RECENT PROJECTS
Transplant: A Gift for Life
(Coming to PBS, November 2012). Told through multiple real-life stories, this one-hour documentary reveals the powerful emotions and cutting-edge science involved in vital organ transplants. Co-Producer, Writer, editor.
First Speakers: Restoring the Ojibwe Language (2011)
A language is lost every fourteen days. One of those endangered tongues is Minnesota’s own Ojibwe language. Now a new generation of Ojibwe scholars and educators are racing against time to save the language. Producer, Writer, Editor. See more at tpt.org
In production:
Black String Revival
An independent video documentary about the Carolina Chocolate Drops and the African roots of the banjo. www.blackstringrevival.com
Ohiyesa: The Soul of An Indian
A documentary portrait of Native American author and physician, Charles Eastman.
EMPLOYMENT
- Independent television and video Producer/Writer/Director (since 1996)
- Senior Producer, Arts and Cultural Affairs, Twin Cities Public Television (1989-96)
- Videographer, Twin Cities Public Television (1986-89)
PAST PROJECTS
Seeing the Forest for the Trees (2008)
A documentary comparing sustainable forestry practices in the US with those in Sweden and Finland. Commissioned by the Blandin Foundation, Grand Rapids, MN. Producer, Writer, Editor.
Faces of The River
The introductory video for the Mississippi River National Park, a one-of-a-kind urban National Park that stretches from Anoka to Hastings. Produced for the National Park Service. Producer, Writer, Editor.
Minnesota: A History of the Land (2000-06)
Producer-writer-director and editor of an award-winning five-part series for public television. Minnesota: A History of The Land tells the epic story of the people and landscapes of Minnesota--from the retreat of the last ice sheets to the growth of today's suburbs. The series seeks to entertain as it encourages the development of a land ethic based on learning from our past mistakes. A co-production of the University of Minnesota and Twin Cities Public Television. www.historyoftheland.org
Make ‘Em Dance: The Hackberry Ramblers’ Story (2004)
Producer-writer-director and editor of an award-winning national documentary about the seventy-year career of a legendary Cajun/Country musical group. Aired on the PBS series Independent Lens, January 2004. Screened at film festivals in North America and Europe. www.pbs.org/independentlens/makethemdance
Death of the Dream: Farmhouses in the Heartland (1999)
Producer-writer-director and editor of a award-winning national PBS documentary that explores the rise and fall of the classic American farm house. A co-production of the Afton Press and Twin Cities Public Television. www.pbs.org/ktca/farmhouses
Wannabe: Life and Death in a Small Town Gang (1998)
Producer-writer-director and editor of a national PBS documentary depicting the gang-related murder/suicide that took the lives of four teenagers in Appleton, WI; funded by the Independent Television Service (ITVS). Selected as the premiere episode in the PBS series Independent Lens. www.itvs.org/wannabe
Clay, Wood, Fire, Spirit: The Pottery of Richard Bresnahan (1998)
Producer-writer-director and editor of an award-winning national PBS documentary portrait of the visionary ceramic artist and environmentalist.
Volcano: The Ring of Fire (1997)
Writer and segment producer of a Discovery Channel documentary about active volcanoes.
Baseball Minnesota (1996)
Videographer-field producer for an FX Cable Network reality-based series that documents one season in the life of the Saint Paul Saints, the flagship franchise of minor league baseball’s Northern League.
Tape’s Rolling! (1994-95)
Producer of an award-winning regional public television documentary series. Executive supervised the production of 13 half-hour episodes. Produced and directed three individual episodes: Married At the Mall, Frank’s Bank, and The Firing.
William Benton Fellowship in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Chicago (1993-94)
Like the Nieman Fellowship for print journalists at Harvard, this was a fellowship for broadcast professionals. I spent a year pursuing an individualized course of study including courses in the history of American cities, the roots of American social and political thought, visual culture, art history, and the classics of modern literature.
A State Fair Scrapbook (1992)
Producer-writer-director and editor of an irreverent documentary history of the Minnesota State Fair featuring University of Minnesota cultural historian Karal Ann Marling.
