Synopsis
“North Putnam” depicts a year in the life of a rural Indiana school district and the community it serves. Crafted with empathy, a hyper-real reporting lens and skillfully lush cinematography, the film aims to reach across divides and to spark action-oriented conversations about the interdependence between public schools and community development.
The story behind the film
“North Putnam” is a special initiative of The Castle , the nonprofit organization I founded and have directed since 2012 in Putnam County, IN. Passionate advocates for public K-12 education, we partner with our local schools to provide learning experiences for students where they feel seen, heard, valued and empowered, and support teachers in their ability to create environments that spill over with joy, creativity, relevance, rigor and authenticity.
In Fall 2019, as I was putting together my syllabus for my existentialism course at DePauw University, an advertisement for Joel Fendelman's award-winning film, "Man on Fire," came across my email. I immediately watched the trailer, then contacted Joel, who Zoomed in with my class after we watched the film.
Deeply moved and impressed by Joel's non-intrusive and open-ended approach to storytelling, I proposed to him that we make a film that would create a conversation around public education as a vital component of a thriving democracy and that would set out to build bridges across divides. I still can’t quite believe that Joel said yes, but he did and, so, we set upon this adventure. We thought it could be powerful to zero in on one of our partner school districts, North Putnam, which is exemplary in its capacity to build an intentional culture of care at the same time that it serves as a microcosm for so many rural school districts. We approached North Putnam, got the green light, and essentially became part of the fabric of the schools and community for the next two years while we captured—fly-on-the-wall style—the daily rhythm of life. It’s a quiet film, meant to provide an extended glimpse into a world and set of concerns that so many share but are often overlooked.
The film depicts the larger context in which The Castle lives, the "why" behind the programs and partnerships it develops, the urgency we feel as an organization to nurture learning environments where kids and teachers feel connected to what they’re learning and to each other. It’s not overblown to say that our public education system is wracked with challenges that threaten to subsume it, and we don’t shy away from depicting these challenges in this film. But this is primarily a story of hope. We hope audiences come away feeling inspired by the administrators, teachers, students and community members of North Putnam and energized to develop impactful strategies for their own communities.
How you can help
We are SO close to completing this film, which has been an adventure and a labor of love! We will have a finished film by October, but need your help to recoup outstanding costs for editing, color grading and sound mixing. Please help us cover those costs so we can start getting this film in front of as many audiences as we can and get these important conversations going! We are so grateful for all donations, which are tax deductible!
All donors will be invited to join us for a series of private screenings with the director in October.
Thank you so much for your support!!!
Perks
Receive a link to stream "North Putnam" once it's released. It's yours to watch again and again (you'll want to... there is so much packed into this film!). For a donation of $50 or more, you'll also receive a shout-out on the crowdfundr page and on social media! (Expected to be available October 2024).
Get a sneak-preview screening of "North Putnam" for you and your friends for 48 hours (available October 2023), plus a link to stream once released (October 2024) and a shout-out on crowdfundr and social media!!! What a great occasion for a get-together!
Hang out with producer, Beth Benedix, and on-location sound-mixer/second unit cinematographer/composer-singer-songwriter/music-scorer, Anthony Mullis, for a 45 minute Zoom conversation about anything you ever wanted to know about making a film in your own hometown (Anthony) and adopted community (Beth)! Plus, all the other perks (sneak-preview link, released film link, and shout-out on social media!
Hang out with award-winning director, Joel Fendelman, for a 45-minute Zoom conversation about anything you ever wanted to know about the process of creating "North Putnam" and/or any of his other extraordinary films. We are SO lucky to have Joel on our team, and you will love talking with this super-kind, authentic, talented human! Plus, all the other perks (a 45-minute Zoom call with production team, sneak-preview link, release link and a shout-out on social media)!
A personalized, signed copy of Dave Eggers' bestselling novel, The Every!!
When the world’s largest search engine/social media company, the Circle, merges with the planet’s dominant e-commerce site, it creates the richest and most dangerous—and, oddly enough, most beloved—monopoly ever known: the Every.
Hurry! Hurry! Only 10 copies available!!!!
Books will be personally inscribed to the name of the winning bidder. If this is a gift or if you'd like the inscription to be for someone else, please email bbenedix@depauw.edu with specific instructions.
A personalized signed copy of Dave Eggers' New York Times Bestseller, The Eyes and The Impossible. A beautiful wood-bound hardcover book about a dog named Johannes. Johannes is a free dog, a fast dog—such a fast dog! He lives in an urban park by the sea, and every day, he runs through the park, seeing all, missing nothing, and reporting what he sees to the park’s three ancient Bison, the Keepers of the Equilibrium. But the Equilibrium has been disrupted.
