independent films
Directed by Dawn Mikkelson
Minnesota Mean
A year in the lives of six members of the Minnesota Roller Derby, as they compete to win the Hydra, the top international prize of the sport. When the star of the team gets injured, will her teammates find their own power?
MINNESOTA MEAN is a human drama about the pounding heart of roller derby: powerful, selfsufficient women. It’s a vital and relevant story of triumph, loss, strength, determination, and a search for balance between individuality and community. How do women who pride themselves on their hard-won independence thrive in a sport that requires them to rely on a team? How do they meet the full-time demands of the sport without sacrificing their own dreams for life outside the rink? A meditation on strength: in our bodies, our hearts, our minds, and our friendships.
Directed by Dawn Mikkelson
For more information on this project visit the official website here.
World Premiere: 2023 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival
2023-24 Festival Screenings (announced to date): Cinequest Film Festival, Florida Film Festival, Sunscreen Film Festival, Duluth Superior Film Festival (NORTHERN VOICES AWARD WINNER), New Jersey Film Festival, Topaz Film Festival, Centre Film Festival, Reif Film Festival, Big Water Film Festival (BEST DOCUMENTARY), Frozen River Film Festival (BEST MINNESOTA DOCUMENTARY), & Ely Film Festival.
CURRENTLY TOURING FESTIVALS AROUND THE WORLD AND ENGAGING IN COMMUNITY SCREENINGS.
Finding Her Beat
A master of Japanese drumming and a Korean adoptee from Minnesota boldly convene an all-female troupe to perform Taiko, the Japanese drumming art that has been off-limits to women for centuries. As the early menace of Covid rumbles in the background, the group faces down hurdles to prepare for a historic performance in snowy St. Paul. Buoyed by dynamic drum performances and do-or-die spirit, FINDING HER BEAT is an energizing and uplifting story of music, cultural expression and sisterhood.
Directed by Dawn Mikkelson & Keri Pickett
For more information on this project visit the official website here.
Festival/Screenings
World Premiere: 2022 Mill Valley Film Festival
Awards: Best Music Documentary of 2023 - Film Threat “Award This!”, Best Documentary & Audience Award - DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon, Honorable Mention - Seattle Queer Film Festival, Peoples Choice Film & Best MN Film - Frozen River Film Festival, Best MN Film - Minnesota Film Festival, Jury Prize - Satisfied Eye International Film Festival (UK), Best Documentary - DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival, Audience Award - Deep in the Heart Film Festival, Best Music Documentary - Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature - Mystic Film Festival, Best Minnesota Film - Ely Film Festival, Grand Prizze Best Feature - Ishigakijima International Documentary Film Festival (Japan).
2022 festival screenings: Opening Night Film Screening at Sound Unseen (Austin, TX), Centerpiece Screening at Sound Unseen (Minneapolis, MN), Seattle Queer Film Festival, DOC NYC, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, Heartland Film Festival, Doctober, Newport Beach Film Festival, Hawai’i International Film Festival, Key West Film Festival, Cucalorus, and Tucson Film Festival.
2023 festival screenings: Frozen River Film Festival, DOXA Documentary Film Festival (Vancouver), Queer Screen’s 30th Mardi Gras Film Festival (Australia), Opening Night Film at Seattle Asian American Film Festival, Durango Independent Film Festival, Oxford Film Festival, Opening Night Film at DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon, Salem Film Fest, Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival, Sonoma International Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival, Centerpiece Film at Minnesota Film Festival, San Diego Asian Film Festival, Milwaukee Film Festival, Satisfied Eye International Film Festival (UK), Bentonville Film Festival, Film Independent Festival Visions, Free Range Film Festival, DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival, Deep in the Heart Film Festival, Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, Rising Sun International Film Festival (Japan), Vancouver Asian Film Festival, Asian American International Film Festival, Kaleidoscope LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Flatland Film Festival, Portland Film Festival, Namdo Film Festival (Korea), Boston Asian American Film Festival, Mystic Film Festival, Florence Queer Festival (Italy), Topaz Film Festival.
2024 festival screenings (announced to date): Ely Film Festival (Best Minnesota Film) & Ishigakijima International Documentary Film Festival (Grand Prize Documentary Feature).
CURRENTLY TOURING FESTIVALS AROUND THE WORLD & AVAILABLE ON AMAZON, TUBI, AND GOOGLE PLAY.
Risking Light - 2018
Feature Documentary
WORLD PREMIERE - Cinequest Film & VR Festival, in competition.
Directed by Dawn Mikkelson
The film
From the streets of Minneapolis, the aboriginal lands of Australia, and the killing fields of Cambodia come the powerful stories of three people who had the courage to step out of the haunting, tragic darkness of the past, risking everything to reach the light of their own compassion.
Risking Light has broadcast around the world, including the United States (American Public Television/PBS), Canada (CBC), Brazil, North Africa, Middle East, Sweden, Portugal, and Germany (Deutche Welle).
Links to watch film online, on DVD/BluRay, or book screenings for your organization here: https://www.riskinglight.com/
Shaping the Public - 2015
Short Film
WINNER - Best Documentary Short Film, WIFTI Short-Case (Women in Film & Television International Short Film Showcase.
Directed by Dawn Mikkelson
Additional festival screenings at Flyway Film Festival and MSPIFF (Minneapolis/St. Paul, International Film Festival).
