Tovar completes film, ‘Kingman Stables,’ at family’s Sebastian ranch

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J.C. Tovar seen in this undated photo at his father’s, Juan Tovar’s ranch in Sebastian, where he shot a new film together with J.R. Molina entitled, “Kingman Stables.” His father along with fellow members of the Cowboy’s Horsemen Association have for years been prominent figures in the annual Christmas trail ride to Sebastian. (Courtesy Photo)

SEBASTIAN — They don’t know much about horses, but they want to develop their father’s horse stables into a fine commercial enterprise to honor his legacy.

“Kingman Stables,” a project by J.C. Tovar and J.R. Molina, tells the comedic and heartwarming tale of two brothers embarking on an adventurous and humorous venture to create a first-rate enterprise with quality horses.

“The two brothers are not experienced with horses and don’t really know what they are doing,” said Tovar, 31. “But they have these stables that are pretty run down. They’re not commercial stables, they are family stables. And they really want to build up the stables to be large commercial stables that can house champion horses.”

Molina and Tovar both attended film school together at the Art Institute of Austin. Tovar has a degree in film production. While Tovar went into the journalism side of video production, Molina went to New York for some years and did films.

Molina recently returned to Austin and the two are now collaborating on “Kingman Stables.”

Tovar and Molina spent the summer working on the short, which is called a proof of concept, and they’re now looking forward to sending it out to film festivals.

“We really want to pitch it out,” Tovar said. “We have a pilot written and hopefully we’ll find someone who can fund a 10-season TV show.”

Tovar, the son of Juan and Sandra Tovar, filmed the piece on his father’s ranch in Sebastian. Juan Tovar and his fellow members of the Cowboy’s Horsemen Association have been prominent figures in the annual Christmas trail ride to Sebastian for years.

In this undated photo, filmmakers are seen on the set of “Kingman Stables.” The film is by J.C. Tovar and J.R. Molina, and was shot at Tovar’s father’s, Juan Tovar’s ranch in Sebastian. (Courtesy Photo)

Juan Tovar and J.C.’s brother Sebastian are also in the film.

“In the trailer and the film the line ‘A product of Sebastian, TX,’ makes an appearance,” he said. “It’s important to me to make sure that the town of Sebastian is represented in the film because it’s where my father was raised, where my parents currently live and where I lived until I was 5.”

The story is a mixture of poignant family struggles and humor that can present a fine balance of emotions. It’s ironic that the brothers grew up around horses and, although they know more than most people, they don’t know a lot about renovating a horse stable.

“Right now the horses that they have are not the best horses and they don’t have the best skills,” he said. “So it’s a comedy following these two brothers’ journey. The grew up around horses. They’ve always been around horses and they know more than most people but they still are not very good.”

You can see the trailer for the film on YouTube or at MyRGV.com, where you can also see a video on the impact of test screening.