Central PA film holds one of its first showings in Annville

“Lonely,” the debut film by writer and director Ty Sheetz, was shown at the Allen Theatre in Annville as one of the first theaters to see the movie that was shot throughout Central Pennsylvania.

Annville residents might have received one of around 500 mailers that were sent out to advertise the screenings.

The story revolves around the older character Ruth Wilson, who lives alone in York and tries to reconnect with her estranged daughter and form a relationship through speed dating. Sheetz said filming took place in York, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Carlisle, Enola, and Lemoyne.

“I grew up in Central Pennsylvania all my life, living in Mechanicsburg, and I’ve wanted to be a filmmaker since I was 8 years old,” Sheetz said. “Ever since then, I’ve been on the path to chasing that dream, and here in 2025, I get to say that I’ve achieved the dream.”

He said the idea was inspired by his real-life experience with his grandparents, though it wasn’t a direct one-to-one. After his grandfather died in 2023 due to brain cancer, Sheetz watched his grandmother become more isolated.

“I watched her go from married for 60-something years to being single,” he said. “Watching that loneliness, her deal with that or transition into that lifestyle sparked the idea for a film or for a story about an elderly woman being lonely.”

Though the movie explores loneliness through the perspective of an older person who doesn’t want to move into a nursing home, Sheetz said the feeling of being alone isn’t experienced by one age demographic.

“Loneliness knows no boundaries. It doesn’t care about who you are or where you’ve been, or even how old you are,” he said. “I would say now more than ever, there’s people across many generations who are lonely.”

At some point before or after each showing, there are pamphlets available for viewers, and someone speaks about reaching out to others in the community.

Sheetz said he wants the movie to push people to look into their own lives. Is there someone they know who might be facing things alone? Are they able to reach out more and offer support and community?

He said about 50% of the cast and crew are local to Central Pennsylvania, and the other 50% came from elsewhere in the U.S. Showings started in the area but are now moving out to other states.

He said people can reach out to revelationscinema.com with a location they’d like to see the film. The team is constantly looking for tips and leads on where people would like to see the movie or communities where the message could be useful.