Download a photo of the Free Range Film Festival.
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. — Pioneer PBS’s Postcards program will feature the story behind the nationally significant Free Range Film Festival which has taken place at the end of June for the past 16 years out of an old barn near the tiny town Wrenshall (pop 399) in northeastern Minnesota. Two films from the festival and commentary from their respective directors will comprise the rest of the episode which will air on Thursday, March 26 at 7 p.m., on Sunday, March 29 at 7 p.m. and on Monday, March 30 at 1:30 p.m. The stories will also be available for online viewing through the station’s website: www.pioneer.org/postcards.
In the opening story, the Postcards crew travels to Wrenshall to interview festival organizers Anne Dugan and Mike Scholtz about how the majestic old barn became the center of a festival which draws hundreds of filmmakers and cinema lovers from throughout the United States and Europe every year. “My favorite thing about the festival is when someone new shows up and we take them up the stairs to see the hayloft that looks like a giant overturned viking ship,” Scholtz said. “This is a cathedral of agriculture, but we've turned it into a cathedral of cinema.”
In the second segment we get to watch excerpts from Scholtz's new film Riplist, which he made to approach the topic of death in an unusual way. According to Scholtz, he made the film to get people to think about their own mortality and “how we hope people will remember us.”
Finally, we get to see the short film Just Coffee by director Matthew Dressel — a Duluth-based filmmaker, screenwriter and movie enthusiast. In the film, a diner descends into chaos when an elderly patron takes advantage of the cafe’s free refill policy.
About Postcards
Postcards is produced by Dana Conroy with videography and editing by Kristofor Gieske and Ben Dempcy. The program is made possible by contributions from the voters of Minnesota through a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Production sponsors for the program include Shalom Hill Farm, Explore Alexandria Tourism and the Lake Region Arts Council.
About Pioneer PBS
Established in 1966, Pioneer PBS is an award-winning, viewer-supported television station dedicated to sharing local stories of the region with the world. For more information visit: www.pioneer.org
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