The main character in “Only The Lord Will Set You Free” is Pete, who at the beginning of the short film, finds himself “bound in the back of a van, a bomb strapped to him,” according to the brief synopsis of the film on IMDb.
“As he recalls internet chats with a girl known as MOAB_Didion,” the synopsis continues, “it’s clear the line between online love and ideological fantasy has collapsed into real-world danger.”
The 7 ½ minute short is beginning to make the rounds on the film festival circuit, garnering a spot in the Nashville Film Festival, and according to McManus Woodend, who both produces and stars in the film, the film could land in other festivals.
And… it was filmed in Henderson.
Woodend, a Henderson resident who is an Assistant Professor of Digital Media at the University of Southern Indiana and has worked in film, television and commercials for more than 20 years, said it won’t be the last film shot here. (By the way, Woodend writes a movie preview piece each month for the Hendersonian.)
He said that the crew, which was made up of both New York City industry professionals and USI students and alumni, still message him about the time spent here on the three-day shoot last August. The place made an impression, including the Audubon State Park cabins where the crew lodged, he said.
He also pointed to the work of the Henderson Tourist Commission and Executive Director Abby Dixon during the shoot.
“If it wasn’t for Abby, a lot of things wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
Last January, scenes for the film “Holly Jolly” were shot in downtown Henderson, and that came as a direct result of the community’s membership in the West Kentucky Film Commission.
Woodend said he had been wanting to work with his friend, Max Tullio, who wrote and directed the film, and was also a producer, since their last project together, a film titled “Fall ’99” that was released in 2019.
So, when Tullio contacted him about “Only The Lord,” Woodend read the script and was all in. He, however, suggested filming in rural Kentucky instead of California where Tullio had originally envisioned the setting.
For three days in August 2025, the crew worked in Henderson, shooting the interior scenes at Elevate, including a garage, bedroom, computer lab. Exterior scenes were shot at Woodend’s home, Elevate and on LaRue Road for a shot of rural America, Woodend said.
Being able to shoot so many scenes at Elevate kept the group from hopping all over town, Woodend said.
Woodend, who has also worked as one of the Geico cavemen in the popular television commercials, said Henderson is one of the better places he’s been a part of in terms of resources and the help to get those resources to do the job.
He said Henderson has so many images, locations and people that need their story told and sees more shoots occurring here. He wants to be a part of it.
“Henderson will be the go to (for his future projects),” he said.
It doesn’t hurt that USI in 2027 will start a film program, which he is heading, and he foresees those film students being a built-in base for crew members looking for experience on a set.
“Only The Lord Will Set You Free” stars Woodend, Tim Griffin Allen, Violette Trotter and Esther E. Addis. The short will show at the Nashville Film Festival at 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 25.
Woodend hopes that the film can make a local showing, but a public screening wouldn’t occur until after it finishes its festival run.
For more information about the film, go to its IMDb page here.
