Highway 61 Film Festival

We’re very excited to announce that A Life Well Played has recently won 1st place in the Documentary Short category at the Highway 61 Film Festival. Located in Pine City, Minnesota, the multi-day event has taken place every October since 2011.

For those of you who may want to make the trip to Pine City to attend the festival and catch a viewing of the movie, here are the details.

A Life Well Played will be showing:

When: Sunday, October 9, program begins at 5:30 p.m. A Life Well Played will screen after 7pm.

Where: Pine Technical and Community College
900 Fourth Street SE, Pine City, MN 55063

Here is Sunday evening’s schedule:
Sunday, October 9, program begins at 5:30 p.m.

Letter to My Son
Director: Maurice Hicks • Drama Short • North Carolina • 10 min
A tired and worn would-be father pens a hypothetical detailing his perspectives and fears to his unborn son.
The Example
Director: Wyatt Cagle • Drama Short – First Place 2016 • Texas • 30 min
During a race riot in Beaumont, Texas in June 1943, worlds collide at a roadblock. Tensions explode on that hot summer night, forcing all involved to make decisions that will question their morals and loyalty.
Voices From Kaw Thoo Lei
Director: Martha Gorzycki • Made in Minnesota • 11 min
The Karen People of Burma, many of whom now live in Minnesota, believe no one hears their pleas for help as their country remains ravaged by a war that has lasted more than six decades.
The Hindu Thread
Director: Jennifer Higgins • Animation • Milwaukee • 3 min
One of the things that makes us human is our ability to tell stories. Eugene Burger narrates the Hindu creation myth. Brahma creates, Vishnu sustains, and Shiva destroys, but that is not the end.
Reclaiming Sacred Tobacco
Director: Leya Hale • Made in Minnesota • St. Paul • 27 min
Minnesotan American Indian communities are reclaiming traditional practices around Sacred Tobacco while educating their people on the growth of commercial tobacco’s frequent use in sacred traditions in order to untangle the two and promote a healthy lifestyle for future generations.
Split Costs
Director: Jeffrey Blake Palmer • Drama Short • Boston •24 min
Two young women from disparate backgrounds share a ride to western Massachusetts. A story of unexpected friends navigating life’s bumpy roads and moving forward with hope.
A Life Well Played
Director: Rene Erickson • Documentary Short – First Place 2016 • Inver Grove Heights • 30 min
What would it be like to do exactly what you wanted with your life?  Explore the life, music and motivation of eclectic guitarist and prolific composer Reynold Philipsek in this documentary portrait.

The Festival itself runs Thursday, October 6th through Sunday, October 9th, 2016. There are plenty of other great films to check out, too. Click here for a full list of scheduled films, along with when and where they’ll be playing.

Hope to see you there.

Reynold