Norwegian-Native American Film Project: Family Reunion
Tusen Takk til Internationalswede/Nordic Nights for Hjemmesiden!
What is this film project?
Organizer: Ben Geboe, 116 Pinehurst Avenue, #J51, New York, NY 10033, Home: (212) 568-6007, Email: bengeboe@aol.com
My name is Ben Geboe and I am a enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. I am also part Norwegian-American and I am making a full feature length film about how I met my Native American grandmother and also about Norwegian family relationships which is seen in the film at a modern Norwegian family reunion.
I feel that my story, which is true, should be shared in order to illustrate the power of familial reconciliation and love. The love and compassion that the Creator shared with us is worthy of preserving and should be shared. I am using the film format to impart this spiritual experience to a wide and diverse audience. The true story of how I met my grandmother was published in the book Genocide of the Mind, New Native American Writing, Thunder’s Mouth Press/Nation Books in New York, ISBN: 1-56025-511-0. It is piece titled “unci” or “grandmother.”
The film will also explore the Native Americans characters’ relationship with Norway. The character marries a Norwegian and moves to Norway and attends a Norwegian family reunion there. The character shares his Native American experience and how he met his grandmother as part of the story. This film seeks to integrate modern cultural mixing and celebrate consecutiveness. My mother is Norwegian-American and I want to include both heritages and cultural elements in the movie.
The film will be shot in three locations in Norway: Stavanger, Lillehammer and Tysnes in the first or second week in May 2006. We will shoot the film over one full week and the preceding and following weekend of that week (total11 days.)
We will be in Stavanger on October 22, 2005 for a day long public panel discussion with the University of Stavanger, Film Sorvest and the general public about filmmaking. We will also use this as a chance to do location scouting, filing film permits and auditioning/casting extras and main storyline characters.
We have secured cooperation and support from the Film Department at the University of Stavanger and the Stavanger Kommune (city government). We will enlist local aid and talent.
The film will be in Norwegian with English Subtitles. There are Norwegians, Norwegian Americans, Norwegian Sami, Norwegian Kven and Native Americans involved in this project as cast and crew members.
This is an all volunteer effort. Cast and Crew members are volunteering. There is no pay involved in this project.
We are seeking donations of money or fly-miles from individuals, foundations and businesses to help cover the cost of the filming and post production/distribution.
The film will also include cultural elements about Norwegian Sami and Kven (ethnic Finns in Norway who are originally from the area around Alta in Finnmark.)
We are fortunate to have collaboration with the NYC based Finnish band Kaiku (www.kaikumusic.com) for the sound track. Kaiku is fabulous, please visit their web site and attend their concerts, buy CD’s, etc. It’s really wonderful, their work is magical to me and they work HARD.
Cast involved with brief bios:
Biographical background of the scholars, artists, and producers involved in the project; NYC Based Crew and Cast: (CV’s available upon request for all cast and crew)
Copy of the Script:
Please email me (bengeboe@aol.com) call/write me for an electronic or printed copy of the script: Family Reunion It’s in both English and Norwegian (tusen takk Siri Kjellaas og Marit Fosse)
Organizer: Ben Geboe, 116 Pinehurst Avenue, #J51, New York, NY 10033, Home: (212) 568-6007, Email: bengeboe@aol.com
How to Donate:
The total cost of the making the film is projected to be $184,500. Donations are needed to help us improve the quality of the production and enhance the filming process. (We have already secured donated labor, materials and services that are conservatively valued at $251,400.)
Donations are tax deductible. Please mail Ben Geboe a check made out to “Fractured Atlas” and in the memo line of the check write “Ben Geboe Productions” (www.fracturedatlas.org is our non-profit fiscal agent, they process all funds for this project.) You will receive a thank you letter from with a tax deduction letter from Fractured Atlas describing the value of your donation for tax purposes. We would like to include you in the film credits under “supporters.” You may also designate someone else to be honored in the film, “in memory of” or “thanks to...” if you desire.
Call me if you have any ideas to help us raise the needed $184,500.
Please email/call or write me for an electronic or printed copy of the Budget Proposal.
We have submitted formal funding proposals to several Native American Casinos and Tribes as well as local and international Norwegian cultural foundations. We have also had a fund raising party on June 14th that raised $2,000 in money and donated materials.
Please attend our next benefit:
Bunad Film Evening-August 30, 2005 at Norwegian Seaman’s Church, 319 East 2nd Street, NYC $25.00 lecture about the Norwegian Bunad and waffles/coffee, 6:30-9:30 pm. The Norwegian Bunad is the most spectacular folk dress in Scandinavia. Besides the Sami, the Norwegians have one of the most colorful and intricately designed national dresses, which is worn on holidays or at important family or social events.
Organizer: Ben Geboe, 116 Pinehurst Avenue, #J51, New York, NY 10033, Home: (212) 568-6007, Email: bengeboe@aol.com
Fly-Miles Drive/Donations:
You can donate frequent filer miles to help the film project. We would use them to transport the NYC based cast and crew to Norway for the panel discussion in Stavaner on October 22, 2005 and for the actual filming in May, 2005.
To donate miles contact me and I will give you the cast/crew member’s name and address and travel dates. You purchase the ticket using your frequent flyer miles for the cast/crew member (usually 50,000 are needed to go to Norway and back) and send the ticket to me with a letter saying you are donating the miles for this project, and I will forward it on to the participant.
I will provide you with a thank you letter for the donated miles and we would like to include you in the film credits under “supporters.” You may also designate someone else to be honored in the film, “in memory of” or “thanks to...” if you desire. Donated miles are not tax deductible because they are not considered an earned/paid donation by the IRS, however you will get a letter of thanks from our fiscal sponsor Fractured Atlas as well.
This allows us to use donated miles to lower the cost of the project’s travel expenses. People can and often do donate miles for cultural and humanitarian reasons.
Organizer: Ben Geboe, 116 Pinehurst Avenue, #J51, New York, NY 10033, Home: (212) 568-6007, Email: bengeboe@aol.com
Want to get involved? Volunteer or audition?
We welcome anyone who wants to volunteer or has skills to offer in any of the stages; planning, filming or post-production/distribution.
Please contact me and we can discuss how and what you want to do. We need help from everything to cooking for the cast and crew, technical staff for filming and also if you are an actor and proficient in Norwegian, Sami, Kven or Native American languages…
Organizer: Ben Geboe, 116 Pinehurst Avenue, #J51, New York, NY 10033, Home: (212) 568-6007, Email: bengeboe@aol.com