Mary Lirette grew up watching Eric Roberts on the screen.
With more than 800 film and TV credits to his name, the actor is hard to miss, but being cast in a film with him was something the Augusta University graduate never dreamed might happen.
“My mom was a massive fan. I grew up with Eric Roberts. He’s an incredible actor. I’ve always admired his work,” said Lirette, who plays Luna in the film “Holy Father,” which was shot in the Augusta area in 2025.
READ MORE: Eric Roberts films in Augusta
Roberts, an Academy Award nominee for his role in 1985’s “Runaway Train” and a three-time Golden Globe nominee for “Runaway Train”, “Star 80” in 1983 and “King of the Gypsies” in 1978, plays a seasoned exorcist named Father Isaac Wales, who enlists the aid of Luna who is a psychic.
Produced by SRHP Films in Evans, film execs are hopeful for a distribution deal and a Halloween 2026 release.
The flick has already made waves on the film festival circuit earning “best thriller” at both the Anatolia International Film Festival in Istanbul and the Hallucinea Film Festival in Paris. Roberts received the best actor award at Toronto’s Alternative Film Festival with Shravan Tiwari winning best director. “Holy Father” was named best film at the Pinewood Studios/Lift-Off Global Network Filmmaker Sessions Volume 7 and earned a best screenplay nomination at the City Film Festival of Stockholm.
In her first major role, Lirette was a little nervous about working with such a respected actor, but she said he was great to work with.
“He’s such an incredible actor. He’s light-hearted and a wonderful human being to work with. He made me feel so comfortable. He was always singing or cracking jokes,” she said.
Not only did she enjoy working with the film’s star, but she liked delving into the character of Luna, who had depth to her.
She sees Luna as a kind-hearted empath who wants to use her gifts to help other people.
And she can see herself reflected in the character.
Like Luna, Lirette is navigating life after her mother’s death, and Lirette wants to use her empath gifts as well as honor the things her mother has taught her, she said.
“Holy Father” is the second in a series of films written and directed by Tiwari.
The first film was “Holy Ghost” about a girl abducted in Augusta and held hostage until she is rescued by a cop who died a year before her release. The third film is “Holy Son” and although the main plot takes place in New York City, the interior sequences will be shot in the Augusta area in winter 2027.
“My thought was for three films with the same story ghost each time. It’s like ‘Black Mirror’ on Netflix. They do the same thing with a central theme, but it’s a different story,” he said.
The holy horror films aren’t the only ones Tiwari has produced in the Augusta area.
He also filmed a movie called “Sundown Town” in Evans last year with Michael Paré, who starred as Eddie in “Eddie and the Cruisers.”
One film Tiwari would like to do is a gangster film starring Roberts. It’s about a gangster with a terminal illness who is trying to make things right in his life.
Tiwari said filming in the Augusta area has many benefits for a filmmaker who isn’t part of the Hollywood machine.
He said people in the Augusta area have been to help in the endeavor. When using a jail to film scenes, it was easier in a smaller location to get approvals; whereas in a bigger city, public officials get inundated with requests from filmmakers.
“I got a lot of support,” he said.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named best local writer by readers of Augusta Magazine in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here
