Oklahoma Native Planning Film About Veteran's Struggle With Mental Illness

One of Oklahoma's own is raising funds to make a feature film about a young veteran's struggle with mental illness.

The script, by Sallisaw native Jonathan Looper, is based on the story of his childhood friend.

Looper wrote and starred in the short film, "My Only Son," after he said an old friend messaged him on Facebook. Looper said he hadn't spoken to Dustin DeMoss since DeMoss and his family moved from Sallisaw to Texas, when they were both kids.

Looper said DeMoss opened up to him about being diagnosed with schizophrenia--this after leaving the Air Force to come home and care for his mother, who was battling ovarian cancer. When his friend said he wished he were a writer, so he could share his experience to help others, Looper, who was working on his master's degree at Georgetown University, got the idea to make a short film.

"My Only Son," is now in consideration at several film festivals, Looper says, and got some national attention in an article on Huffington Post. It has not yet been released.

But Looper said the short could not tell the whole story. That's why he hopes to make a feature-length film, currently titled, "Light Wounds."

Looper started an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for the production. His goal is to raise $107,000, and he hopes to start filming in early 2014.

Looper, who now lives in Los Angeles, said he wrote the script so that most of it could be filmed in Oklahoma.

Click here to see the trailer for "My Only Son" and find out how you can contribute