The Simple Gift of Walnut Grove - Teaser (1 min)
Directed / Photographed / Edited by John Richard
Production Assistance by James Davies
Music by The Danish String Quartet
Executive Producer, John Mark Nielsen + Museum of Danish America
The Simple Gift of Walnut Grove is a short film about the Danish American experience in the early 20th century through the eyes of Walter Hansen, the son of Hans Hansen a Danish immigrant who came to Iowa from Denmark in 1899 and built a farmstead in eastern Iowa out of native timber and without power tools. It is a stunning place to be, far from the hurry of modern life and in many ways, untouched from what it was 100 years ago. Filming on this project took place over the course of two years. We also had access to a wonderful collection of medium-format photographic negatives from the family that were digitized and restored for the project. It will be part of an exhibit at the Danish American Museum in Elk Horn, Iowa when they open a new wing in 2015.
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 Professional 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, 1pm - Interrobang Film Festival, Des Moines, IA - http://desmoinesartsfestival.org/film_festival.php - Honorable Mention
8/6 - 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
10/31-11/1/2015 - Nordic Film Festival, New York, NY - http://www.nordicfilmfest.org - Won Best Documentary Short
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
For updates about where to see this project in its entirety, please subscribe to our mailing list for, The Simple Gift of Walnut Grove. Click Here.
