AMONG BROTHERS
BASED ON ACTUAL EVENTS / On November 9th, 1994, Jennifer Matthews, a senior at Bergan State University, was found dead in her burned down apartment. The police informed her family that it appeared to be an accident.
Two days later, the autopsy revealed that it was no accident. There was no presence of smoke in Jennifer’s lungs – she died before the fire and someone tried to cover it up.
Jennifer’s real-life brother Tom dedicated ten years of his life to putting the pieces of this unsolved South Carolina case together and compiled his original story.
In 2004, John Schwert adapted the story, directed and produced his first feature-length motion picture, Among Brothers, with fictional names, based on the actual events of this story.
- Matt Mercer – ETHAN
- Corey Cicci – MILES
- Lauren Schneider – JENNIFER
- Daniels J. Watts – BILLY
- Lindsay Ayliffe – SWENSON
- Ashley Bryan – MORGON
- Catherine Carter – MRS. MATTHEWS
- JD Demers – DETECTIVE
- James K Flynn – MR. MATTHEWS
- Alyson Lowe – STACEY
- Allan Todd – TOM
- John Schwert – Director, Producer, Adaptation, Editor
- Thomas A. Morgan – Original Story
- Jason King – First Assistant Director
- John Fitch – Associate Producer
- Jan Schwert – Associate Producer
- Kristin Vining – Associate Producer
- Sean Macomber – Second Assistant Director
- Brad Hoover – Director of Photography and Production Designer
John Schwert’s company, Fourth Ward Productions, Inc., put up the full amount it would take to produce the picture, and shot the entire motion picture in Charlotte, N.C.
In August, 2004, Schwert enlisted the help of 3 Associate Producers from Charlotte: John Fitch, Dana McGhee and Kristin Vining; and one from New York: Jan Schwert; and preproduction was immediately underway.
Working with the limited budget, Schwert was able to contact members of the Charlotte community for locations, equipment, and to start casting and crewing up for the shoot.
Principal Photography for Among Brothers took place from September 12th to October 8th, with one day of pickup shots on October 16th with Cornelius Fire Department. Post Production began in November, 2004 with Jordan Chesney and John Schwert cutting the picture. Concentrix Music And Sound Design provided the full post production audio for the picture, including an original score by Fred Story. Limerick Studios provided the titles, credits and dvd authoring. Post production was finished in April, 2005.
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