The streets are Mississippi. The storefronts are Mississippi. The actors are Mississippians. So are the people behind the cameras.
And that may be the best part of Across the River.
Filmed in and around Columbia, Across the River is a new episodic series created, written, and directed by filmmaker Kevin Sibley and produced by Monte Kraus. While plenty of mystery unfolds on screen, there is another story happening behind the scenes: a production made entirely in Mississippi by Mississippi talent.
“We have a large pool of talent in the film industry, in the production industry,” Sibley said. “It has always seemed strange to me that we have not had more 100 percent local Mississippi productions going.”
That idea is at the heart of Across the River.
Sibley grew up in Mobile, but his grandmother and other family members were from the Columbia area, and he had visited since childhood. After he and his wife moved to the area, stories he had heard over the years began to coalesce into an idea.
“I started to kind of piece this story together with those and created a character,” he said.
He also saw an opportunity to bring together people he had worked with during years in video production.
“The whole point was I wanted to do a series that was locally produced using all of the local talent that I’ve worked with in production over the years,” Sibley said.
Columbia provided the perfect backdrop, with its downtown and familiar landmarks, including Hill Hardware. But Sibley isn’t trying to make Mississippi look like somewhere else.
In fact, he wants the opposite.
“We’re just trying to showcase it as it really is,” he said. “Everyday life in Mississippi.”
The series follows Ben, a man who returns to town after 30 years. He left under suspicious circumstances, and his return comes with plenty of questions of its own.
“There’s a storyline,” Sibley said. “We follow a main character who’s returned. Basically, the gist is he returned to town after 30 years. He left under suspicious circumstances, and he’s returned under suspicious circumstances.”
And yes, there is a mysterious box involved. But we aren’t spoiling that one.
Even the name Across the River is distinctly local. Columbia sits along the Pearl River, and Sibley said those who live on the west side are sometimes described as living “ATR” — across the river. Ben’s backstory places him there, and the Pearl River will continue to play a role in the story.
The first episodes are only about five minutes long, an intentional experiment with the popularity of short-form dramas. But viewers are already asking for more — including longer, 30-minute episodes.
The response has been impressive. At the time of Sibley’s interview with Our Mississippi Home, the series’ Facebook page had been active for only about three weeks. It had already reached roughly 3,500 followers and more than half a million views.
For Sibley, however, the potential reaches beyond views.
Mississippi has actors, filmmakers, camera operators, editors, and production professionals already working in the industry. There is also another generation learning the craft through programs at places like Pearl River Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi.
“We don’t want them leaving the state,” Sibley said.
If Across the River grows, the story is open-ended enough to grow geographically, too. Other Mississippi towns could eventually become part of the series.
And Sibley would love to see the five-minute episodes become something much bigger.
“There’s a whole industry that develops around things like that, and it can change a whole area,” he said.
For now, it starts in Columbia — with a Mississippi story told by Mississippi people in places Mississippians will recognize.
“That’s really at the heart of this,” Sibley said. “That’s what I’m hoping to achieve — to have an ongoing production that shines a light on our incredible state.”
Across the River is currently available on Facebook and YouTube, with the first two episodes now available and a third on the way.
*All photos are courtesy of Kevin Sibley
