VAN BUREN (KFSM)--Two local men won two Emmys for a short film they made about an Arkansas town.
“Step Into The King Opera House” is a 28-minute film based around historic fiction and ghost stories about the King Opera House in Van Buren.
Chuck King, the producer of the film, said he was encouraged to submit the piece to be nominated for an Emmy, and to everyone's surprise, they won the award for Best Short Format Program.
“It was one thing to find out that we were actually nominated, but to actually win and come out on top was a wonderful feeling, and I think one, to be honest, we really didn't expect,” King said.
That's not all the production won. 26-year-old film director Devon Parks and took home an Emmy for best director.
“I don't remember much, but I was sitting next to my wife, and I just kind of looked at her to make sure that it was actually real, and that's what they actually said,” Parks said.
King said they hope this attention will bring more life to Van Buren.
“We want to draw people to see the old downtown to be able to go into the opera house and learn a bit of Van Buren's great history,” King said.
Parks said they plan to make more films where the audience will step into a historical place.
“With the banner of step into there are several places that we still, you know, avenues that we want to travel down with that, and so we're going to continue to look into that now especially with some of that validation behind us that we do know what we're doing,” Parks said.
The entire film is on the Arkansas Educational Television Network website.