The film is a story about six friends who get together for a chess tournament, changing their lives and their game. The film was shot on high-quality Hi8 video and runs approximately 80 minutes.

Laura Sherman, who wrote, produced, and starred in 'In the Open', took a film making workshop from Mandy Wildman at Wild Heart Studios, a Clearwater acting and filmmaking school, about a year ago. There she learned the nuts and bolts of ultra-low-budget film making. She and Wildman partnered up to form Wild Heart Films shortly afterwards.

The story for 'In The Open' was based on Sherman’s experiences as a tournament chess player. She spent a number of years playing around the country and became one of the top fifty women in the United States. "I’ve always had a passion for the game," says Sherman. "The diversity of the people one encounters never fails to amaze me."

Wildman, who executive-produced, directed and co-starred in this feature, enjoyed the challenge of recreating a real chess tournament. "The accuracy of the chess in this film is what makes 'In The Open' unique. Although it is a character-driven film, we strove to give the audience a glimpse into the world of the chess enthusiast."

'In the Open' had a budget of only $7,000, much less than the Blair Witch Project. "One doesn’t need millions of dollars to make a film," says Sherman. "In fact we only used half of the budget on production." Wildman and Sherman found the people of Florida very supportive of new filmmakers. Various restaurants and local merchants donated food, equipment and other items to the project.

The August issue of Chess Life, the national magazine of the United States Chess Federation, ran a two-page article on the film. The Federation has agreed to carry 'In The Open' in their Christmas catalogue. "I wanted to give something back to the chess community," Sherman says. "I'm hoping this film will get more young people interested in the game."

Jennifer Parramore, the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Film Commissioner was quoted in The Tampa Bay Business Journal, which ran a story on the female production team. "When people scout for locations or I give my pitch at meetings, there's very rarely a female in the room, much less two females working on the same project. In film making Cinderella stories really do happen."

Wild Heart Films is in pre-production on "All The World", a screenplay written by Wildman.