Johnnie Keyes remembers the first time she saw Letters from Home, the short film produced and directed by her two daughters Karen and Keva.

She received a phone call in the office on a Friday afternoon. Karen and Keva told her to meet them in the parking lot next to the CSU football field. When she arrived, she was greeted by her daughters who took her into a Winnebago. Inside, she watched the short film for the first time.

“It was emotional,” said Keyes, who works in the L. Mendel Rivers Library at CSU. “It left me wanting more.”

In March Keyes joined her daughters for the Lowcountry premiere of the film at the 2010 Charleston Film Festival. The film, written and directed by Keva Keyes and produced by her sister Karen, was recorded on 35 millimeter film over one-and-one-half days.

“A director requested a reel,” said Keva. “Once I decided Afghanistan would be the setting, I built upon my uncle’s military experiences. From a film production stand point I’ve worked on a number of military projects. So I’m familiar with the lives of soldiers.”

Filmed in Charleston last July, the short introduces a team of U.S. Army soldiers deployed to a remote base in Afghanistan. As SFC Hargrove’s team prepares for a mission, the always anticipated mail call occurs. It’s through this brief encounter we are able to get to know the team members and witness the effects the letters have on them.

Both Keva and Karen Keyes are CSU alumni (’95). Since then, the sisters have worked on dozens of television and movie productions including Semper Fi, The Notebook, One Tree Hill, Dear John and Army Wives. The experience has paid off. Initial screenings have already received national recognition.

In May Letters from Home was part of the 4th Annual GI Film Festival in Washington, D.C.

Keva’s recent short screenplay, The Hunt for the Golden Cobra, was a finalist in the 2010 International Family Film Festival. She plans to direct the film in the fall with a crew of professionals and students enrolled in the Trident Technical College Film Production Program.