Frozen River: A Film Funded by the Kindness of Forgotten Strangers

The humble beginnings of the award winning feature film and the amazing crew it was founded on.

Making independent film is hard. Damn hard. When starting out making their first films, most filmmakers have little money and have to rely, at least partially, on the kindness of strangers. As anyone who has tried it knows, without a substantial budget it's difficult to afford to pay your cast and crew. I know this from personal experience. I've been lucky enough to have had individuals willing to stand in the cold and the heat to aid me in such endeavors. And I've tried my best not to forget them. The crew of Frozen River I'm afraid, was forgotten long ago.

It has been a long time since I aided the first narrative film I've ever known to shoot in the region I grew up in. I was reminded of the shoot by an interview by Liane Hansen with Frozen River star Melissa Leo on National Pubic Radio's Weekend Edition Sunday. Leo makes mention of the short film (of the same name) which was shot back in the winter of 2004. The progenitor of the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winning feature, also written and directed by Courtney Hunt, was filmed on locations in and around the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation in Northern New York. No, you won't find it on IMDB even though it traveled the festival circuit and won funding for the feature at the IFP film market. From Hunt's website:

"The film premiered at the New York Film Festival in 2004, and went on to screen at numerous other festivals, including the Los Angeles Film Festival, Nashville, Williamstown, and the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco."

There isn't anywhere on the internet that I know of where you read about the twenty-eight-plus crew who largely volunteered their time. (The names I know are listed at the end of this article.) You also can't read about Upstate Independents, a filmmaker's organization in Albany, NY, where Hunt asked for and received free help and crew, including myself, from its members. You can't find anything about the months of preparation done by Debra, Al and Amanda, Hunt's intrepid pre-production team, to gather a crew in what can be easily considered a remote location. Being originally from the area, I helped to connect them with the local high school and businesses.

As is customary in indie film, the agreement between Hunt and I was in return for working on the short for free, I would receive lodging and meals during the shoot, credit and if the short ever garnered her a feature film deal, I would be amongst the first to be called to work on it for pay. This was the same agreement given to the entire crew including those who were paid at a discounted rate. To my knowledge, none of the members of that crew were ever contacted when the short won Hunt funding. The only individuals I know from the short to work on the feature, were actors. I've also never seen the short. There was one screening that we were told about, but that was too long a drive for me to make. In all, I received three emails from Hunt early on, but that was it. One of them thanked us for our hard work, which I did appreciate. But, I would have appreciated if she had honored our agreement a whole lot more.

"Courtney wrote and directed Frozen River, the short film, starring Melissa Leo and Misty Upham, which was shot in sub-zero weather on the Canadian border in Upstate New York."

Yes, it was cold. We filmed for five nights in all. We shot outside of Massena at Bob's Motel, over near Hogansburg at the Wolf Pack, down near the St. Lawrence River off Garrow Rd. and actually on the river ice. For those of you who are unfamiliar, a normal shift on a film set is twelve hours. Sid, our tough, prideful Gaffer, Ryan, our towering bright Key Grip-turned-First Assistant Director and myself, the lone Grip were the first to arrive in the early afternoon and the last to leave the set in the wee morning hours. The three of us put in more hours on set (sometimes working over 15 hours) than anyone so, yeah, it was cold. Eddie, Ryan, Sid and myself also drove the trucks. The food on the shoot was fantastic, though. I wish I could recall Melissa-the-Chef's last name. The Production Assistants who helped her were also awesome. Actually, everyone was awesome. Camera, Grip and Electric, Art, Production... everyone.

Through all the frigid, long hours no one complained. Not a one. Ryan was even sick, yet he soldiered on. The next to last night when we filmed at the old camper, I recall looking around at all the crew who occupied probably a sixty-foot radius around the car we were filming in. Each of us dressed in at least three layers of clothing waited patiently and quietly standing steadfast in the cold. I realized; here we were in the middle of the night, in the middle of no where, standing on inches of snow and ice, freezing our asses off, for over twelve hours a day... mostly for free. I was astonished by the kindness of all of these individuals to do this for someone they don't even know-- at least not well. That's when I realized how many films like this rely heavily on the kindness of others. There were even a few times when the dedication of the crew was brought into question (not by the director), but there was absolutely no questioning our dedication and Hunt later told us as much. Through it all, the crew just kept doing their jobs silently and respectfully. Hunt did tell us many times how much she appreciated our efforts and what an awesome job we were doing. We shot a lot of film and from what I heard, the footage was amazing. Therefore, I cannot believe there is any performance-related or other legitimate reason why none of us received any word what-so-ever about the feature (if even to tell us somehow the situation barred her from bringing us on.) I am proud of my efforts on the short and enjoyed working with that exceptional group of people. It is only the lack of follow-through that I have any issue with. And not really for me, but for the entire crew from the students from St. Lawrence University, to the long time pro's from around the Northeast. They deserve recognition for their great effort and their contribution to getting the feature funded. At the least, I feel it's time their existence was known. Unfortunately this is a similar story to countless others in independent film, but luckily I have the ability do a little something to ensure these folks aren't totally forgotten. Hopefully knowing about this will encourage future filmmakers to honor their agreements and give their crew the credit they deserve. The following is a partial list of credits for the short film Frozen River. My thanks to all the cast and crew for their camaraderie and excellent achievement on the frozen border of a great Nation.

