It has never been done in Spring Grove before, but that hasn’t stopped Katie O’Regan, Director of Development at Giants of the Earth Heritage Center, from planning the first annual Spring Grove International Film Festival which will be held from September 11-13, 2020. “I had a dream about it and said, that’s it. I’m doing it,” she explained. After getting the go-ahead from the heritage center’s board, she began organizing the festival in December 2019 with high hopes and big expectations, but she had no idea how big it would get.
When he heard about the festival, O’Regan’s friend, Brian Connors, asked if he could enter a film he had written and directed called Senior Entourage. O’Regan was thrilled to accept it and then, Connors invited her to attend a screening of the film with the cast in Hollywood. The rest, as they say, is history.
While she was sitting in the audience listening to the cast, which included Ed Asner, Mark Rydell, and Helen Reddy speak about making the film, Connors introduced O’Regan and asked her to join them on stage to talk about the Spring Grove International Film Festival. O’Regan explained what happened when she got up on stage. “Ed looks at me and says, ‘Katie O’Regan, huh? Great stage name!’” That evening, she went out to dinner with Connors and the cast of Senior Entourage. Asner asked her to sit by him and they spent two hours talking. About a month later, O’Regan asked him if he would like to be a part of the Spring Grove International Film Festival. Asner agreed, but upon hearing that the festival would be in Minnesota, wanted to know just how cold it would be. O’Regan assured him that the weather would still be decent in September.
Asner, a seven time Emmy award winner known for hits such as “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Lou Grant,” and Up, among hundreds of other TV shows and movies, will be the guest of honor at a special fundraising event on September 11, 2020, in Caledonia, Minn., as part of the film festival. Sunday will officially be Ed Asner Day in Spring Grove with a parade to celebrate at 12:30 p.m., over which Asner will be the Grand Marshall. Commemorative t-shirts and special edition Spring Grove pop in both grape and strawberry flavors with Asner’s picture are available to purchase before and during the film festival weekend. The image used for the products is actually from a picture taken of O’Regan and Asner together at the Senior Entourage screening event.
O’Regan feels that the Giants of the Earth Heritage Center is the perfect host for the Spring Grove International Film Festival. “We’re really all about digital history and that’s why the film festival fits with us,” she explained. The location is prime as well with Spring Grove Cinema right next door to the center at which to show films. There will also be films shown at several other locations during the weekend, including the American Legion and on a big screen donated by Karen and Scott Bingham at the Heritage Center. Over 44 films have been submitted from filmmakers all over the United States, including several local people and schoolchildren. O’Regan isn’t sure how many people will show up for the event as it’s the first one, but she is confident that it will be a success and she plans to bring it back every year. She’s especially excited about booking Ed Asner. “No film festival ever comes in with a big star,” O’Regan explained. “We are very lucky. He’s a legend.”
A live staged reading of the musical, The Dream Cafe, which was written and directed by O’Regan, was performed at Gray’s Barn Outdoor Theatre on August 20 as a fundraiser for the film festival and will be repeated with special guest readers during the festival as well.
Despite the challenges of planning a film festival during a pandemic, O’Regan didn’t let that stop her. She and the many festival volunteers worked hard to overcome the challenges. “With great challenges come great creativity,” she said. Rather than seeing it as the worst year to plan the first ever Spring Grove International Film Festival, she felt it was the opposite. “People need something good right now,” she explained. “It’s a thrill to bring this to Spring Grove. It will really help our organization, Spring Grove, and the surrounding areas.”
In addition to offering the option of attending the film festival virtually, social distancing measures and masks will be in place to ensure the safety of those attending in person.
For more information on the Spring Grove International Film Festival or to purchase tickets, visit giantsoftheearth.org.
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