The date October 12, 1918 will forever be remembered in this part of the world as a date that didn’t just make history, but erased history. Now, a century later, WDSE-TV presents a new documentary on the greatest catastrophe ever in northern Minnesota.
Justin Christopher Ayd and Jennifer Lillemo Ayd of H8C Productions in Minneapolis have been working on a documentary about Knife River, a small community about eight miles northeast of Duluth. The trailer above reflects the quiet tone and style that will characterize the completed film.
A short documentary highlighting three filmmakers working in Duluth — Keith Hopkins, Robert Larson and Matthew Dressel. Directed by Wyatt Buckner.
This video is part of a DVD Kenneth Newhams of Duluth Shipping News produced in 2005 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Aerial Lift Bridge. It features archival video courtesy of Don Hermanson at Keweenaw Video Productions.
Fans of Vikings might feel better after watching this documentary about all the actual Vikings who supposedly visited Minnesota a millennium ago. Filmed partly in Duluth, Lost Conquest played on the film festival circuit in 2015 and 2016. Now it’s available for free online to the entire world.
This documentary by Bill Draheim follows Mike Watt and his band at the time, the Jom and Terry Show, as they drive into Duluth and load in for a performance at the NorShor Theater on May 28, 2002. They tour the old R. O. Carlson’s bookstore, do some sightseeing in Canal Park and spend the night at Shaky Ray Records before heading south for shows at the Turf Club in St. Paul and the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis.
Watt wrote extensively about the tour, and the Duluth stop, on his “Our Oars Became Wings” Tour 2002 Diary. He marvels in the diary and in the film about seeing Lake Superior for the first time. He also mentions in the diary getting a tour of “the secret tunnels” under the NorShor and how it “feels haunted down there.”
Passing Through is a documentary about a man from Northern Minnesota who has struggled with the HIV/AIDS virus for 20 years. I finished the film in 2007 as a senior in the video production program at UW-Superior. The film won the jury award in the student category at the Wisconsin Film Festival in ’08. Since then I haven’t been sure what to do with it, so last night I uploaded it to Vimeo for the public to view. If you have 20 minutes please check it out.
