DULUTH — Three established niche festivals have linked dates to create a 10-day event that caters to the creators of film, television and web-based content.
Festivals centered on film, TV and web-based content join forces in Duluth
North Star Story Summit, scheduled for fall, combines the Duluth Superior Film Festival, Minnesota WebFest and Catalyst Story Institute.
March 3, 2022 at 10:58PM
North Star Story Summit starts with Duluth Superior Film Festival, a movie-centric series that took root more than a decade ago, and ends with Catalyst Story Institute, which centers on independently-produced television. In between is Minnesota WebFest, a web series showcase that has moved from Minneapolis to be a part of this trio. The event runs Sept. 22-Oct. 1 at downtown venues with Zeitgeist as its headquarters.
This shift consolidates events that are thematically similar.
"It's more powerful to do them together," said Philip Gilpin, Jr., who is credited with the idea for the union. "It's a way to highlight that everybody is in the same boat and rowing in the same direction — to put Minnesota on the map as an industry leader in the content world."
It took some shuffling. Duluth Superior Film Festival has typically been held in the spring or early summer and Minnesota WebFest launched five years ago at venues in and around Minneapolis. George Reese, WebFest's founder, didn't mind moving north. Logistically, it makes sense — the audience of his festival overlaps with those who attend Catalyst, he said.
"By bringing together these three festivals, we have the opportunity to create something that just doesn't exist anywhere else," said Reese. "Sort of akin to Austin and [SXSW], but with a different vibe to it."
Duluth works as a host-site because of its community support, said Trey Wodele of the Northern Film Alliance.
There has been momentum in recent years to push Northern Minnesota as a destination for television and film productions. St. Louis County has offered financial incentives and in late February the Duluth Economic Development Authority added its own. It approved Duluth's Production Incentive Program for TV, film and digital media for projects that meet specific criteria.
Festivals have been hurt by the pandemic for the past two years — canceled, shifted online or held for smaller audiences. The organizers of North Star Story Summit aren't sure what to expect in the coming season.
"We'll know it's successful if we have a bunch of filmmakers networking together, learning new things, interacting with the community and meeting new people," said Wodele.
