New hockey documentary features Hermantown, Eveleth-Gilbert teams
Two of the most storied high school hockey programs in Minnesota are set to be featured in a new documentary by Northland Films, set to be released this fall.
Hockeyland is a documentary that follows the Hermantown and Eveleth-Gilbert boys hockey teams during the 2019-2020 season, "one building a dynasty, the other with a rare chance to rekindle old glory," Northland Films says.
“These are old, storied schools where things are changing right out from under people right now,” JT Haines of Northland Films told Duluth News Tribune. “There’s all this history and tradition and nostalgia — in a positive sense — that we feel we need to document.”
Here's a preview of the film, via Northland Films' Kickstarter campaign:
The film marks the third in brothers Tommy and JT Haines' hockey trilogy that includes Pond Hockey and Forgotten Miracle.
The Haines and Andrew Sherburne of Northland Films launched a Kickstarter campaign earlier this month to help raise money so they can put the finishing touches on the movie and prepare it for the big screen.
Their goal is to premiere Hockeyland at film festivals in 2021 before releasing it into theaters and eventually for home viewing.
According to the Kickstarter, the Haines grew up in Mountain Iron in the 1980s, where they played hockey. They've made it their career to tell "true Midwestern stories" and they spent years looking for the right communities to feature in Hockeyland, calling this film a passion project for the brothers.
"The film is done and we're proud of it. Now, it's time to make this story worthy of the big screen. That gets expensive, but thanks to the support and passion of the hockey community, we can get there as a team," the Kickstarter says.
They hope to raise $45,000 to pay for color correction, a full musical score and sound design work that will "make this look and sound great in 5.1 Surround Sound on a 40-foot screen."
As of Tuesday afternoon, Northland Films had raised more than $29,000, with 23 days left of the fundraising campaign.
