"She Who Would Giants Fight"

Pioneer Press article on the Legacy Grant

2012-01-26T10:19:00.000-08:00

Minnesota Historical & Cultural Grant (Legacy Funds)!!!!!!

2012-01-25T07:18:00.000-08:00

We received notice on Monday that the Minnesota Historical Society has awarded the full amount of our application for funds to complete production of "She Who Would Giants Fight."

We are very excited about this news which will allow us to finish the feature-length documentary with the highest production values. John and I thank the Washington County Historical Society (especially its Executive Director, Brent Peterson); and the Minnesota Historical Society.

We also thank the many individuals who have helped us on the application.

Below is Washington County Historical Society's Statement to the Media about the grant:

Press Release

Interview of Former Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz

2011-11-21T05:17:00.000-08:00

On October 13, 2011 John and I interviewed former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice, Kathleen Blatz. Justice Blatz was the first woman to serve as chief justice on the Court. It was a wonderful interview and added many interesting facts and details which will be very helpful in completing our film. Thanks to Justice Blatz for giving us the time and being such a great interview subject!

Final Legacy Grant Application!!

2011-11-19T05:07:00.000-08:00

On Friday, November 18th we filed the final application for a Legacy grant in the history category. Brent Peterson and the Washington County Historical Society were so helpful in facilitating and coordinating the grant application and many people at the History Center were invaluable with advice and assistance.

Now we must keep our fingers crossed that our documentary will be recognized and rewarded with funds to cover our post production costs.

As part of our application we received several wonderful letters of recommendation from Professor Sally Kenney, Professor Debra Fitzpatrick and Professor Annette Atkins.

I am attaching a copy of Professor Atkins recommendation letter to show the kind of praise our film is receiving.

Minnesota History Center, Washington County Historical Society and the Legacy Funds application

2011-09-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

We are working with the Minnesota Historical Society and Washington County Historical Society to obtain a Legacy Grant to cover post production costs of "She Who Would Giants Fight." Thanks to Dave Kelliher at the History Center and to Brent Peterson, Executive Director at the Washington County Historical Society, for helping us to obtain funding to make sure the final film will be the highest quality possible.

We will keep everyone posted of our progress.

Thanks to Ruth Usem for hosting a preview showing of the third rough cut

2011-09-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, August 30th we showed the rough cut of "She Who Would Giants Fight" to a group of about 12 people, including Margaret and Dave Kelliher, Erin Murphy, Harriet Lansing and Alan Kline, Carol Connolly, Grace Harkness, DeeDee Wolfson and others. Ruth Usem hosted the very successful event. We received a lot of great feedback on the film and suggestions as to possible fundraising efforts and sponsorships. We will be pursuing these suggestions during the next few months as well as working on another cut of the film based on the critiques.

Thanks so much to Ruth Usem and everyone who participated in our showing.

Third Rough Cut in the Can

2011-07-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

I've just completed a third rough cut of the documentary. It is 85 minutes long and the film is looking good -- pacing improving and emotion coming out, particularly in the ending segment which shows Rosalie's legacy to our society. There are very few people in this world like her...her life must be celebrated!

Interviews with Judge Michael Davis and Rahn Westby

2011-05-24T00:20:00.000-07:00

I also wanted to mention that, during the past two months, John and I have interviewed Judge Michael Davis and Rahn Westby for the documentary. Both interviewees did a great job and will contribute immensely to the final film. Thanks to both of them for their help and insights.

First Complete Rough Cut!

2011-05-24T00:14:00.000-07:00

I've just finished the first rough cut of the entire film, "She Who Would Giants Fight." The documentary is 97 minutes long. I anticipate that the next cut will be a bit shorter. The film is looking very good right now though it needs significant post production work -- professional narrator and voiceovers for various scenes; sound mix; colorization and picture work; clearances; etc., etc.. We are still trying to put together a reenactment scene of a farm wagon riding through farm fields.

All of the above post production items require financial resources and we are hoping to raise enough money this summer to be able to proceed with finishing the film by the end of the year.

In the meantime I will be starting to work on the next semi-rough cut of the film.

I love this film project and subject!!

Wonderful Progress!

