Spotlight
Once The Ground Thaws
keith rutowski
Sep 19, 2018
I’d like to share with you a project I worked on last year. In early 2017, I had the honor and good fortune of joining an immensely talented crew to co-write, co-direct, and co-produce a 30-minute narrative film named “Once The Ground Thaws."
The film is set several months after a woman’s death, on the day her daughter returns to their family home. Over the course of that day, the young woman and her father learn of each other's struggle with grief and vulnerability.
We began writing the screenplay in January of last year and production continued through the remainder of winter. After post wrapped in late spring, the film was accepted and screened at Louisville International Festival of Film last September.
The experience of working on this film further strengthened my love of collaborating with like-minded individuals, as well as my desire to continue making both nonfiction and fiction projects as each individual subject dictates.
We’re grateful for the feedback we’ve received thus far and hope that you, too, might view the film and let us know what you think and feel about it.
Credits
Directed by: Chris Joecken and Keith Rutowski
Written by: Matt Cahal, Keith Rutowski and Chris Joecken
Produced by: Chris Joecken, Keith Rutowski, Bryan Lierer and Bill Nally
Assistant Director: Bryan Lierer
Director of Photography: Chris Joecken
Location Sound: Bryan Lierer
Editor: Chris Joecken
Sound Mixer: Joe Dunlap
Colorist: Chris Joecken
Visual Effects: Theresa Bruce
"Father": Bill Nally
"Daughter": Katie Gronemen
Keith Rutowski | Photographer and Writer, Once The Ground Thaws
Once The Ground Thaws Narrative Short, 2017 Co-writer, co-director, co-producer Synopsis: Several months after her mother's death, a young woman...
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