Frozen River (2004)

Written & Directed by
Courtney Hunt

Produced by
Don Harwood
Courtney Hunt

Director of Photography
Marc Blandori

Edited by
Tony Grocki

Line Producer
Debra Pearlman

Production Manager
Amanda Brooks

First Assistant Assistant Director
Al Halstead

First Assistant Assistant Director
Ryan Gates

Script Supervisor
Kevin Craig West

Second Assistant Director
Deb Shufelt

First Assistant Camera
Eddie Rodriguez

Second Assistant Camera
Jill Maouf

Gaffer
Sal Martarano

Key Grip
Ryan Gates
Mark Sasahara

Grip
Ben Alpi

Sound Mixer
Martin G. Kelly

Boom Operator
Bret Lafontan

Location Scout
Tim Schneider

Props Artists
Len X. Clayton
Andy Dorr
Chuck Robeland

Prop Master
Josh Wyman

Wardrobe
Kristin Edwards

Key Production Assistant
Mike Camoin

Assistants to the Director
Patty Mason
Amanda Crowley

Production Assistants
Tim Gallivan
Travis Wyman
Etienne Gupta
Brian Willmert
Micah Warren

Special Thanks
(This is a list of people I would think need thanking)
St. Regis Mohawk Tribe
St. Lawrence University
Upstate Independents
Thomas Mercer
Katsitsionni Fox
Salmon River Central School
Bob's Motel, Massena, NY

(photo: Ben Alpi (rt) and Kevin Craig West, courtesy Jill Maouf. )
Anyone with corrections, additional information or photos, please comment and let me know!

A Quick Word for Those in Waiting

A quick note to those of us interested in one day having a relationship, but are still sitting on the sidelines and to those who are trying to get back on that horse.

If you truly want to share your love with someone, don't wait. You will make mistakes. You will fail. You will cry. It will hurt sometimes. But it is also one of the most glorious, fulfilling and exciting things you'll ever have the pleasure of doing. Risk is an unavoidable part of life. You're scared of what could happen, that's totally understandable. You're afraid of failing or of succeeding. Why would someone be interested in ME? How could someone totally be into just hanging out with me? Want to love me? Care about what I do and what I think? What if all they want is my body? To tell you the truth, it is kind of weird, even shocking, to realize someone is content just to stare into your eyes. But, when it's genuine, it's amazing. So, you've put a lot of thought into this. You've convinced yourself that you have too many quirks to succeed. You're too busy to cultivate a meaningful relationship. Well, what if you're wrong? Reality is always different from what we predict. It will surprise you how much so, actually. You'll surprise yourself, too. As you think back to all the reasons against having a relationship, I'll bet you honestly feel at least a little differently about most or all of them if not outright disagree with some of them. We all need to take our own time in life and love. No one can criticize you for doing so no matter your reason and it's probable that the time you're taking to learn about yourself will really help when/if you choose to take the plunge. If you don't want to have a boyfriend or girlfriend, that's totally cool. But, if you're reading this, you're at least considering it. The reality is if you truly wish to share the infinite love you possess with another, you'll be kicking yourself the longer you wait. We don't have an infinite amount of life and it would suck if you didn't get to experience a loving relationship or didn't get to share it for very long. Besides, it's too difficult to find a good match to delay! Just be sure that no matter what you're not holding yourself back out of fear. Fear will limit you and for absolutely no good reason. There are people out there looking to pass their unhealthy habits on to you. That's a nice way of saying there are people who want to use you. That's scary, but you can protect yourself by being vigilant and realistic. If you do get hurt, use the experience to firm up your defenses and to improve yourself. Trust your gut, but don't let fear hold you back. Be honest with yourself. Forgive yourself. Love yourself. Love is always inside you and no one can take it away. We all have quirks, issues and foibles. You're not abnormal, you are unique. You have power and independence. You can do anything that you decide to do. You may have to modify your methods along the way or perhaps your goals will change some, but nothing can stop you if you're dedicated. Society would have you believe otherwise, but the self is important. You are important. You are capable. You are beautiful. You are good. And, you are not alone.

Good luck out there!

November 2008

Yes we can.