In rural Iowa, eccentric collector and school teacher Michael Zahs makes a remarkable discovery: a basement of film reels and ephemera that once belonged to William Franklin Brinton, the man who brought moving pictures to the Heartland. To preserve the past and connect it to the future, Michael packs projector and film into his aging pickup truck and sets out on a journey to restore Brinton’s extraordinary legacy. This endearing story of cinema and community world premiered at AFI Docs, played on PBS as part of America Reframed, uncovered multiple lost films, and inspired a dedicated preservation project to ensure these films and relics would not be lost again.
Rotterdam International Film Festival
Audience Award – Top 10
2018
93% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes
Edinburgh International
Film Festival
Best Feature Documentary Nominee
2018
America ReFramed
PBS National Broadcast
2018
Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival
2018
“The average documentary would gawk, this one reclassifies.”
Wesley Morris, The New York Times
“Endearing and affectionate.”
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
“Delightful. Anyone who loves movies is bound to love Saving Brinton.”
Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
“Absorbing, heartwarming tale.”
Pamela Hutchinson, The Guardian
“One of the most unlikely, yet most likable, heroes of contemporary nonfiction cinema.”
Eric Althoff, The Washington TImes
Northland Films are non-fiction storytellers in the Upper Midwest devoted to producing immersive and engaging films to be distributed theatrically.
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