2011-03-31T22:05:00.000-07:00

I'm just returning from six weeks in Oracle, Arizona. This is where I can focus solely on my project and really take advantage of the creative impulses that come as I progress on the film. On the way down to Oracle I stopped once again in Caney, Kansas, to film scenes of Birch Creek, Rosalie's childhood home, during the winter. I was able to capture some beautiful film of the snow-covered fields and frozen streams of the countryside.

During the past five weeks I have edited on "She Who Would Giants Fight." I now have 75 minutes of a good rough cut of the first 4/5 of the film and will be working on the final 20 minutes when I return to Minnesota.

The long cut will be approximately 90 minutes. I will be cutting and honing to make the film stronger, but I really like what is happening in the film right now.

During May of this year, I plan to film a reenactment of an old horse-drawn farm wagon driving through fields during the early 1930's. This footage will accompany Rosalie's oral discussion of her childhood on her grandfather's farm in southeastern Kansas; and will be used in the ending sequence of the film. I am very excited to have this segment to visually enhance the film. We are still looking for contributions to fund this reenactment as well as post-production costs of the film.

Thanks to all of you who have shown an interest in this film

Emily Haddad

September, 2010 Update

2010-09-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

This past spring and summer have been very productive.

In April Emily spent two days in Lawrence, Kansas, searching for photos and information from the time period that Rosalie was attending the University of Kansas during World War II.

In May, Minnesota Women Lawyers held a CLE event "Lessons from Justice Wahl" which addressed the gender bias issues facing women lawyers in Minnesota in the past. At the event Emily showed clips from our documentary and a trailer for the film. The event was very well received.

This summer we have interviewed Sara Wahl and Jenny Blaine, Rosalie's two daughters. We also interviewed Judge Pamela Alexander and Judge Harriet Lansing. All of these interviews were fantastic and will add to the final film.

Out of many hours of tape and thousands of photos and visuals we have edited over an hour of the rough cut, which currently we believe will be two hours in length. This length will be shortened to approximately 80 minutes as we proceed to fine tune the documentary. Our goal is to complete the rough cut of the film by year end.

Several friends of the project have offered to help us with fundraising later this fall. We are excited about this prospect of enough support to allow us to complete the polished professional documentary needed for the broadest distribution.

Later this month, Emily will be going to France to complete a documentary about a unique French artist, Pierre Prevost. The film has been funded by a Jerome Foundation grant.

Emily and John

Great Progress!

2010-04-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

For the past five weeks I've been working on the script for "She Who Would Giants Fight." I've also begun the editing process and am well on the way to a first rough cut of the documentary. It is going very well, though I am still searching for video/photo support for the years between 1930 and 1960.

I will be spending a couple days at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, where Rosalie attended college during World War II. Again I am primarily interested in visual images to support the storytelling of the film.

Looking forward to the Minnesota Women Lawyers CLE event the first week of May. It will be a fascinating, educational look at the history of women breaking through gender barriers in the legal and judicial structures of our society.

Emily

Minnesota Women Lawyers will sponsor a CLE in May

2010-03-11T06:54:00.000-08:00

Very exciting news. Minnesota Women Lawyers has scheduled a Continuing Legal Education program for May 4th, 2010. The CLE will deal with gender fairness issues, past and present, within the context of the Rosalie Wahl story, "She Who Would Giants Fight." See the post below for a more complete description of the CLE.

We're very lucky to have three excellent judges: Judge Harriet Lansing, Judge Susan Miles and Justice Lorie Gildea who have agreed to chair a discussion panel for the CLE.

The CLE will take place at the Robins law firm at 4:00pm in the afternoon of May 4th.

Minnesota Women Lawyers Diversity Committee Meeting

2010-02-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

On February 19, 2010 John and Emily met with Uyen Campbell, Rachel Hable, Karin Holt and Deb Pexa, all members of Minnesota Women Lawyers. Uyen, Rachel and Karin are part of the Diversity Committee of MWL. We discussed the current status of the project and showed two edited excerpts from the film along with our trailer about the documentary.

During the meeting we planned two activities intended to promote "She Who Would Giants Fight."

We will write an article for MWL's April newsletter which describes the documentary and contains information about how to support the project, as well as information about a CLE that MWL will hold in the spring.