Mississippi, MN (1991)
Producer-writer-director and editor of a documentary portrait of the Mississippi River as seen through the eyes of six Minnesotans who live or work on the river.
How To Talk Minnesotan (1990-91)
Producer-director and editor of an award-winning television spoof of Minnesota culture based on the book by Howard Mohr.
Showcase (1990)
Producer of a public television series mixing interviews and musical performances. Served as series producer and producer of the pilot episode, Showcase: Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans.
Arts on Two (1990)
Segment producer for an award-winning weekly video arts magazine.
Portrait (1989-90)
Producer-writer for an award-winning series of forty half-hour interview programs featuring exceptional Minnesotans.
Not Quite American: Bill Holm of Minneota (1989)
Producer and director of an award-winning video portrait of Minneota, Minnesota poet and essayist Bill Holm. Loosely adapted from Holm's memoir of small town life, The Music of Failure.
Teacher, Teacher (1989)
Associate producer-videographer for a PBS Frontline documentary. A hard look at American education from the teacher’s point of view.
On Being a Man (1989)
Producer of a performance/discussion program featuring poet Robert Bly and storyteller Michael Meade.
Videographer, KTCA-TV (1986-89)
Director of photography on numerous PBS projects including: The Minneapolis Sound, a “rockumentary” on the Twin Cities music scene; Mosquito! A humorous documentary on the science and folklore of the mosquito; segments for the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour; segments for Newton’s Apple, the Emmy award-winning national science series; Floyd's Projector, an original teleplay written for television by Shelli Ainsworth; Turn Here Sweet Corn, a documentary by Helen DeMichiel about the loss of farmland to the suburbs which aired on the PBS series P.O.V.
Videographer/Editor (1984-86)
Director of photography for Wisconsin Magazine, an award-winning weekly video magazine produced by Wisconsin Public Television, Madison, WI.
News Videographer/Editor (1980-84)
WLUK-TV, Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Apprentice Film Editor (1978-80)
Vision Associates, New York, New York.
EDUCATION
I spent my first two years of undergraduate study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Desiring a degree from a professional film school, I transferred to New York University. At NYU, I received the Peter Stark Memorial Fellowship and studied with George Stoney, the eminent documentarian. I spent five years in New York, finishing school while working as an intern at ABC-News Close-Up and as a free-lance apprentice film editor. Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film/Television, May 1979, New York University, New York, NY
GRANTS
- Bush Artist Fellowship, 2010
- Individual Artist Fellowship, Minnesota State Arts Board for Black String Revival
- National Endowment for the Arts Media Arts Grant for Make 'Em Dance
- Jerome Foundation Media Arts Grant for Make 'Em Dance
- Louisiana Division of the Arts Grant for Make 'Em Dance
- Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Media Grant for Make 'Em Dance
- New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival Foundation Grant for Make 'Em Dance
- Japan Foundation Media Grant for Clay, Wood, Fire, Spirit: The Pottery of Richard Bresnahan
- Mary Griggs-Burke Foundation Grant for Clay, Wood, Fire, Spirit: The Pottery of Richard Bresnahan
- Jerome Foundation Media Arts Grant for Wannabe: Life and Death in a Small Town Gang
AWARDS
- Emmy Award, Midwest Region, Best Cultural Documentary, First Speakers: Restoring the Ojibwe Language
- Emmy Award, Midwest Region, Best Original Score for Minnesota: A History of the Land
- HBO Films Producer Award at The Savannah Film Festival for Make 'Em Dance
- Emmy Awards, Midwest Region, Best Documentary, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Audio for Death of the Dream: Farmhouses in the Heartland
- Emmy Awards, Midwest Region, Best Editing, Best Scriptwriting, for Clay, Wood, Fire, Spirit: The Pottery of Richard Bresnahan
- Emmy Award, Midwest Region, Best Documentary for Not Quite American: Bill Holm of Minneota
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting Award: Best Documentary for Not Quite American: Bill Holm of Minneota
- Chicago Film Festival Award, Best Comedy Program for How To Talk Minnesotan
- Chicago Film Festival Award, Best Interview Program for Portrait