Kelly Nathe, producer
Documentary-filmmakers Norah Shapiro and Kelly Nathe have won a Legacy-funded grant from the Minnesota Film & TV Board for a film on the colorful moonshine-making history of Nathe's home turf, Stearns County. The doc will trace the Prohibition-era activities of Depression-devastated farmers who turned to hustling illegal booze as well as look at the current revival of spirits made from the "Minnesota 13" heirloom corn being used by the Eleven Wells distillery located in the old Hamm's Brewery in St. Paul. "We just got to taste some fresh-off-the-still hooch there, and it was yummy," said Nathe. The grant, which will amount to about $40,000 in reimbursements intended to help cover pre-production costs, is very rare and very welcome because "it's nearly impossible to raise money for a feature documentary before you've begun filming," she told I.W. "It's also a tremendous stamp of approval that hopefully helps attract other funders." Filmmaker Michael McIntee also won a grant from Minnesota Film & TV for his work-in-progress on the fight for marriage equality in Minnesota.
Norah Shapiro, producer/director
