The Simple Gift of Walnut Grove (18min)
Directed / Photographed / Edited by John Richard
Production Assistance by James Davies
Music from The Danish String Quartet and Victor Borge
Executive Producer, John Mark Nielsen + Museum of Danish America
The Simple Gift of Walnut Grove is a short film about the life of an early 20th century Danish immigrant named Hans Hansen, as told by his son, 96 year old Walter Hansen. Hans emigrated from Denmark to the United States in 1899 and built a farm out of the native timber he found alongside a marginal piece of land on the Cedar River near West Branch, Iowa. Within Walter's soft-spoken account emerges the dynamic of a father-son relationship forged under the harsh conditions of the early Midwestern settlement.
Screenings and Events
2/28/2015 - Siouxland Film Festival, Sioux City, IA - http://siouxlandfilmfestival.org - Won Grand Prize for Iowa Films
3/1/2015, 5pm - Filmmaker Spotlight @ FilmScene, Iowa City - http://www.icfilmscene.org
4/11/2015, 9pm - Iowa City International Documentary Film Festival, https://icdocs.wordpress.com
4/17, 4/18/2015 - Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival, Cedar Rapids, IA - http://crifm.org - Won Best Documentary
4/26/2015 - Special Screening at the Herbert Hoover Museum, West Branch, IA - https://www.facebook.com/events/692847830827302/
5/9/2015 - Central Michigan Art Co-op Rural Film Festival, Princeton, MN - http://www.cmnartcoop.org
6/27, 6/28/2015 - Interrobang Film Festival, Des Moines, IA - http://desmoinesartsfestival.org/film_festival.php - Won Honorable Mention
8/6/2015 - Snake Alley Festival of Film, Burlington, IA - http://www.snakealleyfestivaloffilm.com -Won Best Iowa Made Film
9/1-9/7/2015 - Portland Film Festival - Portland, OR - http://portlandfilmfestival.com
9/10 - 10/20/2015 - Cincinnati Film Festival, Cincinnati, OH - http://www.cincinnatifilmfestival.com
9/27, 12pm - Charlotte Film Festival, Charlotte, NC - http://www.charlottefilmfestival.com
9/30-10/4/2015 - South Dakota Film Festival, Aberdeen, SD - http://southdakotafilmfest.org
10/31-11/1/2015 - Nordic Film Festival, New York, NY - http://www.nordicfilmfest.org - Won Best Documentary Short
11/5-11/7/2015 - Muscatine Film Festival, Muscatine, IA - http://www.dreampostonline.com/MIFF.html
12/12/2015 - Chicago International REEL Shorts Film Fest, Chicago, IL - http://www.projectchicago.com - Won Best Documentary
2/19-2/28/2016 - Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Missoula, Montana
3/5/2016, 1:30pm - Oneota Film Festival, Decorah, IA - http://www.oneotafilmfestival.org - Won Best of Fest Short
3/13/2016 - Omaha Film Festival, Omaha, NB - http://omahafilmfestival.org
4/8-4/10/2016 - Sioux Empire Film Festival, Sioux Falls, SD - http://www.siouxempirefilmfestival.com
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