Kevin Byrnes spent his college years guiding visitors through the beauty of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).

So when it came time for the filmmaker to write and shoot a feature-length film about a couple retreating to sort their lives out, Byrnes knew where the film needed to be shot.

Heart of Wilderness, a movie filmed in May 2014, at Garden Lake on the edge of the BWCAW, receives a screening at 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 19, at Vermilion Community College Theater in Ely.

The screening is free and open to the public.

"Because we shot the film in the (Ely) area, this is an opportunity to show it to the people there, showcase it, and have them see what other people across the country are seeing," said Byrnes, of St. Paul.

The 84-minute independent film has so far been screened at film events in North Carolina, Minneapolis-St. Paul., and Duluth.

"When we shot it, there was a lot of interest by the locals asking when they could see it," said Towle Neu, of Minneapolis, who directed and co-wrote the film. "From a shooting standpoint, in our wildest dreams I don't think it could have gone any better. We had ice-out a week before we started shooting. Our cinematographer Andre Durand really captured the beauty of the Boundary Waters and the support we got from locals was great."

In 2015, Heart of the Wilderness won the Duluth Superior Film Festival Maximus Lepus Award, presented to the best film of the festival as determined by a panel of jurors.

"It's always great to win something like that because there were a lot of good films at the festival," said Neu.

Heart of the Wilderness is about a blue-collar couple in which the husband is facing a crossroads and trying not to fall further in life.

"It starts with him doing something that he shouldn't have and forces the two main characters to be able to talk about secrets that couples don't always talk about," said Neu. "They retreat to the Boundary Waters because this is a place to hide and sort things out."

Production costs were assisted by the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board's (IRRRB) Film Production Incentive Grant Program. Under the program, filmmakers which film within the IRRRB service area are reimbursed 20 percent of eligible expenses up to $500,000 per production.

The program has assisted in the filming of several feature-length movies in northeastern Minnesota.

"The rebate is certainly a motivator," said Byrnes. "Things always cost more than you think. But beyond that, there are people up there who are willing to help. You get the scenic beauty, but the other thing you have are the personnel who are willing to help filmmakers find locations. The more you support a filmmaker, the better."

Screenings of Heart of Wilderness could lead to the film being bought by a distributor, said Neu.

To see a film trailer and learn more about the film visit: www.heartofwildnerness.com

Pictured above: In May of 2014, cast and crew members of the independent movie Heart of Wilderness found themselves filming on a partially frozen Garden Lake that borders the BWCAW.