Missing Threads Earns Another Award

On Thursday November 17, Wisconsin filmmakers gathered at Madison's Bartell Theater to celebrate their craft with the WAVE Awards. This annual event is a program of the Madison chapter of the Media Communications Association - International.

The documentary Missing Threads: The Story of the Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act earned a WAVE Award in the Training and Informational category. This project's production team included Colleen Parquette (Shadow Collaborative, Mosinee), Michelle Danforth (Oneida Nation, Green Bay),  Brian Alberth (Left Effect Media, Madison) and Susan Reetz (Clear Focus Media, LLC, Weston - formerly of Rucinski & Reetz Communication). 

The film was shown at the Green Bay Film Festival, Vision Maker Film Festival (Lincoln, Nebraska), Albuquerque Film and Music Experience (AFME), and the McMillan Library Film Festival as well as numerous other community events. It received a Golden Reel in the documentary category from the Media Communications Association - International, was chosen as a finalist in the film category for a Media For a Jut Society Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and was named 2016 Best Short Documentary at the Albuquerque Film and Music Experience.

 Click on the photo to watch Missing Threads.

Link to Our Article on the National Council on Crime and Delinquency Blog

Check out our guest article on the National Council on Crime and Delinquency blog. We were honored when asked, as finalists in the Film category of their 2016 Media for a Just Society Awards, to provide a guest article. They are a great organization doing great things in the world.

And now, here is the blog article link.  And while you're there,, take some time to  look around their site. It's bursting with useful and important information.

Missing Threads Chosen as Media for a Just Society Award Finalist

Missing Threads: The Story of the Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act, has been selected as a finalist in the film category for the National Council on Crime and Delinquency's Media for a Just Society Award. Our entire team is truly honored to be in the company of such high caliber and meaningful work.

These awards are the only national recognition of media whose work furthers public understanding of social justice issues. Finalists were chosen from more than 150 nominations and submissions in seven categories.

Please go to the National Council on Crime and Delinquency's website to learn more about the finalists in all seven categories.

Link to Missing Threads Documentary Goes Public

We committed to showing Missing Threads at a few film festivals in an effort to raise awareness of the film and the issues covered within it. We completed our final festival showing on Saturday, and to celebrate, we have no made the YouTube link to the film public.

Please watch the film and share it with interested groups and individuals. Our goal is to have as many people as possible see the film and to raise awareness of the subject, and improve compliance with the law.

You can find the film, Missing Threads: The Story of the Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act, on YouTube. The raw link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCLUbS4FxWo. You can also find my entire YouTube channel by searching for Susan Reetz.

P.S. We have been  honored to have been named 2016 Best Short Documentary by the Albuquerque Film and Music Experience and to be recognized with a Golden Reel from the Media Communication Association - International for Documentary/Shorts. We are also humbled to be named as a finalist in the Media for a Just Society by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

Click the play arrow to watch the documentary here.

Missing Threads Named Best Short Documentary at Albuquerque Film and Music Experience

On Thursday April 21, 2016 Missing Threads: The Story of the Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act showed at the Albuquerque Film and Music Experience (AFME). The 57 minute documentary generated a thoughtful conversation among attendees following the screening.

We received congratulations from many festival attendees for covering an important issue. The personal stories of Loa Porter (Ho-Chunk) and Eugene White-fish (Forest County Potawatomi) were particularly moving for those who viewed the film. Though the film is specific to the process and methods used by Wisconsin's 11 tribes and state government in passing the law, many aspects are applicable to other states with significant Native populations as well.

On Saturday April 23, Missing Threads was announced as the 2016 Best Short Documentary by AFME. It was a welcome surprise to the team who made the film and will help to raise awareness of the issues described in the film.

Missing Threads Wins Golden Reel from the Media Communication Association - International Media Festival

The Golden Reels is a very competitive media festival receiving entries from production professionals around the globe. We were very honored to learn today that we received a Golden Reel (top award) in the Media Communication Association - International's 47th annual festival in the Short Documentary category.

Here is what the judges had to say:

• What a heart breaking thing to do to children! This was a wonderfully engaging piece. it's all about the process of getting legistlation passed. knowing who to approach and how. Really wonderfully done.
   
• Excellent storytelling. Well written and convincing.
  
  
• Moving and well-told story. Great mix of interview, reenactment, general video and graphics. I found the lower thirds a little distracting and also hard to read, but this was a minor negative. Great demonstration of the power of video story-telling.
• Moving and educational!
   
• Right off the bat the narrator grabbed me. Serious goose bumps throughout the opening. The stories and interviews were great. Music works so well. Liked the title treatment a lot. The b-roll was inspired. The effect on the stills was effective. The first 5 minutes really set up for the factual part. I just don't know what else to say - this is an incredible piece. 
   
• The producers obviously went to great lengths in assembling on camera "talent" that would effectively convey the message. I loved the interviewees. A perfect blending of interviews and stock footage. Lighting and audio were spot on. Music selection was perfect. I'm sorry that I was not able to watch the entire piece due to its length and my own time constraints. I watched much more than I originally intended though. I was drawn in by the superb writing and production values. I will return to the video and watch in it's entirety soon. I have given this a perfect score. I hope other judges do the same. Congratulations on a beautiful production!

Scheduled Showings of the Missing Threads: The Story of the Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act

COMING UP...

To schedule a showing, contact Susan Reetz, 715-212-6239.



PAST SHOWINGS...

September 16, 2016 (Friday) from 1:00 to 3:00
University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
Communication Arts Center, room 333


August 25, 2016 (Thursday) at 6:00 pm
Marathon County Public Library
300 N. First Street
Wausau, WI  54403


June 15, 2016 (Wednesday) at 6:00 pm (Chili at 6:00. Film at 6:30.)
T.B. Scott Free Library
106 W. 1st Street
Merrill, WI  54452


May 24, 2016 (Tuesday) at 6:30 pm
Mercer Public Library
2648 W Margaret Street
Mercer, WI  54547


May 12, 2016 (Thursday) at 6:00 pm
Presented by Forest County Potawatomi
We Care Community Building
Carter, Wisconsin


May 2, 2016 (Monday) at 6:00 pm
Presented by Forest County Potawatomi
Holiday Inn Express and Suites
4219 Barbican Ave
Weston, WI  54476


April 28, 216 (Thursday) at 6:00 pm
Presented by Forest Count Potawatomi
Forest County Potawatomi Auditorium
Executive Building
Rhinelander, Wisconsin

• April 21 (Thursday) at 1:00 pm
  Albuquerque Film and Music Experience
  South Broadway Cultural Center
  Albuquerque, New Mexico
  http://www.abqfilmx.com/

March 31, 2016 (Thursday) at 7:00 pm
McMillan Memorial Library
490 East Grand, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin
Parking lots west of building and across Birch Street.
http://www.mcmillanlibrary.org/missing-threads-story-wisconsin-indian-child-welfare-act

 

March 13, 2016 (Sunday) at 2:00 pm
Vision Maker Film Festival
Lincoln, Nebraska
http://www.visionmakermedia.org/festival





March 5, 2016 (Saturday) at 4:00 pm
Green Bay Film Festival
Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Dudley Bird Hall, St. Norbert College)
The full schedule for the Green Bay Film Festival can be found at http://www.gbfilmfestival.org/2016-festival-schedule-2/

• Sunday December 3 at ArtStart in Rhinelander. More
  information here: http://www.artstartrhinelander.org/index.html