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Toledo, Ohio. The Glass City. Home of the Toledo Mud Hens, arguably the world’s best known minor-league baseball team. Also, home of Tony Packo’s hot dogs, famously plugged by Jamie Farr on M*A*S*H. A Midwest city full of manufacturing grit, stubborn pride and possibilities to become … the next Hollywood?
Okay, maybe not Hollywood-Hollywood. No one’s rolling out a Walk of Fame on Collingwood Boulevard anytime soon. But something’s happening here filmwise, and it’s worth paying attention to.
Toledo as the scene
In the past couple of years, Toledo has hosted 20th Century Studios’ action-comedy Eenie Meanie (starring Samara Weaving), which filmed scenes at Hollywood Casino Toledo, for what could be the best part of the movie. Also The Office spin-off series, The Paper, is set in a fictional newsroom, the Toledo Truth Teller, right in our city. And Otto, played by Tom Hanks, wandered Toledo’s sunlit streets, filmed quietly, capturing history, stone, shadows, and everyday life moments.
And props to the growing indie scene here, with filmmakers making honest, thoughtful work. It’s hard not to notice the momentum.
A twist of Fate
At the center of that wave is Toledo- area filmmaker Vanessa Leonard. Her second feature, Unwrapping Fate, premieres January 17 at the Maumee Indoor — a perfect venue for a film like this. Toledoans don’t want flashy. We want intimate, nostalgic, and definitely local.
Which tells you everything you need to know: that story belongs here. The story follows Laura (Victoria Rinker), who retreats to a small town after a painful separation, hoping peace is something she can still obtain by selecting a location on a map. That illusion shatters when her dad has a stroke and pulls her back to the city— and back into complicated territory with her ex-husband Jeremy (Elliott Kreim).
It’s the kind of situation most of us dread. You know, when life forces an emotional reconciliation before you’ve finished doing your homework. So, their unplanned reunion asks a deceptively simple question: Has time healed any- thing, or just rearranged the mess?
Vanessa of all trades
Props to Leonard for wearing every hat during this production. She’s behind the camera, in the editing room, vetting the story, directing the actors, and even appearing on screen.
That DIY approach has been Leonard’s style since her debut feature, A Story Worth Living, a stripped-down mental health drama that tackled depression, hope and the uphill battle to maintain the belief that your life still means something. Unwrapping Fate continues Leonard’s emotionally grounded storytelling with something to say about the messiness of our relationships colliding.
At 64 minutes, the film’s pace is clearly designed to keep things lean and focused. Thank you for avoiding the 150 minute runtimes that seem to be the norm these days.
Yes, the film was shot in Toledo and Findlay. And if you watch the trailer closely, I’m 99.9% sure Fifth Third Field sneaks in for a cameo. Which, frankly, should be a selling point. Mud Hens baseball belongs in more movies. Leonard brings Laura’s world to life with real, local voices. Toledo authenticity at its finest.
For Northwest Ohio, Unwrapping Fate keeps the creative momentum alive, proving that local stories, passion and heart are thriving here.
Unwrapping Fate premieres January 17.
Maumee Indoor Theater. Tickets $11.44.
maumeeindoor.com
