Click to visit Mary Farrell's photography page

Contact: msfarrell60@gmail.com

I have been a still photographer for a good long time, but after seeing a film in 2013 at the Frozen River Film Festival I was inspired to make my first documentary film.  Green Fire was about conservationist Aldo Leopold and it made me think about Winona's John Latsch, a conservationist and philanthropist who donated over 18,000 acres of land in WI and MN for public use. I approached the idea of making a film about Latsch to the Frozen River Film Festival staff and was encouraged to do so.

It was a four-year process to complete the film but John Latsch: The Man and his River (see trailor above) debuted at the 2017 FRFF and received the People's Choice award.  I enjoyed making that film so much that I decided I wanted to make another film about my friend Anne Pellowski, who traveled the world leading workshops on cloth book making for children who didn't have access to books in their native language. Anne Pellowski: Storyteller to the World debuted in 2018 at the FRFF and received the People's Choice Award.

When a friend approached me about his work helping restore the Masonic Theatre scenic drops, he asked if I would be interested in making a documentary about the process and I immediately began filming the project in late 2018. Raising Hell: The Restoration of the Masonic Theatre Drops debuted at the FRFF in 2020. My 2021 Frozen River Film Festival film, Winona Unmasked, was a collection of 16 interviews with members of the Winona community about their personal and professional experiences with COVID-19.

Filmmaking has enriched my creative spirit and combined my interest in the visual arts with the art of storytelling. Having a film festival in Winona could not be more valuable. It has provided me with an outlet to share my films with an engaged audience and supported the efforts of other local filmmakers.

Accomplishments and recognitions:

• 2017: Frozen River Film Festival People's Choice Award for John Latsch: The Man and his River
• 2018: Frozen River Film Festival People's Choice Award for Anne Pellowski: Storyteller to the World