The award-winning GMC (Gospel Music Channel) Network is set to add another feature film to its growing repertoire, with the limited motion picture release of ReelWorks Studios’ Trinity Goodheart.

Trinity Goodheart Touches Producer’s Heart

The film is about a 12 year-old girl (Trinity, played by Erica Gluck) and her gutsy mission to reunite her dysfunctional family after being visited by an angel.

According to producer Rick Eldridge, this film will tug at your heartstrings, just as it did his when he read the script for the first time while on a plane to his L.A. office. With no prior warning of the emotion-packed project, he was so moved to tears that the passenger seated next to him inquired as to his well being.

That emotional depth of the script is what impressed Eldridge and what he considers to be the most challenging aspect of shooting the project. He credits a phenomenal cast and crew with the ability to capture that emotion and maintain the balance in such a way that the story will also be entertaining to the audience.

Eric Benet Stars in His First Major Role

Eldridge believes R&B artist Eric Benet, cast in his first major role as Trinity’s father, is able to draw from his own life experiences to help him prepare for his role and identify with the character to bring the story to life in a compelling way for the viewers. He has “been where the character has been and lived where he lived.”

Benet, like the character he portrays, is a single father. His girlfriend passed away from injuries sustained in a car accident, and his own father passed away from cancer just prior to her death. As a result of these tragedies, and the raising of his daughter, Benet basically had to start his already blossoming career from scratch.

This gut-wrenching kind of emotion is what screenwriter Rhonda Baraka penned in Trinity Goodheart.

ReelWorks Studios and Gospel Music Channel Join Forces to Create Family-Friendly Film

GMC’s Brad Siegel and Eldridge had been introduced a few years back, and Siegel had visited Eldridge at his studio in Charlotte. The pair had talked about working together on a project someday. They shared an appreciation for and understanding of faith-based, family projects, like ReelWorks’ The Ultimate Gift and The Christmas Lamb; and GMC’s The Way Home. They could never find just the right script until opportunity came knocking when Baraka was introduced to Siegel by GMC’s Paul Butler.

Siegel was impressed by Baraka’s work and met with her to discuss a project that might be right for GMC. Trinity Goodheart had all the ingredients for a perfect match. Says Baraka, “We met in Atlanta at the GMC office and discussed several projects. We all agreed that Trinity would be a good fit for GMC, and things took off from there.”

Siegel knew just who he would ask to produce the project.

Gospel Music Channel Expands to Include Genres of Film and Television

Siegel described the transformation of GMC from its 2004 inception exclusively as a music channel to its eventual evolution in 2010 to include the genres of film and television, with a mission to “inspire, uplift, and entertain” audiences through family-friendly projects. Siegel says, “Without being preachy, it provides good, wholesome entertainment, ‘good people doing good things.'” And the new format has been widely received by the viewing audience, as attested to by the hundreds of approving emails sent to the network, confirmation that the channel is headed in the right direction.

Spurred on by this confirmation, last year, GMC premiered its first film, The Way Home, starring Dean Cain.

To further validate any remaining questions as to the course taken, GMC was the only network last year to receive the Entertainment Seal of Approval (with every program certified family safe) from the Parents Television Council for being “an authentic family-friendly cable network.”

Where Does Trinity Goodheart Go from Here?

Trinity Goodheart will immediately go into post-production after wrapping. With an editor on set daily, Eldridge and crew know exactly what they are getting with each scene.

The film has been shot entirely on location in Charlotte throughout the month of March. It will premiere at the American Black Film Festival on July 9 in Miami and will enjoy a limited theatrical release (probably in North Carolina and Georgia) before airing on GMC in August.