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You may have noticed another film being shot in and around Ely during the past month. ‘Bigfoot Woods’ is the name of the movie, and it stars Minnesota’s own Rich Sommer (‘Mad Men,’ ‘In The Dark,’ ‘The Devil Wears Prada’). The producers of the film announced that it has wrapped filming and is now in post-production for an anticipated 2025 release.
Rich Sommer led a cast which included Tristen MacDonald (‘Quantum Leap,’ ‘Lessons in Chemistry’) and newcomer Ambrose Velasco in a script penned by Bruce and Abel Pavalon and produced by Iron Range-based Sleeper Cell Films. Elizabeth Chatelain directed the film.
“It has been my dream to work back home in Minnesota, and this movie is a particularly special story,” said Sommer, who grew up in Stillwater and now lives with his wife and kids in Los Angeles.
Sommer plays Paul Benally, a straight-laced high school science teacher and father whose kid is coming out. The two have inadvertently filmed a Sasquatch-like creature in the woods near their house and the story asks: are people more likely to accept Bigfoot than a queer person?
The story is based on the real life of the writers, Bruce and Abel Pavalon, who are father and son. They spend every summer in the area at a family cabin and insisted that the film reflect the area they call their second home.
The producers of the film - married couple Megan Huber and Wyatt McDill - have been living in an apartment above the State Theater for the past two months. ‘We love Ely,’ said Huber, ‘and we can’t wait to come back and make another movie here. Everyone’s been so open to us and we were proud to introduce all of our out-of-town cast and crew to everything the area has to offer.’ They plan to screen the finished film next year ‘downstairs’ at the State.
‘Bigfoot Woods’ director Elizabeth Chatelain lives in Hibbing and was selected for the 2020 Feature Lab and Residency - sponsored by Women in Film, Los Angeles. Longtime Coen Brothers (‘Fargo’ ‘True Grit’) set photographer Wilson Webb shot the film.
This is the third feature from Minnesota-based Sleeper Cell Films to shoot in northern Minnesota, including the thriller ‘3 Day Weekend,’ which was made in Park Rapids, and the comedy ‘The Fun-Raiser,’ filmed in Chisholm. ‘Bigfoot Woods’ is part of a growing industry of films being produced on or near the Iron Range, including ‘Boundary Waters,’ which shot in Ely a year ago. That film just had its world premiere at the Twin Cities Film Festival last week.
