Nature is the source.
AWARDS
Best Documentary Short & Best of Fest – Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival
Best Documentary Short – Portland Film Festival
Best Editing – South Australian Screen Awards
Winner Open Category – Australian Screen Editors “Ellie Awards”
Best Documentary Short – CARE Awards
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival
Portland Film Festival
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital
St Kilda Film Festival
London Mountain Film Festival
Queen City Film Festival Festival
Madrid Film Awards
Romford Film Festival
Anatolia International Film Festival
Damah International Film Festival
San Francisco Frozen Film Festival
Nature is the source.
AWARDS
Best Documentary Short & Best of Fest – Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival
Best Documentary Short – Portland Film Festival
Best Editing – South Australian Screen Awards
Winner Open Category – Australian Screen Editors “Ellie Awards”
Best Documentary Short – CARE Awards
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival
Portland Film Festival
Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital
St Kilda Film Festival
London Mountain Film Festival
Queen City Film Festival Festival
Madrid Film Awards
Romford Film Festival
Anatolia International Film Festival
Damah International Film Festival
San Francisco Frozen Film Festival
Fresh Coast Film Festival
WATCH IT NOW
Synopsis
Best known for his legendary polar explorations, Will Steger’s life work grew out of a single log cabin he built after moving to the Minnesotan wilderness at age 25. Reliant on sustainable energy and natural commodities, Steger formed a community and culture based on the principle of mutuality. Central to Steger’s operation is the lost art of cutting ice for refrigeration. This annual harvest formed a tradition spanning fifty years that became known as the “Ice Ball”. While this old world technology inevitably became obsolete, its disappearance parallels a concerning loss of social interdependence in modern society.
In a nostalgic celebration of this winter craft, the film is a portrayal of human innovation and interconnection that embodies one man’s attempt to move society forward, without leaving the past behind.
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KEY TEAM
Nathaniel Schmidt
Director
Nathaniel Schmidt is an emerging Australian/American filmmaker currently based in Adelaide, South Australia. With a B.A. in Media Arts from the University of South Australia, he moved to the USA when he was 22 and worked as a freelance filmmaker and editor across various commercial, documentary and TV projects.
He spent six years in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he filmed a series stories revolving around midwestern life in a six month winter climate. This led to working with renowned Polar Explorer, Will Steger and the release of his first short documentary Ice Ball.
In 2017 he returned to Australia to work on his first feature length documentary, The Last Daughter.
Simon Williams
Producer (Aus)
As a producer some of his recent credits include the ABC iview webseries Goober (2016), short documentary Ice Ball (2019) and a pilot for the online teen series xp (2019). He’s currently working on feature documentary The Last Daughter
In 2016 he was a participant in the MIFF Accelerator Program and in 2018 was a finalist in the Channel 9 Young Achiever Arts and Fashion Award. In 2019 he completed a Graduate Certificate in Film and Television and finished the year working as 2nd Unit Assistant Production Coordinator on Warner Bros production of Mortal Kombat.
Tanya Silver
Producer (US)
Tanya is a producer based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has over 10 years experience working with major brands on commercial film projects as well as a narrative and documentary short and feature film content.
Her most recent credits include short documentary Ice Ball (2019), Christmas Break-In (2019) which was recently acquired by Netflix, and short narrative Father Forgets (2016).
Brendon Skinner
Producer (Aus)
As a producer some of his recent credits include the ABC iview webseries Goober (2016), short documentary Ice Ball (2019) and a pilot for the online teen series xp (2019). He’s currently working on feature documentary The Last Daughter
He also operates successful commercial video production company Gravity Creative, creating content for socially conscious and not-for-profit brands like Beyond Bank and Dementia Australia.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Ice Ball is a co-production between Australia-based “Gravity Films” and Minnesota based “Six Months of Winter”.
In 2016 & 2017 Australian born director Nathaniel Schmidt and Producer Tanya Silver brought a small film crew to Ely, Minnesota to capture Will Steger’s “Ice Ball” event. Living in Minneapolis at the time Nathaniel became fascinated with the community that would gather at the remote homestead and participate in the lost art of ice cutting.
In 2018 Nathaniel relocated back to Australia, and connected with Simon Williams and Brendon Skinner of Gravity Films. The footage from the Ice Ball event was yet to be edited, so Gravity Films came on board to raise finance for post production and complete the film. The production was awarded funding through the Media Resource Centre’s Production Investment Program and completed post-production in both Adelaide, South Australia and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
© 2020 Gravity Films Pty Ltd & Six Months of Winter LLC.