Film

In The Moment ... November 7, 2019 Show 696 Hour 1

As Americans prepare for Veterans Day, Cinema Falls offers the South Dakota premiere of the feature film The Great War by South Dakota State University graduate Steven Luke.

During the final days of the first World War, Lt. William Rivers leads a squad of white U.S. soldiers behind enemy lines to locate a missing platoon of African American soldiers. Lt. Rivers must overcome the horrors of trench warfare as well as the racial and political chasm that divides Americans.

In The Moment ... March 6, 2019 Show 529 Hour 2

Filmmaker Andrew Kightlinger has called his picture Tator Tot & Patton a "love letter to the state and a homegrown piece of art."

Kightlinger is touring the state for Q&A sessions at select screenings of Tator Tot & Patton, the Black Hills Film Festival's 2018 Best Feature Film Award winner.

Schedule and ticket information for Washington Pavilion Cinedome screenings.

In The Moment ... June 13, 2018 Show 357 Hour 1 

When Harold Ramis died in 2014, he left behind millions of fans who cherished his work as an actor, writer and director of comedy classics like Animal House, Caddyshack, Vacation, Groundhog Day and Ghostbusters.  His movies are filled with satire, original storytelling, and quotable lines.

While working on the stage and on radio with The Second City and National Lampoon, Ramis performed alongside comedy icons like John Belushi, Bill Murray, Christopher Guest, Gilda Radner and Joe Flaherty.

In The Moment ... May 14, 2018 Show 336 Hour 1

A new film by Becca Flinn-White looks at the compelling story of a young woman determined to walk away from a South Dakota Hutterite colony in order to escape an undesirable marriage and get her education.

Becca Flinn-White is writer and director of the film "Hutterite." It screens Saturday, May 19,  during the Sioux Empire Film Festival in Sioux Falls.

In The Moment ... March 15, 2018 Show 297 Hour 2

Ryan Brewer owns MagicTime Films production company. He's a Black Hills filmmaker and he joins us live from SDPB's Black Hills Bureau.

In The Moment ... December 19, 2017 Show 243 Hour 1

Documentary filmmaker Dan Manatt and historian Jon Lauck join us for a look at a project to explore Midwest History.

In The Moment ... November 29, 2017 Show 229 Hour 1 

Cinema Falls brings the film "Loving Vincent" to Sioux Falls. We're joined by Julie Anderson Friesen and Dr. Lindsay Twa, Associate Professor of Art at Augustana University for a conversation about the art and life of one of the world's most beloved painters.

In The Moment ... November 27, 2017 Show 227 Hour 2

A new exhibit at the Old Courthouse Museum tells the story of the Sioux Falls entertainment industry. "Theatres: Stage to Screen" looks at more than 25 theatres from the 1880s to today. It's also the topic of this week's Images of the Past.  Adam Nelson is Marketing Coordinator for the Siouxland Heritage Museums in Sioux Falls.

In The Moment ... November 14, 2017 Show 219 Hour 1 

"Loving Vincent" is the story of the death, and more importantly, the life, of artist Vincent van Gogh. It's the world's first oil painted film. More than 125 professional oil painters created 65,000 individually painted frames for animation. Nothing you see in the film is computer generated.

It plays at the Matthews Opera House in Spearfish this weekend, November 17 to 19. Cinema Falls brings it to the Washington Pavilion Belbas Theatre on Sunday, December 3.

In The Moment ... September 28, 2017 Show 187 Hour 2

Author Kent Nerburn's book "Neither Wolf Nor Dog" became known inside Hollywood as the great unmade Native American novel. Producers tried, and failed, to bring the book to the screen for more than 20 years. Scottish Filmmaker Steven Lewis Simpson managed the project with an 18 day shoot with a 95-year-old star and fan support from Kickstarter. "Neither Wolf Nor Dog," the film, returns to South Dakota and opens at the Brookings Cinema 8 in Brookings and the Logan Luxury 5 Theater in Mitchell. Joining us is Steven Lewis Simpson.

In The Moment ... August 11, 2017 Show 154 Hour 1

What draws you to American roots music? What draws you into deeper relationship with other human beings? Musicians Dennis James and Lauryn Shapter find inspiration in the brokenness and vulnerability of humanity.

In The Moment ... May 8, 2017 Show 088 Hour 2

Dr. Dan Engebretson is chair of the biomedical engineering program at the University of South Dakota. He's also director of the GEAR center. He along with Eric Sandhurst and Yangxi Liu join us to talk about Biomaterials Day in Sioux Falls and how South Dakota scientists collaborate to solve problems and mentor the next generation of scientists.

In The Moment ... April 18, 2017 Show 074 Hour 1

“Vietnam Vets: Still Coming Home” is a monumental book that chronicles the monumental lives (as well as the mundane details) of Vietnam veterans before, during, and after the war. Joining us today in the studio are photographer Steve Feimer and Larry Tentinger.

Filmmaker, artist and host of Old Guys and Their Airplanes, John Mollison, discusses the upcoming premiere of his short film "The Gentleman Next Door." The film features WWII RAF fighter pilot John Wilkinson who makes his home in South Dakota. Mollison's latest film premieres at the South Dakota Air & Space Museum on Friday at 6:00 p.m. MT. The broadcast premiere of "The Gentleman Next Door" on SDPB-TV is Thursday, November 3, at 8:00 p.m. CT.

