How we raised $12,000 in 30 days for our feature film.
Upon first hearing about crowdfunding via kickstarter I was obsessed with how I was eventually going to put it to use on a film project. I had thought it would be for a documentary project that has been in the works for several years, but when we got close to finishing post-production on TRIUMPH67 and ran dry of funds (and time) I reexamined what I thought I knew and realized […Read more »]
This summer marks the third anniversary of wrapping the Triumph67 shoot. So much has happened since then for the filmmakers, the cast and crew, and in independent film as a whole.
Triumph67 won an honorable mention at the Minneapolis St. Paul International film festival, and screened to sold out crowds. Lavish praise for the film was mentioned on MPR, and the producers had a great interview on KFAI staple, Art Matters. Colin Covert of the […Read more »]
I wish I could go back and live the day one more time that we got to watch Triumph67 at the Flyway Film Festival, as a work in progress. What a great venue (next to the wonderful pie shop), and what great company! Many thanks to the filmmakers who stuck around and gave feedback. The Lake and drive up were so beautiful, and I truly recommend this film festival to anyone in years to come, filmmaker and audiences alike.
I want […Read more »]
It is the day after the work in progress screening of Triumph67 at the Flyway Film Festival.
I drove down to Stockholm, Wisconsin with butterflies in my stomach, and had to stop at a Freedom station for something to soothe myself with. I felt like a rare and endangered bird, stepping into a Freedom station on the boarder of Minnesota and Wisconsin wearing a fancy suit jacket, on the eve that the Vikings and the Packers played. I bought a Lime […Read more »]
Looking forward
As we approach the end of the summer (nooooooooo!), I reflect back across the last three summers, and the long road that has been the making of Triumph67. I have been in a working relationship with some wonderful people over the course of these last few years, and wouldn’t trade the experience for any amount of success. There are so many challenges that we have hurdled up to this point, and everyone who has lasted this long is […Read more »]
It is the last week of July, 2010. One year ago we shot Triumph67, and now, I’m staring at the footage that has been seared into my brain and scrambling to finish the film in time for application deadlines for Sundance and Dubai. I have been meeting with the talented and personable guy who is scoring the film, Reid Kruger, who operates out of his home studio, Waterbury Music. Reid agreed to take on the job, and we have been […Read more »]
Postproduction. What would it mean for Triumph67?
We wrapped production of Triumph67 in early August of 2009. Immediately after production, the producers sat down and bludgeoned our way through numerous meetings on how to proceed into post-production. The first question at hand was how we would approach finding the right editor. The three of us producing at the time deliberated for several weeks to determine the best approach, often coming up against disagreement. We eventually landed on an interview process in […Read more »]
Thursday, Day 18.
A skeleton crew arrives at my home at 8:30am. We caravan to Lake City, Minnesota in two cars, stopping at a gas station just out of town for bananas, candy, and pop. We are on our way to shoot the final scenes of Triumph67, on my parent’s sailboat on Lake Pepin, the widest point of the Mississippi River. It is a sunny day, and we are on our way to finishing on schedule, with minimal need for pickup […Read more »]
Wednesday, Day 17.
Our last day with the full crew arrives, and there is a sense of accomplishment and camaraderie that is noticeable with most of the cast and crew. The interns play soccer in the yard with Kareem’s four-year old son, and smoke cigarettes in the shade of the trees in the yard. There is laughter, accolades handed out freely, and a feeling of relief. In spite of this, we quickly come up against some challenges.
We race against the clock […Read more »]
Tuesday, Day 16.
The sixteenth day of shooting Triumph67 is a dream. We pull into the parking lot of the Lock and Dam under the Ford Bridge, and the breeze and air feel great. It’s an easy enough scene. Sami takes photos of Mohannad. We’ve been here before for B Roll, but today is cooler, and the air pressure feels comfortably high. The shots look great, and nobody bothers us. Actor Kareem Aal’s 4 year-old son gets a cameo, and the […Read more »]
driftless pictures presents triumph67 starring Mohannad Ghawanmeh Sarah Martens Kareem Aal Adam Elsafy
Sara Abdelaal Dina Gad Emilia Aghamirzai Doug Larison Nabil Amra Ali Al-Arahawi
produced by Dan Tanz Mohannad Ghawanmeh Jeremy Wilker Heidi Haaland associate producer Kitty Aal
sound Chris Hedeen sound edit/music Reid Kruger cinematography Jeremy Wilker written by Heidi Haaland Dan Tanz directed by Dan Tanz
