if her children were still alive,” Johnson said.
The project sprung to life after Anita’s story was related to him by Lonnie Norris, also of Huntertown, and who is the executive producer of the project.
“He was a missionary in Russia for about 10 years, and after hearing about this story, he brought it to me to see about making the film,” Johnson said.
“I heard a story and I couldn’t believe it,” Norris said. “That’s a story that deserves to be told. … It’s about a miraculous seek-and-rescue of a woman who was pulled out of her family into trafficking.”
Anita was taken to Amsterdam and put in a basement, where she would remain in total darkness for more than two years, Norris said.
She fell very, very ill and ended up in hospital, where she was befriended by a nurse. Anita told the nurse that she had three children and wanted to find them, and so began the search, Norris added.
The children were located in Armenia and ultimately were reunited with Anita, Norris said. Now they live in Holland.
Johnson became well-known to many in the area when he produced “Homeless for the Holidays” in DeKalb County in 2010, using a cast consisting mostly of local volunteer actors. In 2015, Johnson began shooting the movie, “Thy Neighbor,” at locations in Auburn and around northeast Indiana. That movie went on to receive numerous awards and accolades. His work directing a music video, “Haunted” by The Guess Who, earned him an Emmy award.
Last August, Johnson and Norris traveled to Armenia to interview several of the people who were involved in Anita’s story, including Anita herself. Then they went to Dallas to interview another man who assisted in rescuing her and reuniting her with her children.
Recently Johnson, who works alongside his wife, Karen, shot some cinematic reenactment scenes for a 10-minute documentary, “Pulled from Darkness,” which is set to be released at the end of February.
Anita was played by actress Jessica Koloian, who had a leading role in Johnson’s “Thy Neighbor.” Anita's children were played by Johnson’s son, Owen Johnson, Morgan Pyle and Brayden Eaton. Scenes depicting the gambling and abduction were shot at two homes in Auburn, and an alley scene was filmed in Garrett. A hospital scene was shot at James Medical in Fort Wayne.
Now, Johnson has begun writing the script for a movie on Anita's story, which will be filmed primarily in Armenia this summer. The movie has not yet been cast or titled, but will feature Armenian actors, Johnson added. He hopes the project will be complete after the first part of next year.
“I’m excited,” Norris said about the project. “It’s been some time in the making. … You get anxious and impatient, but I understand that this takes time. My hope is that it can convey that … when people act on love and follow God’s leading, you are ripe for a miracle.”
A scene from the documentary may be viewed at the movie's website, homesickmedia.com/anita.