Michael Glover Smith Sets Fifth Feature Film ‘Hekla’ for August, Announces Cast and Crew [Exclusive]

Award-winning Chicago writer/director Michael Glover Smith (Relative, Mercury in Retrograde) will begin principal photography on his fifth feature film, Hekla, in August, and his full cast and crew are set and ready to roll.

Smith describes the new film as a “spinoff” of his most successful work, 2022’s micro-budget Relative, which grossed over $26,000 theatrically after screening in 17 states and was released on digital last year by Music Box Films. Smith told SCREEN that Hekla will be “a comedy about a day in the life of a Chicago-based actress played by Elizabeth Stam” who earned acclaim for the same role in Relative. Unlike Smith’s previous movies, all of which boast ensemble casts, Hekla will be a “virtual one-woman show” where Stam, who also co-wrote the screenplay, appears in every scene.

In an exclusive chat with SCREEN, Smith said that he’s “long wanted to make a film about the inner life of an artist – how their memories from the past and their feelings in the present invariably inform their work – and also how they attempt to balance their personal and professional lives during particularly hectic times. Hekla is giving me the chance to do just that. It’s the fulfillment of a nearly decade-long dream and Elizabeth Stam, who is a force of nature as both an actress and a writer, is my ideal collaborator for this project.”

The supporting cast will include veterans from the worlds of Chicago film, television and theater including Mary Tilden (Rough River Lake), Sadieh Rifai (Shining Girls), Grant Carriker (Invictus Theatre’s upcoming production of Angels in America), Susaan Jamshidi (Chicago PD), Sadie Rogers (Princess Cyd) and Brookelyn Hebert (Empire). Returning from Relative in brief roles will be Twin Peaks legend Wendy Robie as Narrator and Cameron Scott Roberts (The Walking Dead) in the role of Benji Frank. Internationally acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Sandro Miller (Psychogenic Fugue) will also have a cameo as himself.

Aaron Wertheimer (Not If I See You First), who produced Relative, will again be in the lead producer’s chair here. Hekla also represents a first-time collaboration between Smith and Sweet Void Cinema, the local production company and exhibition space founded by Jack McCoy, who will serve as the film’s Executive Producer. Sweet Void associate Jose Perez whose own acclaimed first feature as director, What Rhymes with Magdalena?, recently world premiered at the Chicago Latino Film Festival, will serve as Director of Photography. Regular Smith collaborator Eric Marsh (Orders) will handle editing duties and UK-based musician Trev Gibb (King of the Sea) will compose the original score.

Hekla will begin filming on August 10 with an expected wrap date later the same month. The team will be making its way all over the city with notable filming locations ranging from Wicker Park’s Den Theatre to north-side watering holes like Cunneen’s Bar and Lizards Liquid Lounge.

A festival debut of Hekla will likely occur in 2026.

In the meantime, you can check out Relative, which has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100% based on a dozen reviews, via distributor Music Box Films by clicking here.

Many more updates ahead as cameras get ready to roll in August. Be sure to check back here at SCREEN Magazine for the latest news from the Chicago and Illinois independent filmmaking community. You can also click right here to subscribe to our weekly email newsletter.