Jason Campbell, owner of JC Films from West Virginia  and Tim Searfoss of BMC Productions in Tampa Florida partnered to bring this story to life. The movie was filmed across the humble cities of West Virginia.  The incredible cooperation from the Bridgeport Police Department, Harisburg Police Department and the Shinnston Police Department gave the film incredible authenticity. The uniforms, vehicles and gear were all courtesy of the P.D’s. 

Ignacyo recalls working with the incredibly helpful officers, “I asked as many questions as I could. I learned their  protocols, answering a call through dispatch, mounting and dismounting the ‘motor’, going through academy training, holding a gun properly, slicing the pie, infiltrating a room and by far my favorite part, driving that Harley around.”

What was it like working with first time director Tim Searfoss?

“The guy has years of experience, he’s incredibly talented and deserves more credit for his work. He was a one man team that pulled off a miracle. It was an honor to have been led by such a hard working individual that strived for greatness every time. He gave me the space I needed to elevate my performance and respected my process. A real team player that collaborated with me to find the best possible way to tell Jonathan’s story. He’s definitely a director I look forward to working with in the future” said Matynia.

When asked what it was like meeting the man he was playing (Jonathan Hickory) Ignacyo detailed an incredible story. 

“At first, I was a bit nervous to meet the man behind this incredible journey. I did all the homework I could prior to meeting him face to face, including reading his book. I took it as seriously as I could. I interviewed him on the phone, listened to personal detailing of his relationship that I did my best to incorporate accurately within the story. I was given liberty by our wonderful director to rewrite dialogue I felt would better tell Jonathan’s story and so after my research, I did just that. I rewrote the scripts original proposal scene to include a sentimental moment Jonathan Hickory and Stacy Hickory had in real life. I did my best to show Jonathan I was looking out for HIS story. Meeting in person was a surreal experience. The amount of gratitude he showed me towards the work I’ve been putting in was heart warming and validating. The morning of our first shoot day, I received a text message regarding one of my closest friends that I had just spoken to had overdosed and died the night before….

…..That was incredibly hard. I had never had someone that close to me pass away so sporadically. Instinctively, I called Jonathan and he immediately came to pray with me. The coincidence was frightening… part of Jonathan’s struggle was experiencing the death of Christian, his first born son and I had just experienced the death of my close friend also by the name of Christian. That same day we had scheduled the heavy emotional scenes including Dean, it’s safe to say I was a wreck, but it worked”

“As the weekend progressed, Christians funeral was approaching and I had been toiling over the fact that I’d be missing the only opportunity to say goodbye to one of my closest friends. My phenomenal producer Jason Campbell and our director Tim Searfoss encouraged me to go. They had rearranged the entire schedule for me to see my friend one last time. To top off the generosity, Jonathan Hickory who picked me up every morning to ride to set, in the privacy of our morning commute said ‘It would be an honor to drive you back to NY to say your goodbyes to Christian’…and at that moment I had learned what an incredible man Jonathan Hickory truly was.”

“During our 7 hour drive, Jonathan and I exchanged stories, discussed life, death and purpose. The intimacy behind the current circumstance and the vulnerability we both had adopted gave me incredible insight towards  who Jonathan Hickory was and now is…. There’s a famous saying… tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are, Jonathan Hickory is a man I am incredibly proud to call a friend.”

Productions from all over the country are seemingly moving to the South due to their more lax Covid Protocols and lowered infection rates. New Orleans, Atlanta and Virginia are some of the other hotspots that host film productions during the latter half of 2020. Break Every Chain will be expected to arrive in 2021. Details of where it will be visible have not yet been made public.