Hurry! Hurry! Only 10 copies available!!!
Books will be personally inscribed to the name of the winning bidder. If this is a gift or if you'd like the inscription to be for someone else, please email bbenedix@depauw.edu with specific instructions.
A personalized copy (signed by the one and only Dave Eggers!) of Unnecessarily Beautiful Spaces for Young Minds on Fire (special edition, packaged in corrugated-cardboard slipcase).
Every kid in the world needs a safe, welcoming, and even weird place to write. That’s the theory behind 826 Valencia, a writing and tutoring center started in 2002. That center, with a pirate-themed storefront, inspired similar centers around the world, from New York to Melbourne.
Across 280 pages and hundreds of beautiful full-color photos, this lavish, oversized book takes you behind the scenes of how these centers started, in the hopes of inspiring more communities, schools, and libraries around the world to build their own centers for young writers. Unnecessarily Beautiful Spaces for Young Minds on Fire is a joyous and wildly creative book, filled with stunning photos of the world’s most welcoming and wild spaces for young minds.
Hurry! Hurry!! Only 2 copies available!!
Books will be personally inscribed to the name of the winning bidder. If this is a gift or if you'd like the inscription to be for someone else, please email bbenedix@depauw.edu with specific instructions.
Highlights
See all activity49Activity
Receive a link to stream "North Putnam" once it's released. It's yours to watch again and again (you'll want to... there is so much packed into this film!). For a donation of $50 or more, you'll also receive a shout-out on the crowdfundr page and on social media! (Expected to be available October 2024).
Get a sneak-preview screening of "North Putnam" for you and your friends for 48 hours (available October 2023), plus a link to stream once released (October 2024) and a shout-out on crowdfundr and social media!!! What a great occasion for a get-together!
Hang out with producer, Beth Benedix, and on-location sound-mixer/second unit cinematographer/composer-singer-songwriter/music-scorer, Anthony Mullis, for a 45 minute Zoom conversation about anything you ever wanted to know about making a film in your own hometown (Anthony) and adopted community (Beth)! Plus, all the other perks (sneak-preview link, released film link, and shout-out on social media!
Hang out with award-winning director, Joel Fendelman, for a 45-minute Zoom conversation about anything you ever wanted to know about the process of creating "North Putnam" and/or any of his other extraordinary films. We are SO lucky to have Joel on our team, and you will love talking with this super-kind, authentic, talented human! Plus, all the other perks (a 45-minute Zoom call with production team, sneak-preview link, release link and a shout-out on social media)!
A personalized, signed copy of Dave Eggers' bestselling novel, The Every!!
When the world’s largest search engine/social media company, the Circle, merges with the planet’s dominant e-commerce site, it creates the richest and most dangerous—and, oddly enough, most beloved—monopoly ever known: the Every.
Hurry! Hurry! Only 10 copies available!!!!
Books will be personally inscribed to the name of the winning bidder. If this is a gift or if you'd like the inscription to be for someone else, please email bbenedix@depauw.edu with specific instructions.
A personalized signed copy of Dave Eggers' New York Times Bestseller, The Eyes and The Impossible. A beautiful wood-bound hardcover book about a dog named Johannes. Johannes is a free dog, a fast dog—such a fast dog! He lives in an urban park by the sea, and every day, he runs through the park, seeing all, missing nothing, and reporting what he sees to the park’s three ancient Bison, the Keepers of the Equilibrium. But the Equilibrium has been disrupted.
Hurry! Hurry! Only 10 copies available!!!
Books will be personally inscribed to the name of the winning bidder. If this is a gift or if you'd like the inscription to be for someone else, please email bbenedix@depauw.edu with specific instructions.
A personalized copy (signed by the one and only Dave Eggers!) of Unnecessarily Beautiful Spaces for Young Minds on Fire (special edition, packaged in corrugated-cardboard slipcase).
Every kid in the world needs a safe, welcoming, and even weird place to write. That’s the theory behind 826 Valencia, a writing and tutoring center started in 2002. That center, with a pirate-themed storefront, inspired similar centers around the world, from New York to Melbourne.
Across 280 pages and hundreds of beautiful full-color photos, this lavish, oversized book takes you behind the scenes of how these centers started, in the hopes of inspiring more communities, schools, and libraries around the world to build their own centers for young writers. Unnecessarily Beautiful Spaces for Young Minds on Fire is a joyous and wildly creative book, filled with stunning photos of the world’s most welcoming and wild spaces for young minds.
Hurry! Hurry!! Only 2 copies available!!
Books will be personally inscribed to the name of the winning bidder. If this is a gift or if you'd like the inscription to be for someone else, please email bbenedix@depauw.edu with specific instructions.
