Remember HB 1523? This film does, and it opens Friday

Tammy Devin was full of nervous energy Thursday. Her excitement was palpable and with good reason.

On Friday, her labor of love will have its first public screening.

Devin’s film, “Meanwhile in Mississippi,” shot in Long Beach, will open at 6 p.m. at the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center in Ocean Springs. General-admission tickets are $10. Part of the proceeds will go to Warriors for Willow, a fundraising effort for an Ocean Springs child with an ultra-rare medical condition.

“I’m so excited that people will get to finally see the film on Friday,” Devin said.

She started making the film in June 2016. It deals with the fallout of last year’s notorious HB 1523 and what could happen if the bill became law. She said the film is a mix of comedy and science fiction.

“It’s about a young couple living on the Coast where everyone is getting along — the Coast that I’ve experienced — and the bill is passed and every day they wake up, the bill is passed again based on a different religion,” she said. “It goes from excitement to fear and in the end, it’s deadly chaos.”

“Meanwhile in Mississippi” features Clarksdale Mayor and former gubernatorial candidate Bill Luckett.

Devin said there will also be other films to watch at the premiere.

“It’s going to be like a mini film festival — Rochelle Harper will be debuting her new video ‘Mississippi Gulf Coast Hippie’ and we will have a screening of ‘Monsters Anonymous’ and several films made in Mississippi,” she said.

After the film’s premiere, Devin said she plans to take it on the festival circuit.

“We hope to get it into several festivals,” she said. “So if you want to see it, come out Friday night because it may be a while before it shows on the Coast again.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 2:19 PM with the headline "Remember HB 1523? This film does, and it opens Friday."