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Shamrock Film Festival will be held July 18
CORRECTION: This article originally stated that A.J. Sass directed “Sniper 56.” Sass directed “The Invitation.” Alex Kuck, 14, of Rosemount directed “Sniper 56.” Thisweek Newspapers regrets the error.
by Jessica Harper
Thisweek Newspapers
Stories are all around us: a beloved blind mayor who touched many lives in his tiny town; a Boy Scout troop’s journey down the Missouri River to trace Louis and Clark’s voyage; a woman who finds hope in life through her father.
All these stories – some true, others imaginative creations – will come to life at the first Shamrock Film Festival at 6:30 p.m. July 18 at the Rosemount Community Center.
Admission is $5 per person or $20 per family at the door. “We decided to create a film festival as a way to reach out to the younger crowd,” said Beth Adams, programing chair of the Rosemount Area Arts Council, which sponsored the event.
The festival will feature 19 short films from across the metro, all of which are rated between G and PG-13.
PHOTO: A frame from the film "Road Kill".
Just about every genre will be represented: comedy, drama, action,
documentary, animation, suspense, as well as several abstract films.
In his documentary film “2004 Summer High Adventure BSA Troop 453,”
Eagan resident Mike Wick, 65, tells the story of a week-long trip he
took with a troop of Eagle Scouts down the Missouri River to trace
Louis and Clark’s voyage.
PHOTO: The Claw.
Every year, a group of Eagle Scouts explores wild terrain in what they
call a “high adventure” to mark the end of their last year as a Boy
Scout.
Wick spent the last four years splicing his photographs with those from Louis and Clark’s voyage and adding a narration.
Wick also has made animated slideshows about other Boy Scout high adventures and his journey to Norway.
“They seem to get better and better each time,” he said. “I want to see
what people think of my work and to show people what can be done with
photos.”
Gwen Briesemeister, 53, of Delano took a more traditional approach to
documentary filmmaking in her two films “Grin and Bear It” and “An
Ordinary Man, An Extraordinary Life: the Maynard Nordquist Story.”
“I tell everyday stories of people from the area, and everyone has a story,” Briesemeister said.
“Grin and Bear It” profiles a woman who sews costumes for a 6-foot
wooden bear outside a dental office where she works in Buffalo, Minn.
Every day for the last 19 years, Shelly Schuetzle has dressed the brown
bear in a different outfit, making special costumes for the Fourth of
July, Christmas, Halloween and other holidays.
“An Ordinary Man, An Extraordinary Life: the Maynard Nordquist Story”
was Briesemeister’s first film, which she made in 2006 for the
Minnesota Historical Society’s Greatest Generation competition.
The film tells the story of former Hoffman, Minn., Mayor Maynard
Nordquist, who inspired the town by overcoming obstacles created by his
disability.
PHOTO: "An Ordinary Man, An Extraordinary Life: the Maynard Nord-quist Story"
Those who knew him well talk about how he had a passion for baseball and taught his children the game, despite his blindness.
Jeff Achen of Apple Valley creates a humorous spin on the documentary
genre in “Christmas at the Office,” a homage to the hit television show
“The Office.”
“The Invitation” is an amusing silent film about a man’s struggle to find a date for his ex-girlfriend’s wedding.
“There’s so much that can be said without words,” screenwriter, said A.J. Sass, 23, of Minneapolis.
 Sass said he was inspired to create the film after driving along a
local interstate highway, gazing at several beautiful women driving
nearby.
“I thought to myself, ‘What would happen if I could pick up a woman by waving, and it created a life of its own?’ ” he said.
“Road Kill” is a comical road movie that came out of the 48 Hour Film
Project in Minneapolis, which gives filmmakers 48 hours to create a
movie using specific concepts and props.
PHOTO: "The Room Upstairs"
“Road Kill,” directed by Chris Everheart of St. Louis Park, is about
two men – one of whom is obsessed with serial killers – who drive from
North Dakota to Chicago and become stranded in Wisconsin.
This is the ninth film produced by Will Vincent of Hugo, who said he enjoys the film’s dark humor.
Vincent, an independent producer in the Twin Cities, said the “Star Wars” series inspired him to pursue a career in filmmaking.
“I like watching the special effects and the making of the film,” he said.
“I’m Dating a Monster,” directed by Elvis Kunesh of Rosemount, is
another offbeat combination of comedy and horror and illustrates one
couple’s rocky relationship.
Kunesh, a film student at Columbia College in Chicago, calls the film his best work yet.
Kunesh, 20, earned an award for best script in the 2006 South Metro Short Film Festival in Eagan for “Out to Lunch”.
Animated films will also be featured at the festival, such as “Low
Blow”, a stop-motion film by Will Schipke, 17, of Eagan, in which clay
figures come to life.
Other films in the festival take on a philosophical view.
“Simulacra,” directed by Justin Schaack, 26, of Richfield, is a social
satire inspired by French philosopher Jean Baudrillard’s book
“Simulacra and Simulation,” which questions whether originality truly
exists.
Schaack earned a B.A. in cinema from the University of Southern
California in Los Angeles and owns a small production company in the
Twin Cities.
Schaack’s films “Focus” and “The Room Upstairs” will also be shown at the festival.
In “Focus,” Schaack tells the story of a blind woman who struggles to cope in her new world after regaining her sight.
“The Room Upstairs” is a thriller about a college sophomore who rents a
room in an old creepy mansion only to find she is not alone.
Schaack said his inspiration for “The Room Upstairs” came from the LeDuc mansion in Hastings where he shot the film.
Heartfelt dramas will also be featured in the festival, such as “My Heart, Full of Peace” and “Without Her.”
Director Tom Ryther, 44, of Farmington describes his film “Without Her”
as a “Lifetime” meets “Twilight Zone” film about a spiritual bond
between a mother and daughter after a fatal car accident.
PHOTO: "Simulacra"
“I wanted the small-town feel and for the picture to tell the story,”
said Ryther, a photo journalist for a local television news station.
“My Heart, Full of Peace,” directed by Bethany Armstrong, 21, of Elko,
is another ardent drama about a young woman who gets through the bumps
of life with the help of her father.
Those looking for an action-packed adventure may find “Sniper 56” and “Why We Have No Name.”
“Sniper 56,” directed by Alex Kuck, 14, of Rosemount, is a war movie about a
group of U.S. snipers’ mission to capture leaders of a terrorist
organization.
Kuck is the youngest filmmaker featured in the festival and said
his film was inspired by the video game “Call of Duty Four.”
“Why We Have No Name” is a collaborative effort by Rosemount High
School seniors Chris Conners, Kyle Chamberlain and Andrew Cero, which
illustrates a hired gunman’s internal battle between good and evil.
“We tried to make something that made you think,” Conners said.
All films that contain violence will be shown toward the end of the festival, Adams said.
The festival is not limited to the typical genres either.
“The Four Wives” is an experimental film that takes a deeper look into who we are as human beings.
Films featured in the Shamrock Film Festival will be judged by a panel
of prestigious independent filmmakers from across the Twin Cities.
Awards will be given for best screenwriting, best of show and best directing.
Winners will receive a one-year membership to IFP, an independent film
organization in St. Paul that provides workshops and other support for
filmmakers.
The Shamrock Film Festival will also feature two award-winning films from area festivals.
“The Expectant” is the 2008 48 Hour Film Project audience favorite, and “Forgotten” is the 2007 Screenlab Challenge winner.
E-mail Jessica Harper at:
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