“Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s” is a movie project created by homeschool families in Virginia. It started as a filmmaking exercise and grew into a full-length feature movie that’s now being distributed internationally on platforms including Amazon Video, Apple TV, iTunes Movies, and Google Play Movies.
The production team had two primary goals in making this movie. First, to create a clean, fun, entertaining movie with a professional level of quality that could be commercially distributed, thereby creating paying jobs in our local community.
Second, to portray homeschoolers and people of faith with dignity and respect, confronting the stereotypes and misconceptions that are usually attached to our lifestyle.
Many families are cancelling subscriptions to Netflix and cable because they’re fed up with the nudity, profanity, graphic violence, sexual situations that now seem to be a requirement for movie or TV show distribution. They’re also frustrated with never seeing people involved in church or expressing their faith in a way that many of us consider our normal everyday lives.
Homeschoolers are painfully aware of the stereotypes and misconceptions that we deal with on a regular basis. Being portrayed as odd, unsocialized, and poorly educated are just a few of the issues. Mainstream movies and media don’t do much to change that. In most “young adult” movies, kids go to public school or private school. Homeschooling is almost never mentioned. That absence makes homeschooling appear to be “unheard of”, even though millions of people are involved in it worldwide! When homeschooling is mentioned, it’s usually portrayed with the usual stereotypes.
Our tiny team of filmmakers decided to change all that.
The plot of the movie (without spoiling the surprises) shows high school age homeschoolers in a variety of educational situations, from sitting at their laptops, to participating in games and experiments in a co-op/support group setting. We later see the homeschool grads go on to be successful business owners, doctors, spies, and … well you’ll have to watch the movie.
In many mainstream movies, parents are portrayed as incompetent and out of touch. Our team decided to deliberately contradict that trope as well. The parental characters in this movie are intelligent, admirable, and have a close, loving relationship with their children.
In our movie, the church and the pastor are integral parts of the life of the small town. While this isn’t being marketed as a “faith based movie” per se, we included a clear message that faith is a normal part of everyday life.
Many of the “Mount Hideaway Mysteries” cast and crew members come from homeschooling backgrounds…
Stacey Bradshaw, who co-stars in Mount Hideaway Mysteries is a homeschool grad and has had major roles in a number of motion pictures such as “Touched by Grace”, “Unplanned”, “Vindication” and many others. She plays Dr. Amy Bradford, the crime-scene investigator and town veterinarian. This role was written specifically for Stacey, who in real life has a great love of both mysteries and animals.
Brett Monk, writer, director, editor (and a lot of other crew positions) is a homeschooling dad with over 30 years of experience in film, TV, and radio. He is also a former church-planting pastor.
Mikayla Mulgrew Leybovich, the co-writer, producer, and lead actress, had just graduated from high school as a homeschooler when this project started. Yes, you read that correctly… this young lady graduated from homeschool and immediately went on to co-write, produce, and star in a movie that is now distributed commercially all over the world!
The film was shot on a micro-budget with a tiny crew. There were no corporate-owned studios or major investors involved. Most of the crew members volunteered their time and donated things like props and food for the workers. Local Virginia businesses also pitched in to provide locations, such as their farms, diners, hardware stores, and computer repair shops. These colorful locations add to the beauty and warmth of the movie.
You can buy the DVD on Amazon.com in most countries. The movie is available for sale or rent on streaming services including Amazon Video, Apple TV, iTunes Movies, and Google Play Movies. in 60 countries. The production team receives a percentage of the sales or rental fee from each movie viewing.
If you’re looking for a fun, clean movie with lots of adventure and plot twists, please consider buying or renting “Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s”. Also please consider sharing the message of this movie on social media platforms with folks that might appreciate it. If enough people watch this movie as a paid stream, we will be able to provide ongoing jobs for these talented and dedicated folks, and produce more movies like this one.
Buy the DVD with Special Bonus Features available on Amazon in most countries (NTSC format). The DVD includes the feature film (of course) plus the following additional video features …
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- The Movie Trailer
- Special Effects Breakdown and Explanation
- Cast and Crew Reactions to Seeing the Movie for the First Time
- The mini-documentary, “A Homeschool Dad’s Perspective on Movie-Making”
- A Behind the Scenes Musical Montage set to the original bluegrass tune “Mount Hideaway Blues”
Or stream the movie on your Phone, Tablet, Computer, (or your actual TV of course).
You DON’T need a SUBSCRIPTION or any special software! Just click any of the links below to buy or rent the movie.
