When the feature-length Western Jacob's Lane premiered this spring at the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott, Arizona, it was more than just a random event.
Some of the film was shot on location at the historical campus's Fort Miserly cabin, built in 1864, and so, it was a homecoming of sorts. Another location used was the Palace Restaurant and Saloon on downtown's Whiskey Row. The Palace is the oldest restaurant-bar operating in the state.
That throughline will continue next month when the movie has its festival premiere at the Prescott Film Festival on July 15th. Writer-director Barry Tolli, who teaches media arts at Prescott High School and film production at Yapavi College, was at the same event in 2024 to present his short documentary The Wolf in the Chute, about local bareback bronco rider Braylon Johnson.
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| Tolli (left) at March museum screening [Facebook] |
Jacob's Lane straddles two centuries. The film skips back and forth between 1887, when Jacob Bonner (Travis Mills) discovers a massive gold nugget but is forced to bury it after being mortally wounded, and present-day, when his great-grandson Lane (Robby Feagins) sets out to find the nugget in hopes of using the proceeds to retain his family's ranch. Mills is himself a longtime director-producer, with dozens of credits including the 2025 Armie Hammer-Thomas Jane feature Frontier Crucible.
"The original idea for the film came from local stories of gold miners in the area being raided and having to hide their gold to protect it from constant threats," Tolli told the Prescott eNews. "From there a story of family history, sacrifice and legacy came to mind. I dedicated this film to my father because of his love for movies and his tireless effort to give my sister and I a better life than we had. These things resonate throughout the movie."
Tolli has some pretty interesting history of his own. In 1998, he was selected out of high school in the eighth round of the MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers. He played three seasons in their farm system as well as one with the Angels. He later switched to football and was a wide receiver in junior college, earning a scholarship to Utah State University.
The Southern California native originally moved to Prescott to be the varsity baseball coach at Prescott High School, which he did for three years before segueing to the arts teaching side. His wife Katherine also co-stars in Jacob's Lane.
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