North Star Story Summit offers days of entertainment

By Jay Gabler Duluth News Tribune September 30, 2024 — 6:00AM

The Duluth Superior Film Festival, Catalyst Content Festival, Minnesota WebFest and EDU Film Festival are returning to downtown venues from Wednesday through Sunday.

DULUTH — For the third year, the annual North Star Story Summit will concentrate programming from the Duluth Superior Film Festival, Catalyst Content Festival, Minnesota WebFest and EDU Film Festival.

Programs will take place Wednesday, Oct. 2, through Sunday, Oct. 6. On Saturday, Oct. 5, there will be a shared awards ceremony at Blacklist Brewing.

The Duluth Superior Film Festival is a film fest on the classic model, spotlighting feature films and shorts.

This year's features include the Minnesota premiere of "Cash for Gold" (Thursday, 7 p.m., Zeitgeist Zinema), a movie made in Chisholm and described as "a gripping narrative of loss, redemption, and the unforgiving pull of past mistakes."

Filmmakers will be in attendance for that opening night screening, as well as for others, including features "A Good Wolf," about clashing interests at the edge of Denali National Park; "Light Needs," an "experimental documentary" about plant lovers; and "Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted!" about the eponymous musician and his "bachelor pad for aging musicians."

Shorts programs in the Duluth Superior Film Festival include a group of films featuring "the powerful storytelling of Minnesota filmmakers" (Friday, 8:30 p.m., Zeitgeist Zinema).

Minnesota WebFest features "the best web entertainment in the world." It has both online and in-person screenings, as well as presentations including a live podcast with a group of gamers broadcasting their session and "breaking down what makes Actual Play content such an exciting field for creators of all kinds" (Friday, 4 p.m., Depot Theatre).

The Catalyst Content Festival centers on episodic productions such as TV shows and podcasts. Sessions throughout the event include screenings, table reads and opportunities for creators to pitch their projects to industry veterans.

At Zeitgeist on Saturday (noon-4:30 p.m.), the EDU Film Festival presents a selection of student-made films, including those made as part of the "Horror High" educational experiences in which teenagers get real-world experience on a horror film set.

Throughout the North Star Story Summit, the Upper Midwest Film Office is sponsoring a lounge at 310 E. Superior St. UMFO is also presenting a Friday evening reception and industry update at Zeitgeist (6 p.m.).

The festival welcomes attendees to a 9 p.m. Thursday welcome party at Canal Park Brewing, as well as Saturday's 9 p.m. awards ceremony hosted by actor Lori Roovers.

For tickets and information, see northstarstorysummit.org.

Star & Tribune: Festivals centered on film, TV and web-based content join forces in Duluth

By Christa Lawler Star Tribune MARCH 3, 2022 — 4:58PM

DULUTH — Three established niche festivals have linked dates to create a 10-day event that caters to the creators of film, television and web-based content.

"It's more powerful to do them together," said Philip Gilpin, Jr., who is credited with the idea for the union. "It's a way to highlight that everybody is in the same boat and rowing in the same direction — to put Minnesota on the map as an industry leader in the content world."

NFA and EDU Film Festival Present Horror High Film Camp

For the third summer, young filmmakers and film enthousiasts in the Twin Cities area will can sign on to attend Horror High Film Camp. But in addition, NFA and EDU are collaborating with the College of St. Scholastica to bring Horror High Film Camp to Duluth, MN. Both Camps will run from June 20-24 and will feature professional department heads mentoring teen crew members on the set of a short horror/thriller production.

Duluth Superior Film Festival

Monthly Indigenous Film Series:

Join American Indian Community Housing Organization, Duluth Superior Film Festival and Zeitgeist Community for our last Indigenous virtual free film screening on July 21 with the Klee Benally (Diné) film "POWER LINES". This is a powerful film.

Register: https://fb.me/e/v9kPstor.

Three short videos recently produced by Outside The Box regarding renewable energy, and features Gimaajii Mino Bimaadizimin youth will show before the feature.

Minesota WebFest: 2021 WILL BE IN-PERSON!

Our Offical Selections have been announced. But, more importantly, we will be an in-person event for 2021. OK, actually, we are taking advantage of what we learned during the pandemic to create a hybrid experience available to a wider audience—one we expect will be the model from this year forward. Plan on attending the full festival in-person for free, or experience some aspects of the festival online for a fee. More details coming soon. Either way, there's no substitution for our in-person networking events, so we strongly recommend you attend!

See 2021 Selections

EDU Film Fest:

The Second Annual Horror High Film Camp: August 9th - 13th, 2021

EDU FILM FESTIVAL, ALONG WITH IPR INSTITUTE OF PRODUCTION AND RECORDING, AND METROPOLITAN STATE UNIVERSITY PRESENTS:

A FILMMAKING EXPERIENCE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

At Horror High Film Camp, you’ll learn the ins and outs of writing, producing, and directing a film. This day-camp is perfect for any high school student who not only loves watching film, but is dying to make one. You won’t be reading about making a film, you won’t be observing a film shoot, you will be a member of the crew, working with professional filmmakers and college students to shoot a short horror film in a professional facility, using professional gear, learning how a professional film crew operates.

THIS JUST IN: HORROR HIGH IS NOW AFFORDABLE FOR ALL MINNESOTA HIGH SCHOOL FILMMAKERS

With staffing support from the Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Support for Organizations Grant, combined with funds provided by our generous sponsors and donors, EDU will cover the majority of the registration fee for Horror High. This means that the fee has dropped to $100 per person for the week. This will include the 5-day on-set crew experience as well as lunch and craft services. 

And, for anyone who demonstrates a need - the fee will be waived altogether. We're thrilled to be able to offer this experience at a price that is inclusive for all young people in Minnesota.

For more info on Horror High Film

Operating support for the Northern Film Alliance and its programming is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Northern Film Alliance and its programming is funded in part by the Wirtanen Family Fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation.

Northern Film Alliance and its programming is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.