Leah Perri/Winonan

The 2014 Frozen River Film Festival (FRFF) has had another successful season, featuring over 85 original films in various locations in Winona and the surrounding area.

The festival, which ran from Jan. 18 through Jan. 26, sought to bring the community members of Winona just a little bit closer.

The festival included documentary film screenings, music, local vendors, activities for children and guest speakers, including presentations by the documentary filmmakers themselves.

Kathy Florin, assistant director for the FRFF, has been on the staff committee for four years now.

In Florin’s opinion, documentary films in general are becoming more mainstream and popular in today’s society because of the importance of shared experience—what makes us all human.

“It is important for people to have that intimate connection with people involved in the film process and to have that dialogue with other people within the community,” Florin said. “It is important to participate in the community and in life, rather than just be a spectator.”

On Saturday morning, the Science Laboratory Center Atrium was the hub of the festival. Vendors from the Winona Farmers Market lined the halls, and festival attendees swapped stories over lunch between films.

Kelli Lawless, a senior English teaching major, attended Saturday morning’s screening of Dan Poole and Giles Terera’s “Muse of Fire” in Winona State’s Miller Auditorium.

The film featured two actors who set out on a mission to discover why people are so timid when it comes to Shakespeare. The film documented their travels from London, to Denmark, to Spain, to New York and finally to Los Angeles.

As a teaching major, Lawless connected with the film’s message. “It touched on a lot of questions that come up when teaching Shakespeare as well as how communities and groups of people relate to Shakespeare,” she said.

Full of wit and charm, the documentary showed the good-humored friendship between the two men as they traveled across the world on a self-funded quest.

Poole and Terera interviewed many famous actors and directors, such as Tom Hiddleston, Jude Law, Judi Dench and Baz Luhrmann, asking them what they thought about acting and producing Shakespeare in today’s world.

The film’s lighthearted composition paralleled with Poole and Terera’s message: nobody should fear Shakespeare.

Poole and Terera also visited a prison in Germany, where an acting workshop exposed inmates to Shakespeare. Rather than being intimidated by Shakespeare’s language, the inmates embraced it.

At one point an inmate recited the line, “What is done can’t be undone.”

Lawless said this line was poignant. “The raw emotion behind that quote, being recited by a man who had obviously made choices that landed him in prison, shows that this literature still has meaning and is prevalent in life,” she said. “It is a testament to how monumental Shakespeare’s writings were and still are today.”

Another part Lawless particularly enjoyed was an interview between the two men and the first female African-American Poet Laureate of the United States, Rita Dove.

“One comment that sticks with me from that interview is when the woman says, ‘I didn’t know enough to be afraid.’ I really believe that is something everyone should strive to live for, by jumping in and taking chances,” Lawless said.

Lawless also enjoyed that the movie portrayed Shakespeare as accessible—enjoyable, even.

“As a future teacher, I hope to show my students that it doesn’t have to be a scary process,” Lawless said. “[Shakespeare] is just a guy who writes plays.”

Students weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the FRFF. Lawless said she had the privilege of sitting next to an elderly couple at the film who were enjoying themselves as well.

Lawless said they were very impressed by her love of literature and interest in the festival. The couple, who has lived in Winona all of their lives, said it was “truly inspiring” to see the younger generations getting involved with the art, history and culture of the FRFF.

After the film, Lawless and other attendees had a short discussion with Lee Gundersheimer, managing director of the Great River Shakespeare Festival. Gundersheimer said “Muse of Fire” ties in exactly to what the Great River Shakespeare Festival is all about: bringing many different people together to experience great art.

That universality, Lawless said, is what will keep her coming to future festivals.

“I would love to come back and be a part of the festival next year,” Lawless said. “It is such an amazing cultural experience, and there is something for everyone.”

Contact Leah at [email protected]