Logline : The Past Is Still Present

KENT STATE tells a personal story of how a family’s buried past coincides with the brutal truth of one of the most significant events in American history, when the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of students, killing four – two protesters and two bystanders - on May 4th, 1970. An intimate and heart-felt coming of age story of a teenage boy, brave enough to make bold choices and pursue a dream despite the path his family has set for him -- that also looks back, years later, as this now grown man reluctantly reflects on the culmination of his life’s events – a mix of things he could control and things he could not. The story of KENT STATE is set in two time periods: finally unpacking the question of what happened then, but also looking at the impact of past injustices on our lives now. Will McCormack, the 16 year old town paperboy, secretly longs to go to Kent State, and gets involved with the student protest movement and its music, despite his working class family and National Guard brother, Paul. He and his brother wind up on campus that fateful day – Will as a protester and Paul as a Guardsman…tragedy ensues as the National Guard shoot into the crowd of unarmed students, killing 4 and injuring 13. Now, 50 years later, a successful bachelor, Will lives well on the Florida coast. His mother passes and his estranged younger sister, Kristin shows up and uncovers clues to a secret family history, possibly tying them to the catastrophe at Kent State. Will doesn’t want to face the impact that day had on his and his family's life and must manage what Kristin finds out in her search for the truths behind their family story - and the national calamity - that was swept under the rug for over 50 years…. Until now. Through Will we get to know the students, the townspeople, the families and the local, national and international forces that collided that fateful day. The stories of those that were killed is tightly intertwined with those that lived. And we see that how we treat each other in our own backyards is worth examination; every decision counts as we all deeply impact our fellow neighbor, especially when the chips are down. KENT STATE is the first feature film to dramatize these events for the big screen, so that we might understand, witness, and truly experience them ourselves. A real story of the overstep of authority as young people voiced ideas that the powerful didn’t like, KENT STATE highlights the importance of the rights of citizens to disagree – without being silenced.