To celebrate the week of Veteran’s Day, the Crookston Public Library is inviting local filmmaker Dean Henney to present a screening of his 1996 film, “Iwo Jima: 50 Years of Memoires,” followed by a presentation of Henney explaining his experience in creating the film. The event is free and open for all, and no registration is required.
The film was originally broadcast on PBS, and Henney donated copies of the film to the Lake Agassiz Regional Library. The Crookston Library had received about 30 copies, and they sold out almost immediately, which led the library to reach out to Henney to share more information about creating the film. “We thought there’s a lot of interest in getting more information from him, and he’s local, I don’t know exactly where he lives, but he lives in the area,” Crookston Public Library employee Paula Ous explained. “So, he agreed to come and what he likes is that you screen the film first, which is about an hour and will start at 6:00 p.m., and at 7:00 p.m., he will field questions, talk about the experience and how you go about producing a film.” The library has purposely chosen to hold this event on the week of Veteran’s Day to help people hear about the experiences of the veterans during their time in service, especially veterans who served in World War II. “We purposely made this around Veteran’s Day because of the importance of hearing the voices of the people and what they experienced,” Ous explained. “Many of the interviews in the film are the first time these veterans have talked about it, which is often typical of that generation. I think it’s going to be a very powerful experience, and many of these videos are floating out there, so I think many people have already seen it, and would be a great opportunity for them to talk to the person involved in making this film.”
Along with learning about the experiences of the veterans, it is also an excellent opportunity for people that are interested in filmmaking as after the film screens, people can ask questions about independent filmmaking while also in conjunction with what inspired him to come up with the idea for the film. “I think it’s for anyone who’s interested in filmmaking, but also the message of how to follow what you feel is important too,” Ous explained. “I’m not sure exactly to what level of detail he will be going into, I think it depends on the questions that are asked, so if people want information, it will mostly be going to be more of a discussion.”
The Crookston Public Library encourages people to come to the library on Tuesday, November 8, at 6:00 p.m. to hear the stories of many veterans who served in Iwo Jima, especially if you’re a part of a generation far enough removed from those events, or if you’re interested in filmmaking and the creation of independent films. The film screening will begin at 6:00 p.m., and questions will start around 7:00 p.m.
