Residents will soon have the chance to see a movie featuring scenes filmed in Limestone County and other parts of North Alabama.

A special screening of “Once a Hero,” a feature film that follows a former Navy SEAL as he struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and its effect on his relationships, leading to addiction and homelessness, will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at Bob Jones High School, 650 Hughes Road, Madison. Sunday is National PTSD Awareness Day.

Visit the “Once a Hero” Facebook page to find a link for tickets.

The screenplay was written by former Navy SEAL Brett Jones and Isaiah Williams after working on the documentary, “Homeless in Huntsville.”

“We started the movie about four years ago,” said Jones, who plays main character Bradley Johnson in the film. “When we did ‘Homeless in Huntsville,’ we started writing. The script took about eight months to finish and had 10 different revisions. Preproduction and postproduction took about a three-year period from start to finish, and we got the film finished toward the end of last year.”

Tickets are free, but optional donations will be taken for Huntsville biotech firm Inner Defense Initiative, which is researching ways to detect PTSD.

“It is amazing what this biotech firm has done,” Jones said. “They have created a way to detect if somebody has PTSD through an anonymous blood test they send you at home. They can tell if someone is genetically predisposed to getting PTSD, and half the battle is knowing what is going on.”

There will be a reception held before the screening, including a performance by local musician Alan Little, who contributed three songs for the film. There will be a question-and-answer segment with cast and crew after the film.

“When we made the documentary, we saw what an impact it had on the organizations repped in the film,” Jones said. “We figured we could do this on a much bigger scale, so why not make a movie? I have a soft spot for homeless vets, being a veteran myself, and there were some issues I really wanted to hit on that were important to me, like PTSD, homeless vets, addiction and alcohol abuse. We are trying our hardest to create a film that will be entertaining but shine a spotlight on those issues.”

Jones said his group hopes to see “as many people there as possible” at the screening.

Filmmaking

Jones said some scenes were filmed in Limestone County, including one critical moment that required the help of a local volunteer fire department to complete. He said the entire film was shot in North Alabama.

“We had a lot of help from people and businesses and use of private property,” Jones said. “It was a neat experience to see our community rally around this film and help make it become a reality.”

Jones said many of the actors and crew members are veterans, and all of the sound and postproduction work was done by local groups.

“Once a Hero” used crowdfunding and support from private investors. The film had a very small budget of around $200,000.

“We were able to get the movie in the can, but it wasn’t in a hurry,” Jones said. “When you take money out of the equation, you have to wait a little bit. When we got money, we would get more work done.”

Jones said the film has been entered into various film festivals and has done “really well” so far.

The project was originally titled “Only Easy Day,” but Jones said the name was changed to try and make it more appealing. He said the crew is working on getting a distribution deal for the film.