A determined group of artists occupy a vacant lot in an impoverished and violent part of Caracas, Venezuela, transforming it into a home for a thriving arts scene receiving national and international acclaim.
The Red Tail - 2009
Feature Documentary
“"[The Red Tail ] will make you not only smarter, but also more sensitive and compassionate.” – Huffington Post, Feb 25, 2010.
"Sneakily insightful study of the insidiously far-reaching effects of globalization on unionized labor around the world” -Video Librarian, Sept-Oct 2010
The film
Directed by Dawn Mikkelson & Melissa Koch
On August 19, 2005 Roy Koch, along with 4,400 airline mechanics, custodians, and cleaners, went on strike against Northwest Airlines, the fourth largest airline in the world. Northwest, otherwise known as “The Red Tail” by its employees, wanted to lay off 53% of their union and outsource their jobs. What followed was a 444-day strike that would end with 4,000 union members out of work, including Roy.
Instead of being left in the wake of this battle, Roy and his daughter Melissa (director of The Red Tail) set on a journey to meet the worker to whom Roy’s job was outsourced in China. The journey provides a renewed sense of purpose for Roy, and while Melissa wants to get answers to his plight, her determination as a filmmaker is always tempered by her love as a daughter. The film interweaves Roy and Melissa’s search for connection in China with the premeditated downfall of Northwest Airlines. This downfall serves a vibrant example of the dangers of our current economic system, and casts a spotlight on the future of the working class.
The Red Tail has screened around the world at festivals including 2010 IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), DocuFest Atlanta, US Social Forum, LaborFest, 2009 Sheffield Doc/Fest, Galway Film Fleadh, and the Flyway Film Festival.
The Red Tail has broadcast in Israel and is currently available to PBS affiliates through NETA.org. The film is available on multiple streaming platforms.
Learn more at The Red Tail Official Website.
Purchase DVD for Individual Home Use Here: Emergence Pictures Store
Educational/community/institutional sales, please visit Collective Eye.
Stream on Vimeo on Demand or Amazon Prime.
Green Green Water - 2006
Feature Documentary
Director/Producer: Dawn Mikkelson
Co-Directed: Jamie A. Lee
DP/Producer: James M. Fortier
“Green Green Water follows U.S. consumer, Dawn Mikkelson, as she traces the source of her ‘green energy’ back to the displacement of the indigenous Cree and Metis in Northern Manitoba. Whitewashed under auspices of renewable energy, power suppliers Xcel Energy and Manitoba Hydro provide cheap hydro-electric power to Minnesota – energy that comes at the price of mass flooding, destroyed land and devastated communities, a far cry from the ‘clean and green’ tranquility of the energy company’s posters. Dating back to pressured agreements signed in the 1970s, the hydro-electric dams harshly disrupted the sustainable practices of indigenous life. Now, as a new set of dams are being proposed, the communities stand at the crossroads, divided. Some advocate partnership in the development of new projects, hoping to spark the economy and a new way of life; others continue to resist government pressure, choosing to maintain the integrity of indigenous tradition. A cautionary tale of consumer consciousness, Green Green Water exposes the important story of displacement, resistance and insidious public relations that lie beyond the energy grid.” — Anita Wong, Planet In Focus Environmental Film Festival, 2006.
Broadcast History
Free Speech TV & WDSE, PBS-Duluth, MN
Festival/Screenings
World Premiere: 2006 imagineNATIVE Film Festival (Toronto)
U.S. Premiere: 2006 American Indian Film Festival (San Francisco)
Other festival screenings: Planet In Focus International Film Festival (Toronto), Cambridge Film Festival (England), City Pages: Get Real Documentary Film Festival (Minneapolis), the Washington DC Environmental Film Festival, Yukon International Film Festival, Environmental Film Festival (Saskatoon, SK), The Native Spirit Film & Video Festival (London, UK), See the Light Energy Festival (Minneapolis), Northern Lights Film Festival (Ely, MN), Duluth Environmental Film Festival, Nit-Aski: An Environmental Awareness (Moose Factory, ON), One World Film Fest (Ottawa), Red Fork Native American Film Festival (Tulsa, OK).
Special invite screenings: Zaragoza International Water Expo in Spain, American University (presented by NRDC, Washington, D.C.), National Film Board of Canada’s Citizen Shift “Water” Tour, Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Conference & Film Exhibit (New York, NY), Bell Museum of Natural History (Minneapolis), Ottawa University (KS), Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College (Cloquet, MN), Macalester College (St. Paul, MN), Vermilion Community College (Ely, MN), & Mesabi Range Community & Technical College (Virginia, MN).
Purchase DVD for Individual Home Use Here: Emergence Pictures Store
Educational/community/institutional sales, please visit Collective Eye.
Stream on Vimeo on Demand.
THIS obedience - 2003
Feature Documentary
Out Lesbian minister the Rev. Anita C. Hill fights the toughest battle of her life as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America grapples with her ordination, an act of “ecclesiastical disobedience” against the church policy that GLBT clergy vow celibacy. THIS obedience is an emotional journey through the conflict between faith and love. Winner of a 2003 Audience Award at the Central Standard Film Festival. Screened at festivals across the U.S. and Canada.
Directors: Dawn Mikkelson & Jamie A. Lee
Produced by Aquaries Media.
DVDs available through Reconciling Works.