Cottage Grove planning community film festival

What do Cannes, Sundance and Cottage Grove all have in common?

As of January, all three cities will play host to film festivals.

When the Cottage Grove City Council voted last spring to create the city's first Arts Commission, it was more than just window dressing. The nine-member panel had a mandate not only to connect people and groups with interest in the arts, but also to be a prime mover to ingrain arts in the community. It's one part of a multifaceted effort to make Cottage Grove a better place to live.

The commission has barely gotten off the ground but has taken on its first big community project: the "Films in 5 Festival" coming up Jan. 24. Like those better-known film festivals, "Films in 5" will give local filmmakers a chance to showcase their creations. And the short-format films — less than 5 minutes long, as the name implies — will be critiqued and prizes awarded.

But the real object is to create an enjoyable experience, for both filmmakers and their audiences, said Justin Atkinson, vice chairman of the new commission who developed the idea. He also works as a government producer for the South Washington County Telecommunications Commission (SWCTC), the sometimes unsung agency that provides an array of local television programming that has earned national plaudits.

His career, and the idea for the film festival, springs from a lifelong passion for making movies. A degree in filmmaking from Minneapolis Community and Technical College and a job at Carmike Cinemas in Oakdale only intensified that interest and led him to SWCTC.

"I was really passionate about telling stories with the visual medium," Atkinson said. "That's been my dream since I was a little kid."

The SWCTC office in Cottage Grove hums with activity as Atkinson and five other producers work on editing video and making preparations for productions for local government access channels covering five communities: Cottage Grove, Woodbury, St. Paul Park, Newport and Grey Cloud Island Township.

They include shows like "Woodbury City Style"; "River Cities," covering events in Newport and St. Paul Park; "County Insight"; "Cottage Grove Spotlight"; "Weekly Wire," about all the communities; and others.

Atkinson's love of filmmaking is shared by SWCTC's close-knit team, he said. "We all really love our jobs. We're all passionate about what we do," Atkinson said. "We all work hard to keep the community informed."The SWCTC is funded by a 5 percent franchise fee on the gross revenues of cable service provider Comcast, plus another $1 per month paid by Comcast customers, said Fran Hemmesch, SWCTC administrator.

SWCTC uses that money to fund its operations, which include a number of services for member communities.

Film crews with SWCTC broadcast every city council and township board meeting live and archive them on its website (http://swctc.org). SWCTC also broadcasts meetings of local planning commissions and other advisory panels, along with special events like recent election forums.

SWCTC experts also manage all the technical sound equipment used by cities, including those used at city halls and at other public places like Bielenberg Sports Center in Woodbury. They also produce promos and training films used internally by local governments, Hemmesch added. A 38-second promo for Cottage Grove's new Splash Pad earned a prestigious Telly Award this year for lead producer Ann Simpson, a film selected from 12,000 entries nationwide.

After the commission's expenses are paid at the end of the year, between $300,000 and $400,000 is typically returned to the communities, she said, based on the number of Comcast customers.

The film festival is likely just the beginning of projects for the Cottage Grove Arts Commission. Long-term goals include creating an arts festival, and possibly a local theater company.

For now, though, Atkinson's focus is on "Films in 5."

"I can't wait to see what kinds of films we get from people here in the community," he said. "It's just fun."

Jim Anderson • 651-925-5039 Twitter: @StribJAnderson