What do Louisville and the movie “Drop Dead Fred” have in common? Hint: It's about Carly Johnson

Well, the director of “Drop Dead Fred,” the cult classic film about imaginary friends, Ato De Jong, will premiere his new film “Heart Strings” this Saturday, September 7th in Louisville at Paristown. But wait, that's not the best part. Local singer-songwriters Carly Johnson and Sam Varga star in the film and the movie was shot entirely in Louisville. The film follows the lives of musicians on their journey to discover what matters most to them.

For Carly Johnson, the film not only represents her cinematic debut, but also a gentle return to something she enjoyed doing in her youth: acting.

“Other than a little theater in high school, this is definitely my film debut. I did a couple of musicals in high school and was in the Walden Theater for two years. I always loved it,” Johnson said in a phone interview with LEO.

“I've never done anything like this before. So it was definitely a big first for me.”

Johnson's involvement came about through her connection to Gill Holland's record label SonaBlast!.

“They approached SonaBlast!, the local label owned by Gill Holland. And they were really interested in having musicians in the lead roles because the characters in the film are musicians and they just like the authenticity there.”

The director saw Johnson's video for “Burn Your Fears” and wanted her to collaborate with him on the film.

The Atherton High School graduate actually got the role through an unusual audition process. Instead of the usual performance for a role, she had a series of video calls with the director, the screenwriter and the actor who plays her husband in the film, Stephen Said.

“It really came out of nowhere for me, but I've always wanted to be in a movie. I felt so happy and excited and I'm not really into country music, but I thought, 'This is cool.'

Johnson is a soul singer who found her way to music with the help of a teacher during her difficult school years.

“Looking back now, I must have just been really depressed or having anxiety attacks because towards the end of my penultimate year, when I was moving into my senior year, I just stopped going to school,” Johnson said. “I was this straight-A student and suddenly I was like, 'I'm not getting up in the morning anymore.' I just went to the chamber singer and they said, 'You're not going to get into college.' Like, 'You have to sing.'”

Her choir teacher gave Johnson the guidance she needed and fortunately her grades were good enough to get her accepted into the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

From her childhood singing Disney songs to her difficult teenage years to her 14-year life as a professional musician, Johnson is proud to share “Heart Strings” with her hometown. The event will also feature a concert by the performers before the film screening.

“I don't know if you've ever heard of Seratones. AJ Haynes is one of the characters and the lead singer. She's great. She was a backup singer for a while with the Black Pumas,” Johnson said. “She'll be there. She'll sing. I'll sing. The lead actress in the movie is Maggie Kerner. She's from Lafayette, just outside of New Orleans. She'll sing, and Sam Vargas from Louisville.”

The event begins on Saturday, September 7, at Christy's Garden (720 Brent St.) in Paristown with the red carpet at 6 p.m., the concert at 7 p.m. and the film screening around 8:15 p.m. as the sun sets.

Tickets for the premiere can be purchased at paristown.com.

Watch the trailer for the film: