Their turn in front of the lens. Documentary filmmakers Patrick Knight and Kelly Schoenfelder were at the premiere of their production Sled Dogs to Saint Paul: The Race for Clean Water on Friday, November 9 at Betsy Bowen Studio’s What’s Upstairs. At press time the filmmakers were heading to Duluth and Minneapolis for additional showings.
It was standing room only for the premiere of Sled Dogs to Saint Paul: The Race for Clean Water, a documentary film created by Grand Marais filmmakers Kelly Schoenfelder and Patrick Knight at Betsy Bowen’s What’s Upstairs in Grand Marais on November 9.
Stacy Drouillard, president of the Sled Dogs to Saint Paul organization, welcomed the crowd of about 150 people at each of the two film showings. “It is exciting to see how far this project has come,” she said before introducing the man who made the sled dog journey to the state capital, Frank Moe.
Moe, a local musher and former Minnesota state representative, thanked the many people in attendance who made his trek possible—and who made the film possible. “We couldn’t have done it without the support from the people of Grand Marais, so we wanted to have this film debut here in Grand Marais.”
“It’s a little crowded,” laughed Moe, as more attendees trickled in and benches were quickly brought forward and people found places to sit in the aisle. Moe introduced sled dog Lucy who was one of the “stars” of the film as lead dog for a large part of the trip.
He then introduced the filmmakers, Patrick Knight and Kelly Schoenfelder, explaining that the film was thought of after the mushing trip to St. Paul was made. He commended them for piecing the journey together so well. “It is amazing for me to watch it,” said Moe. “When the dogs and I were going to St. Paul we were so wrapped up in what was happening, I didn’t have time to stop and think about what we were doing. Watching the film is like being back on the trail again.”
The audience then got to experience the trail with Moe, with an artistically presented documentary of Frank and his dogs and the people who helped him along the way. Peaceful shots along the trail were juxtaposed with comments from government officials and scenes from public meetings. Humorous interviews with friends questioning Moe’s sanity are interspersed with intense conversations about personal property and severed mineral rights and eminent domain. Ojibwe singer-songwriter—and Iron Ranger—Keith Secola is a blunt but eloquent spokesman for the project.
The film follows Moe from Harbor Park in downtown Grand Marais to the capitol in St. Paul, ending with information on what citizens opposed to non-ferrous mining—sometimes referred to as sulfide mining; sometimes as precious minerals mining—can do. “The good thing is these mines are not in the ground at this time. Many of us here in this room have been able to slow this down,” Moe said as the film ended, and the room erupted with applause.
Moe encouraged the audience to get involved. He said that was the purpose of his journey and of the film—to spur Minnesotans to action. “In the last election, we elected a lot of pro-environment legislators. That’s good news, but they need to hear from us,” said Moe.
There were questions and answers then, for Moe; for the filmmakers, Schoenfelder and Knight. People asked about filming techniques and how much video was created (18 hours). They asked about wild rice standards, about multinational mining companies and about the next steps. At press time the film was making its debut in Duluth at the Red Star Lounge in the Fitger’s Complex. It will be shown again in Minneapolis at the Midwest Mountaineering Outdoor Expo on Saturday, November 17. DVDs will eventually be available for sale.
For more information on the film or about the Sled Dogs to Saint Paul project visit www.sleddogstosaintpaul.com.
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