EP native returns home for movie shoot

Adam Bartley’s path from the Eden Prairie High School stage to national television acclaim reached a significant milestone this winter when he returned to Eden Prairie to film the murder mystery “Unholy Communion.”

Known for his roles in “Longmire” and “Night Sky,” Bartley, a 1997 EPHS graduate, was back plying his craft in the community where his acting journey began.

Bartley said filming in Eden Prairie took place over six to seven days at True Friends Camp Eden Wood, located in the woods on Birch Island Lake, just west of the intersection of Interstate 494 and Highway 62.

“And so here I am filming in Eden Prairie,” Bartley said earlier this month from Los Angeles. “I was five minutes away from where I first began acting at Eden Prairie High School, and now I’m doing it on camera for this really great film. It was such a beautiful full-circle moment for me.”

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Unexpected opportunity

Bartley’s return to his hometown for filming came in the aftermath of the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes, which had ushered in a difficult time for those in the industry.

“I didn’t really have anything going on for about a year, and that was true for most people out here,” he said. “That’s really tough creatively, and it really stymies you financially.”

His uncertainty extended into the holiday season of 2023. “Then I went to Minnesota for Christmas, and I didn’t really know what my plan was going to be,” he said. “I didn’t know when I’d come back to LA or how long I’d stay and spend time with family.”

While home for the holidays, Bartley received a call “out of nowhere” from his aunt about a local film project, ultimately leading to his role in Unholy Communion.

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“She told me there was a friend of hers who was the wife of a writer of a book, and that book was being made into a movie, and it was shooting in January,” Bartley recalled.

Adapted for the screen and set to be directed by Patrick Coyle from Thomas Rumreich’s novel, the film piqued Bartley’s interest.

“First of all, I didn’t even know that people were making movies in Minnesota,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ And she said, ‘Should I give you the number for the director?’ And I’m like, ‘No, no, no, you can tell the director if they’re interested in me, they can give me a call.'”

Soon after, Coyle called Bartley, expressing admiration for his work and offering him the lead role.

After reading the script, Bartley was captivated by its story and depth. He immediately shared his enthusiasm with his agent and manager. “It took a little while, but we got (the deal) done,” he said.

Character insights

Bartley plays Chris Majek, a small-town investigator on the trail of a serial killer who preys on priests. Vincent Kartheiser, the Apple Valley native who portrayed Pete Campbell on AMC’s Mad Men, also stars in the film.

“It’s a story about secrets that we keep and secrets we hold on to and things that if we don’t deal with them and don’t work through them, they metastasize and turn into darkness,” Bartley said.

Though set in Scandia, a real town about 25 to 30 miles northeast of the Twin Cities, “Unholy Communion” was primarily filmed in St. Paul. The entire film shoot spanned about a month, starting in late January.

Buildings on the grounds of Camp Eden Wood in Eden Prairie, initially established as a tuberculosis sanatorium in 1925 and later repurposed as a camp for children with developmental disabilities, were used as the film’s first crime scene and the Scandia police station.

Eden Prairie was selected as a filming location without Bartley’s knowledge or involvement.

“They go location scouting, and it was just random how they happened to find something in Eden Prairie,” he said.

Bartley described acting in the movie, now in post-production, as “one of the great experiences of my life.”

“The crews and the talent in Minnesota are much more advanced than I anticipated,” he said. “I had the most incredible time playing this character and working with Patrick, the director, and the other actors.”

He’s uncertain about the movie’s premiere date but anticipates a theatrical release followed by availability on streaming platforms. “Hopefully, they’ll also submit it to festivals,” he said. “That would be a real joy to go see it.”

Minnesota’s film boom

Before taking the role, Bartley was unaware of Minnesota’s rapidly growing film scene.

In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature increased its film tax credit cap from $5 million to $25 million to attract more large-scale movie and TV projects.

“There’s going to be a lot of things coming into Minnesota over the next few years,” Bartley said. “It’s now enticing productions from everywhere to come and bring more productions into Minnesota.”

Bartley said filming “Unholy Communion” in Minnesota sparked his desire for a more significant artistic presence in his home state. He envisions a future where he can teach acting and film more projects locally.

“It’s exciting for a lot of kids growing up (in Minnesota); they’re going to have more opportunities to work on camera than I did,” Bartley said of the tax credits that could bring more work to TV and movie productions in Minnesota. “That’s just thrilling to me. I love the work. I grew up in the theater in Eden Prairie, then went to theater school in Dallas, and after that, I was in New York and all over the country, but I’ve only been doing on-camera work for the last 15 years. And I really have fallen in love with it, more so than anything else. I’m excited to be able to do more of it in Minnesota.”

Bartley’s next steps

As for his next job, Bartley is auditioning.

“I’ve got a few things in the cooker that are heating up, and we’ll see where it goes,” he said. “There’s some talk of making more movies with these people that I made the movie with in Minnesota.”

He credits his high school teachers, choir teacher Julie Kanthak and drama directors Rolf Olson and Susie Sime, for their profound impact on his career.

Olson and his wife, Cindy, visited the “Unholy Communion” set in Eden Prairie. “(Olson) was one of my first directors at the high school and a real mentor to me,” Bartley said. “We’ve stayed close.”

“There’s no way I get to where I’ve gotten in my career, and I get to enjoy all of these wonderful experiences as an actor, without the development and the care and the love that I got and the support that I got from my teachers at high school,” he said.

He noted that Kanthak, Olson, and Sime are all retired, but they spent their lives devoted to kids.

“I’m one of the major beneficiaries of their work and a school that supports the arts, supports theater, invests in theater, and invests in the performing arts, giving opportunities to kids,” he said. “I hope that Eden Prairie continues to give kids an opportunity to reach for their dreams.”