February 17, 2011, Thursday - McKnighty-Nights II at The Loft

Time: 7pm

Location: Target Performance Hall, Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue South

Admission:  Free

McKnighty-Nights II: The Filmmakers

Filmmaking Fellows Dawn Mikkelson and Dan Schneidkraut talk about and show their work.

What dark visions float behind the unassuming visages of your friendly neighborhood McKnight Fellows? Let’s see, there’s deception, cruelty, despair, corruption, indifference, and, luckily, the occasional redemption. Though their styles couldn’t be more dissimilar, 2010 McKnight Filmmaking Fellows Dawn Mikkelson and Dan Schneidkraut both work to transform the irredeemable through the art of cinema. Mikkelson will screen selections from her award-winning documentary about the Northwest Airline mechanics’ strike, The Red Tail, as well as scenes from her work in progress, Smooch. Schneidkraut will test the audience’s mettle with clips from Seeking Wellness: Suffering Through Four Movements, and let us in on his latest dramatic film ventures. Award-winning indie producer Christine K. Walker will referee the discussion, in case things get too crazy.

Dawn Mikkelson’s documentaries are used as grassroots organizing tools around the world, from international conferences to house parties, on the topics of globalization, environmental justice, water rights, human rights, and LGBT rights. Her most recent film, The Red Tail (co-directed with Melissa Koch), is the story of a NWA mechanic who loses his job to outsourcing and goes to China to meet his replacement. Her latest project, Smooch, is a documentary film that illuminates stories of reconciliation and healing from around the world, as participants are photographed through the international effort to collect 10,000 photos of people kissing one another called “The Smooch Project.”

Dan Schneidkraut’s films have been reviewed as “uncomfortable to watch,” “sublime yet terrifying,” “disturbing,” “stunningly depraved,” and “the kind of thinky/sadistic exercise that even the dark prince of psychological horror Michael Haneke might find difficult to watch.” Seeking Wellness: Suffering Through Four Movements had its official world premiere in England at Filmstock International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize at The Melbourne Underground Film Festival. He is working on a feature, to be shot on BetaMax, about physical fitness and the obsolescence of traditional masculinity. His recent short, Victory, is a simple narrative exploration of the psychology of coping in a post-traumatic environment.

Moderator Christine Kunewa Walker is an award-winning producer of artist-driven independent film. She is producer of Life During Wartime, a Todd Solondz film; Howl, starring James Franco as poet Allen Ginsberg; and The Convincer with Greg Kinnear and Alan Arkin. Walker also co-wrote and produced Older Than America starring Adam Beach and Bradley Cooper, produced Factotum starring Matt Dillon, Lily Taylor and Marisa Tomei, and line produced American Splendor. Christine’s awards and recognitions include the Producer’s Guild of America Diversity Award, an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and the Sundance Institute’s Producer’s Fellowship.