Stout students to premiere senior capstone film project 'Ghosts of Gold Creek'

MENOMONIE — The University of Wisconsin-Stout student-made Western short, “Ghosts of Gold Creek,” is set to play its trailer at the School of Art and Design senior show on May 3 and premiere at the Unspooled Film and Animation Festival on May 9.

But before nine students traveled to Montana to film their Western short, Payton Kosiorek, Stout senior and film producer, said the idea started in one of their campus’ classrooms.

“In the fall, I just came off working on a film called ‘Good Stuff’... We left Menomonie to go to Wausau to film this project, and it was the first time anybody has left Menomonie to film something,” said Kosiorek, referring to his video production major that was first offered at Stout in 2019.

He continued, and said, “Coming off of that, I thought to myself, ‘We went to Wausau and it worked out. Could we go bigger? Could we go somewhere else? Could we go out of state? Could we go to different environments to tell a film?’”

While sitting in a classroom and discussing the possibilities of filming something on-site, the crew soon found themselves filming their Western at Gunslinger Gulch in Anaconda, Mont.

Even though the owners were more than happy to let the crew film there for free, Kosiorek said he had always felt the need to give back to whoever was helping them. So, they organized a deal to take professional photography and drone footage for the ranch’s website.

On top of that, Kosiorek said the film’s writers, Zach Hoffmire and Nicos Wiard, spent a lot of time researching the history of western Montana to gather some ideas of what to shoot based on stories around that time.

Intrigued by the story of Thomas Francis Meagher, a civil war general and later territorial governor in Montana who supposedly drowned but was never found, the writers based their story around the details and fictionalized the story. His depiction was made to be more of a “villain” than he was in real life, and the plot of the 12 to 13 minute short film leans more into the themes of suspected foul play.

Kosiorek said one of the hardest things about making films is that if something is wrong or if a detail is missed in the movie, someone is bound to notice it. Making the best of your movie project requires finding people who excel in different jobs, and that is part of what his responsibility was as a producer.

“When it comes to the film world, my weakest points are the camera stuff, it is the lighting, the sound — all that stuff that happens in production. So, I brought eight people who are so much smarter than me when it comes to that stuff so they could succeed and make a film,” said Kosiorek.

Additionally, Kosiorek said they were able to operate on a very low budget of only $5,000 for their entire crew. But in overcoming a number of unpredictable obstacles like weather, animals and one instance of equipment failure, he said it really is amazing to see something of professional quality that goes beyond the expectations of a student project.

“I am absolutely super proud,” said Kosiorek. “Thinking back to December when we just met in a classroom about what we were going to do — it seems daunting, how nine Midwestern students are going to go drive across the country and shoot a Western for a week… I am very, very proud of my crew; every single one of those people deserve recognition for their part in this project, and I am just super excited for the world to see what is coming out of this part of the state.”

“Ghosts of Gold Creek” stars Joseph Garland, sheriff; Mark Plonski, miner; and Jake Barciz, mayor. Additional crew members include Parker Cmeyla, director of photography; Lucas Falkavage, assistant director; Marshall Jacklin, best boy; Ethan Kulinski, assistant producer; Will Pilegaard, first assistant camera; and Sydney Schmidt, second assistant camera.

While a trailer for the short film is set to play during the SOAD Senior Show on Friday, May 3, the film in its entirety is set to premiere during the Unspooled Film and Animation Festival in Menomonie on Thursday, May 9.

Kosiorek said the festival itself is highlighting the future of filmmaking, and believed it would be a great place to showcase their film for the first time.

Thursday will be dedicated to a number of different student films, including “Ghosts of Gold Creek,” and will take place at the Harvey Hall Theatre from 4 to 9 p.m. Following the film, the crew of “Ghosts of Gold Creek” will also lead a panel discussion.