The State Theatre in Sioux Falls is showing the silent film "The General" this Saturday afternoon complete with live music from the Alloy Orchestra. Ticket proceeds from this Cinema Falls event will go benefit State Theatre renovation. "The General" begins at 4:00 p.m.

This week's Images of the Past segment focuses on the film career of Casey Tibbs. The South Dakotan was a rodeo great, movie star and John Wayne's "wing man." Cindy Bahe, Director of the Casey Tibbs South Dakota Rodeo Center in Ft. Pierre discusses a new exhibit at the museum dedicated to Tibbs' film career.

Click here to go to SDPB's Images of the Past web feature on Casey Tibbs.

Augustana filmmakers Sara Kocher and Maria Lavelle show their documentary on homelessness tonight at Cinema Falls. “Over the Bridge” is a look at men and women who have “fallen through the safety nets” of society. The two student filmmakers are receiving support and encouragement from Cinema Falls and others in their attempt to launch the film onto the film festival circuit. Kocher and Lavelle join Dakota Midday host Lori Walsh to talk about what they learned on the frozen streets of Sioux Falls by turning their camera … and their questions … on those they had previously overlooked.

The Red Cloud Heritage Center’s “Our Community Story” project has ended with screenings of students’ interviews of elders, artists and professionals from the Pine Ridge Reservation. We  visited with Lakota parents to see what they thought about the months’ long school assignment and its benefits to their children.

FRONTLINE brings you "Children of Syria" tonight on South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

Filmmaker Marcel Mettelsiefen talks with Dakota Midday host Lori Walsh about telling the truth and making art amidst the rubble and hope of the human experience.

Lunafest is a national showcase of short films that highlights women filmmakers and women's issues. Peg Ryan is the chair of the Lunafest Custer committee. She joins Midday to discuss the power of a short narrative and the importance of bringingg international film to Custer.

Former US Senator Larry Pressler discusses the award winning film "American Hustle" and how the ABSCAM scandal was portrayed in the film.  Pressler was the only one not to take a bribe in the sting operation that snared seven members of Congress and many other political figures in the late 1970's.  Pressler also discusses the accuracy of war films and what effects they have on the general perception of those wars.  

The state has a new film festival. Organizers have announced the first annual Sioux Empire Film Festival. The three-day event takes place in downtown Sioux Falls April 8-10, 2016 at the Orpheum Theater. The festival has already received 30 submissions from South Dakota and around the world, including France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Egypt, and Iran. Filmmaker Brent Clouser is the founder and president of the Sioux Empire Film Festival.

Two young Native American writer/directors are being given the opportunity to receive expert assistance this week in the production of their first professional film projects.  

Bird Runningwater is director of the Sundance Institute’s Native American and Indigenous program. He says interest in and a commitment to Native American filmmakers goes back to founder Robert Redford. 

As part of its second annual Native American film festival, the Chadron Public Library added traditional story tellers to its list of educational entertainment. 

Joyzelle Gingway Godfrey is Yankton Sioux and Ottawa. She started story telling in the Rapid City school system. The American Indian elder says she shares traditional stories as a way to educate people.

The new film, Of Minor Prophets, was inspired by the biblical story of Hosea who was commanded by God to marry a harlot. The film was shot in northwestern Iowa and Sioux Falls and tells the story of lonely, bachelor farmer Doug who befriends Ami, a prostitute with suspicious intentions. It explores themes of love, forgiveness, sacrifice and deceit. Cora Vander Broek stars as Ami and Kris Kling is Doug. 

New York-based filmmaker Chloe Zhao’s first feature, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, was shot and largely cast on the Pine Ridge Reservation. It’s a portrait of life on Pine Ridge experienced partly through the eyes of a young Lakota girl who is preparing herself for the departure of her beloved older brother. Johnny and Jashaun live at home with their single mother. An older brother is in prison. At the start of the film, the brothers learn that the father they’ve never met, a famous rodeo cowboy, has died in an accidental fire.

The sixth annual Black Hills Film Festival kicks off today. The four-day event in Rapid City and Hill City features a line-up of more than 30 films from South Dakota and around the world. There are also several special guests with experience as actors, writers, directors and producers. They're sharing their insights into various aspects of filmmaking.

The Pyramid is the story of a team of U.S. archeologists who discover a lost pyramid in the Egyptian desert. While just the top of the pyramid is above ground, beneath is a massive structure that may have been constructed to keep something within its walls.

Sioux Falls native Nick Simon co-wrote The Pyramid with Daniel Meersand. Simon’s other co-writing credits include Cold Comes the Night. He also directed Removal and is preparing to direct a second feature film in collaboration with Wes Craven, The Girl in the Photographs.

In the summer of 1990, paleontologist Peter Larson and his team from the Black Hills Institute in Hill City unearthed a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton in western South Dakota near Faith. It was the largest, most complete T-Rex ever found. They nicknamed the dinosaur Sue, after Sue Hendrickson who first discovered the bones.

A film festival called “Trading Stories: A Native American Film Festival” is designed to acknowledge the contributions of the Lakota people. It was held over the weekend at the Chadron Public Library.  The goal of the festival is also to highlight contemporary Native issues through the use of film.

Librarian Annette Peter says the idea for an annual Native American Film Festival has its roots in the relationship Chadron has with its neighboring community of Pine Ridge.