By Brad Segall

BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) — Bucks County will be the backdrop for a full-length feature film celebrating the unsung heroes of the Civil War era.

Filming is scheduled to get underway this summer on “The North Star.” The movie tells the story of two slaves who flee a Virginia plantation over 150 years ago, armed only with instructions to follow the North Star to freedom. They end up in Buckingham, where local filmmaker Thomas Phillips says the movie will tell the story of how a community banded together to save lives and change the course of history.

“And what I’m trying to tell is that it takes not one race, or not one people or one religion, to accomplish great goals,” Phillips says.

Phillips marvels at all the local history in Bucks County but says that even lifelong residents don’t know the stories. Casting has already begun, and Phillips says actor Clifton Powell has signed on. He expects other big Hollywood names to be a part of it.

National release is set for late this year or early next year.