Northern Lights: Synopsis

Walking away from the small-town life of his family and friends, a boy sets off in search of his dreams, but remains haunted by what he has left behind. 

In Winter Falls, Maine the world of a boy begins and ends in the shadow of his father. It is a place where a boy earns his manhood between rows of potato blossoms, ice-fishing shacks, and Bean-hole suppers; a place where marriages are still expected between a girl and a boy who have grown up together. On a canvas painted by Norman Rockwell, Winter Falls is a reminder of that small town in each of us. 

Unexpectedly winning a songwriting contest, Ben finds himself in New York City. With a surprising meteoric rise to stardom, he becomes a household name, but the relentless pressure to write the next “hit” takes a toll. The lights begin to fade. The drugs and drinking can no longer numb what his heart is telling him. His career skids off the road when he is arrested for drunk driving. With a pending manslaughter charge, Ben is shunned by the industry that “created” him. 

In a drunken stupor, he stumbles into the bowels of the city’s dark underbelly. Attacked and mugged, he is left for dead. Fading in and out of a dream state, a homeless man- or is he an apparition? Approaches, then disappears into the darkness as the Northern Lights appear in the night sky. Awakening, he recognizes the satchel beside him. Opening it, he finds a letter. It is a letter from his mother. His father has had a stroke. 

Returning to Winter Falls, Ben is reminded of what could have been. Mary, the girl he left behind, still tugs at his heartstrings. A family secret will reveal a truth about his father that he must now reconcile. His fame and notoriety offer little. Embraced by his hometown, he’s given a second chance, but he must make a choice. Can he rediscover what could have been? As Winter Falls celebrates its sesquicentennial, the Northern Lights, once again, appear…

In the darkest of night they shine brightest of all.