What began as a website project turned into something much deeper for filmmaker Heidi Cataldo-Warren, who discovered not just a town’s history, but what she calls its “living soul.”

“The name of the film Wartrace: A Living Soul stems from the history that I was researching when I was doing their website,” she said. “I recognized it as having this living soul that’s been passed down through the generations.”

That recognition sparked a documentary which explores the rich, often overlooked, stories of Wartrace—a small Middle Tennessee town just outside of Shelbyville with Civil War ties, unique architecture, and a deeply connected community. The film is the first installment of what Cataldo-Warren says will become a series.

“I’ve always been in the entertainment industry—writing, editing, film, photography, teaching, business. I know the business end of it,” she said. “When I started making the website and realized that there was a lot of history at the town, I kind of felt like they didn’t know some of it. I had to dig to find the answers.”

The upcoming film marks Cataldo-Warren’s first directorial and editorial debut in feature-length film-making.

Some of her family was born in New York and Israel; 13 members of the family moved down to Tennessee.

“I didn’t grow up in Wartrace, but a lot of my brothers did. When I came home, I came back to the family home,” she said. “I never really lived in Wartrace outside of a year when I moved back home 10 years ago, but it felt like a different place . . . there was a different vibe when I came back this time than when I left.”

Researching Wartrace opened a door to powerful stories, and people like Carolyn Smotherman of the Bedford County Archives Association helped uncover them.

“She was pivotal,” the filmmaker said. “She helped me dig up so much stuff, things that I was finding that she didn’t know, and things she would find for me that I had no idea I’d ever see. As soon as I realized I was carrying something I could give to everybody else, I had a huge heart for the project.”

Wartrace residents Irma Stephens Troxler, born Nov 1922,
and Don Gallagher, music lover, guitar maker and local political figure.

Wartrace: A Living Soul features four interviewees, including 102-year-old Irma Troxler

“I had to get it done before she passed,” Cataldo-Warren says. “She knows, we kind of both laugh about it.”

Another of the film’s interviewees is Blossom Merryman, an expert in historical preservation.

Merryman owns the town’s oldest standing building, built in 1852.

“There’s some architecture in that area that is not common in other areas,” the filmmaker said.

Wartrace’s role in American history is also surprisingly significant.

“It was pivotal in a lot of the wars because the train stopped through there, so it made it a key logistic area,” Cataldo-Warren noted.

But the filmmaker insists it’s the people, not the past alone, that make Wartrace truly unique.

“What makes it most different is the way that the community cooperates and really is cohesive as a singular network,” she said. “It’s getting back to that now. We’ve got a new group in our government, and we’re starting to see the paths of the history lead into our future again.”

Producing the documentary did not come without its hurdles.

“I wasn’t fully equipped for really pulling together a professional film,” the filmmaker admitted. “I had sold my studio when I moved back 10 years ago. I had to recollect pieces just to make it feasible. The audio was also a challenge. If I didn’t have the skills in editing that I had, I think I might not have shown this.”

Despite the obstacles, the film has generated excitement amongst moviegoers. A media screening earlier this summer led to requests for broader showings.

“A lot of people saw it and were like, ‘Yeah, we want to show this to other people.’”

The project is also expected to expand beyond the first release. “This is going to be a series,” she said. “When you see the first one, you’ll see. It’s just a little taste of each one of the different aspects that make Wartrace completely unique. If you look at it as a center of a wheel, each topic can spoke out and be its own 55-minute documentary.”

Cataldo-Warren is currently reviewing a licensing agreement and has secured a broadcast commitment from Channel 6 the Link out of Tullahoma. She’s also working with sponsors to produce commercials that will air alongside the film.

For the filmmaker, this work is about more than preserving the past; it’s about giving something meaningful back to a town that left a mark on her life.

The film’s grand debut will take place on Aug. 9 at The Keep and the Carriage-House in Wartrace, with catering and a chance to meet the cast included in the event.

For more information on the documentary project, visit alivingsoul.info.