NOVI, Mich.—A motion picture that was partially filmed on location at Toledo’s Monastery of the Visitation premieres Aug. 1 at Emagine Theatre in Novi, Mich.

From left, Joe Maher and Luke Kuschel shoot a scene with actresses Paige Pilarski and Mary Rose Maher in the cemetery of the Monastery of the Visitation in Toledo in August 2009. (Chronicle file photo)

Based on a true story, “Leonie!” is directed by Joseph Robert Maher from a screenplay he wrote based on the life of Leonie Martin of Alencon, France, sister of St. Therese (Martin), known the world over to Catholics as the “Little Flower.” The film stars an all-Michigan cast of 87 actors, including Mary Rose Maher of Dryden who stars in the title role.

The film is produced by Holy Trinity Productions I with its founder, Barbara M. Middleton, serving as executive producer.

Set in France during the late 1800s, the film tells the story of Leonie Martin, a young bourgeoisie woman with a difficult nature who causes great emotional stress and suffering for her mother Zelie (Carrie Kot). Leonie wreaks havoc with the religious superiors in the monasteries she tries in vain to enter. Her extreme emotional outbursts and stubborn nature begin to ease when she meets and befriends a caring younger nun, Sister Jeanne Marguerite (Paige Pilarski), who lovingly helps Leonie endure the many trials and tribulations of her hard life filled with chronic illness, an agonizing skin disorder and severe learning disabilities.

“Leonie!” also stars Jeff Barron as Louis Martin the father of Leonie whose devotion for her is manifest in his unfailing belief in the goodness of his troubled daughter. Genevieve Lang, Megan Wolf and Samantha Lang play the affectionate sisters of Leonie who, after the death of their parents, grow up to one-by-one heartbreakingly leave Leonie to enter the Carmelite monastery from which Leonie is barred.

Mrs. Middleton said she it was while she was researching the life of St. Therese of Lisieux that she learned about her “forgotten sister,” Leonie Martin. “She totally captured my heart,” said Mrs. Middleton, who was inspired by Leonie’s perseverance in overcoming the many struggles she faced during her lifetime.

Some of the more striking features of the film are the spectacular settings used in most of the scenes.

Perhaps the most intriguing backdrop is the Monastery of the Visitation, a cloistered religious community in Toledo that allowed the filmmakers to shoot several scenes on the grounds of the monastery in August 2009. 

The monastery is under papal enclosure, meaning guests typically may not enter the enclosure. However, Bishop Leonard P. Blair of the Diocese of Toledo granted the filmmakers special permission to enter the monastery.

“In the movie, people will see for the first time, life behind the walls of a monastery in the United States that has preserved the original observance and habits since the founding of their order by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantel in the 1600s,” said Mrs. Middleton. “It’s my understanding that no other U.S. production company has ever been allowed behind the walls of a cloistered religious community.”

The cast and crew spent three and a half weeks filming in the monastery, and “nothing was off limits,” according to Mrs. Middleton.

She credits Visitation Sister Sharon Elizabeth Gworek and Visitation Sister Mary Bernard Grote, the two mother superiors for the community she has worked with over the past two years, and Bishop Blair for giving the filmmakers access inside the monastery.

Mr. Maher, the film’s writer and director, calls the monastery one of the most extraordinary places he has ever been.

“The monastery is magnificent and the austere lifestyle these sisters live with such joy is truly amazing,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to share this place with the rest of the world.”

Other unique locations featured in the film included a restored late 1880s French architecture historical home in Romeo, Mich., the 135-year-old Bunert Schoolhouse, located on the property of Warren Woods Tower High School, the Monastery of St. Therese in Clinton Township, and St. Mary’s of Redford Parish in Detroit.

Mrs. Middleton said more than 1,000 tickets have already been sold for the premiere of “Leonie!” at Emagine Theater, 44425 West 12 Mile Rd., Novi. While the first three showings have sold out, tickets are still available for a 7:40 p.m. screening of the film through the Emagine Novi website at www.emagine-entertainment.com/visMovieInfo.aspx?MovieName=Leonie.

Interest in the film has been high and the executive producer said she is still working with three distributors in an effort to distribute the film to more theatres around the country before it is released to DVD.

“It’s a slow process,” said Mrs. Middleton. “We’ve come this far. I mean who would imagine, our first movie is a feature film?”