Wisconsin Native Brings Spotlight to the State in February

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis (WFHR/WIRI) – February is the second release in the “Year Project” by director Nathan Deming. It is premiering over 17 days in the state where it was filmed – Wisconsin.

The Year Project

Growing up in the Tomah area Nathan Deming would often be seen filming with parent’s camcorder. Following college graduation he attended the London Film School. He had the opportunity to work with filmmaker Mike Leigh who inspired him to become a director. This sparked the idea to come back to Wisconsin to bring a series about the state.

The “Year Project” is a series of short films which are filmed and set in Wisconsin. “My current goal is to make a film for every month of the year all set in Wisconsin,” Deming says. This plan will take around 10-15 years. It spotlights the state through not only the storyline, but also having the entire project filmed here.

Deming released the first in the series January in 2022. It told the story of an aging church volunteer who struggles to keep up with a last minute “shotgun wedding” with a very pregnant teenaged bride. This second film, February, shifts gears. It tells the story of a Latino family newly arrived from Mexico. According to the film’s website, https://www.februaryfilm.com, “Miguel (David Duran) is a recent immigrant to a small Wisconsin town and struggling to fit in.  His sister (Nayeli Hernandez) is worried about him, her husband (Erick Inestroza) less so – until a strange man (Ritchie Gordon) offers to take Miguel ice fishing.”

Spotlight of State of Filming

All of the films in the series will be shot and produced in the state of Wisconsin. Deming is hoping the spotlight on the state will help to create incentives for others to come here. As of now there are no tax incentives for filmmakers to come to our state for their productions. Deming is working with the advocacy group Action! Wisconsin to lobby lawmakers in hopes that incentives will bring more productions here. More productions means more jobs. 

As a part of his premier tour, there will be showings of the film at 17 different stops around the state. Many of these stops are in small towns in local movie houses. The film premiered in Wisconsin Rapids at Rogers Cinema on February 2. It will be coming to Stevens Point at Cinema in the Pines/In the Pines Studio on February 7. It will also be making a stop at the Rogers Cinema in Marshfield on February 10. All this leads up to its LA premier at the Chinese Theater on February 17.

Links

To learn more about the Year Project and February visit the film’s  website here. To learn more about the Wisconsin Film Coalition visit Action! Wisconsin. Listen to an interview with director Nathan Deming on Midday Magazine with James J. Malouf.