A few sentences summarizing what we saw on Tuesday can't do justice to the film. Mike presented a slightly edited version in two parts, with comments about the process and about how he worked with a cast consisting of first-time, non-actor middle school students. The filmmaking skills Mike developed in the corporate world during his working days were evident in the totally professional caliber of the film. And the message the film and its cast conveyed is that we all need to respect and conserve the Kinnickinnic River and its watershed.
Speaking of the watershed: Mark Ritzinger, who appeared in the film and was one of our guests, mentioned that he offers tours of the watersheds that feed the Kinni. He said that touring the northern end of the KRLT conservation area can add a great deal to people's understanding of the Kinni. He takes groups of 4 at a time. Mark's email is markritzinger@yahoo.com.
Click Read More to read about Mike as well as his summary of Stories from the Water:
"Stories from the Water" is a 2 year journey with 5 middle school students from River Falls. Our young people learn much about our river, storytelling & conservation. In this process they all learn something about themselves as well. The students were chosen from a 2 day casting call at the River Falls library, and none of the student/co-producers are professional actors,. Countless trips down to the Kinni into remote areas gave the students an appreciation for the entire watershed & the importance of this local gem to our area. Our 2 year story was inspired by a children's book :"The Fishing River", which was written in 1961. Much has changed since then, but some things remain the same. "Stories" has been in several film festivals & the firs showing at UWRF was a sellout.
Mike Wurm is a semi-retired producer in medical television & corporate media production. He has won awards as a producer of healthcare media and has been a senior producer and project coordinator at Allina Health. That position gave him a great window to caregivers & patients at some of the most vulnerable times of their lives.
Mike is a former student at UWRF, and he says that he always wanted to do something about the Kinni; retirement gave him that option. He lives in White Bear Lake, and like most locals in River Falls he loves the Kinni. His hope is that "stories" inspires conversation about protecting this great resource.