The CLE will be a panel of women judges/lawyers addressing issues of gender bias in our legal system. The program will include a discussion of the discriminatory practices that existed in the application of our laws when women were not represented in the legal or judicial systems in our country. The panel will discuss past cases which held that disparate treatment of women was permissible, and the panel will also discuss whether there continues to exist disparate treatment in the legal system today. This discussion will take place in the context of the story of Rosalie Wahl and the Minnesota women's movement of the 1970's.

We have two house parties now in the works and will update our blog when we have further details.

Emily and John

Meeting with St. Croix Chapter of Minnesota Women Lawyers

2010-02-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

On Monday, February 8, John and I met with the executive committee of the St. Croix chapter of MWL. We made a presentation about the film and showed the trailer with excerpts. The documentary was very well received and the committee offered to help us raise money for the film. We discussed the possibility of a fund raising event in the Stillwater area in April.

Also, Wendy Murphy graciously offered to hold a house party.

We would like to thank the MWL St. Croix Chapter for their enthusiasm and willingness to help on this project. We also want to express our great appreciation to Judge Susan Miles for her help and support and to Karin Holt who is providing so much assistance on this project!!

During the next two weeks we will meet with Uyen Campbell, from the Diversity Committee of MWL. We would like to plan a CLE event in the spring.

John and Emily

Developments in our Fundraising Efforts

2010-02-03T11:27:00.000-08:00

There have been some great developments with regard to fundraising opportunities for "She Who Would Giants Fight."

Evon Spangler, an attorney in St. Paul, has graciously offered to sponsor a house party to raise funds for the film. The house party is scheduled for April 30, 2010. More details later.

On Monday, February 8, John and I will do a presentation of the documentary to the St. Croix Valley Chapter of Minnesota Women Lawyers to determine their interest in supporting the project.

We have also been contacted by the Diversity Committee of Minnesota Women Lawyers. The committee is suggesting that we work together on a CLE dealing with gender bias. This topic is one of the key messages in our documentary, and we hope to educate people on the importance of the women's movement to ensure women's rights are protected in our society. Lightshed would share in fees raised from this educational event.

Everything is moving along very well on the documentary.

Emily and John

The Making of "She Who Would Giants Fight"

2010-01-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

This is the first post in Lightshed's blog documenting the production of the feature-length documentary on the life and legacy of Rosalie Wahl, first woman on the Minnesota Supreme Court.

Emily Haddad and Rosalie Wahl at Rosalie's home in Lake Elmo.

Our progress so far...

2010-01-09T14:07:00.000-08:00

Much of the filming on the documentary has been completed. We've twice gone down to Southeast Kansas to film and research in the places where Rosalie grew up.

We've spent months collecting visual, oral and historical documentation from the internet, and from various historical societies, including the tremendous archives of the Minnesota History Center and the Minnesota Supreme Court.

We've completed interviews of the following individuals:

Justice Rosalie Wahl (ret.)

Chief Justice Doug Amdahl (ret.)

Chief Justice Robert Sheran (ret.)

Chief Justice Sandy Keith (ret.)

Chief Justice Eric Magnuson

Justice Esther Tomljanovich (ret.) (photo at right and below with Emily)

Justice Paul Anderson

Judge Doris Huspeni (ret.)

Professor Robert Stein

Professor Doug Heidenrich

Professor Mike Steenson
Professor SallyKenney
Carol Connolly

Connie Perpich

Koryne Horbal (photo below left)
C. Paul Jones

What's left to do?

2010-01-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

We have several interviews left to complete during the next months. We are also planning another trip to Kansas, this time to the town of Lawrence where the University of Kansas is located. This is where Rosalie went to college during World War II, a very formative time in her life.

We intend to film several reenactment segments during the summer and fall months. These visuals will help tell the story of Rosalie during the Depression years, since there is very little visual material from that period.

All of the interviews and film footage must be transcribed, and then a script drafted to tell the story of Rosalie and of the women's movement in Minnesota that made her appointment possible. After that begins the massive editing process to connect all of the material -- oral and visual -- together in a compelling narrative of Rosalie's life and legacy.

Once the rough edit is complete we will be fine tuning the film...and working on post-production sound, music, and voiceover. Our goal is to have several top actors narrate and/or do voiceover for various sections of the documentary.

And that's the news today --- January 9, 2010!!!

John Kaul and Emily Haddad