EAGLE, Idaho — "My relationship with my mom is so important to me, and my goodness, she has been my biggest supporter from day one," said Lauren Havel, filmmaker and director.
Havel's filmmaking journey began at age 13 at a film camp in Friday Harbor, Washington, where she "just absolutely fell in love with it, started making film project after project, and just got bigger and bigger."
When Idaho News 6 last spoke with Havel in 2024, her red-carpet premiere at the Morrison Center had just introduced "The Ground Beneath Our Feet" to Treasure Valley audiences. But the story behind the camera began years earlier with an unexpected moment of inspiration.
WATCH | What Lauren has been up to since the 2024 premiere—
"I just saw this movie, flash before my mind, scene by scene," said Jennifer Havel, Lauren's mom and the film's screenwriter and producer.
Jennifer had never experienced anything like the vision before.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Eagle 19-year-old holds world premiere for a full-length feature film
"Got to the end of it and I just was completely perplexed like, why did that happen? What was that for?" Jennifer Havel said.
At the time, Lauren was just working on her first short film and learning to use a camera, so Jennifer put the vision on the back burner for years.
"I really felt called, like almost called by God to do this or to pass it along to somebody who could do it, turn it into a feature," Jennifer Havel said.
When Lauren finished her second feature film and didn't know what to do next, Jennifer suggested they work on the vision together. However, the project was too large for their previous location in the San Juan Islands in Washington, so they moved to Idaho, where they would have access to more actors and resources.
"The Lord just opened the door, one door after another, moved us here, and then we got all the actors and all the pieces just fell into place, so the timing of it was perfect," Jennifer Havel said. "Looking back, I just really feel that it was so providential and that it was truly the hand of God and the vision was God's call for our lives that became this film."
That front porch vision turned into a unique collaboration between mother and daughter, with Jennifer writing the script and Lauren directing and editing. The duo has now made three feature films together, despite Jennifer having no formal screenwriting background.
"I loved writing when I was little. It hadn't really written anything in years," Jennifer Havel said. "I never thought I would ever become a writer or anything like that."
Her screenwriting journey began when Lauren asked for help with her first short film, "I Hate Kate," an anti-bullying story based on Jennifer's childhood experiences that went viral on YouTube.
"She said can you write the screenplay? And I was like, I have no idea how to write a screenplay, and she's like, it's okay... you know, just write about your life," Jennifer Havel said.
The film follows a family from the 1950s to today, showing "the loss of faith and morality over the past 70 years and then brings hope into the picture that we always have something to look forward to," Lauren Havel explained.
"It shouldn't be possible that a 17-year-old should be able to create something of such magnitude, and yet with the Lord all things are possible," Lauren Havel said.
Their partnership has weathered significant challenges beyond the typical obstacles of filmmaking. During the production of "The Ground Beneath Our Feet," Jennifer lost her parents to cancer and was diagnosed with cancer herself.
"There were so many obstacles. It just truly felt like the most intense spiritual warfare I've ever experienced," Jennifer Havel said. "Going through all of that with my daughter was just challenging, so challenging, but also we just became so close and so tight through it all."
Despite these hardships, their perseverance over three-and-a-half years has led to remarkable opportunities. The film is now in post-editing in Hollywood, has garnered interest from Sony/Affirm Films, and the mother-daughter team has already begun work on their fourth feature film together.
"We've gotten closer and closer with each project, and as our relationship has gotten closer, our relationship with the Lord has strengthened," Jennifer Havel said.
The success has been overwhelming for the family.
"We have been absolutely blown away with the reception that the movie's gotten, just blown away, to have these showings that are sold out and being able to take it to other theaters, you know, outside of Idaho, has been amazing," Jennifer Havel said.
Their next project will be particularly personal — a film about the making of "The Ground Beneath Our Feet" and Lauren's journey into filmmaking.
"Showing how she [Lauren] got into this whole career of movie making and just the, all the crazy things that happened," Jennifer Havel said. "The whole time we were working on 'The Ground Beneath Our Feet,' I kept saying, I've got to write a book. I've got to write a book, and then of course at the end I'm like I don't write books, but I do write screenplays, so okay I gotta write a screenplay, so that's what I'm working on right now."
"I'm excited to see the doors that the Lord will open," Lauren Havel said.
"The Ground Beneath Our Feet" has been nominated for Best Evangelistic Film at the Crown Awards in Nashville, where the team will attend a showing at the Franklin Theater. The film has also been selected as a finalist for the Zion Indie Film Festival in Utah.
"The Ground Beneath Our Feet" is showing in Meridian one last time and is also available for streaming on January 27th worldwide, including on Apple TV. The film has received award nominations in both Nashville and Utah, marking significant recognition for the Eagle-based production team.
