Hibbing native’s homegrown indy film premieres at LA Film Fest

Publicity still from “Pollywogs

Hibbing native Karl Jacob (he goes by that, though is Wiiliainen by birth) filmed his independent movie “Pollywogs” here on the Iron Range in 2011. Last week it premiered at the L.A. Film Festival to good reviews.

Chris Hewitt of the St. Paul Pioneer Press recently wrote about the movie, which is set around a family reunion in which two childhood friends are reunited as the sort of shiftless, attractive, complicated adults one finds in such films. What’s fun is that Jacob reunited his actual family near Hibbing and used them as the extras in the film. Since he is also the star, this creates a very cool, authentic vibe to the film. From the way 4-wheelers are parked everywhere, to the oil tanks and those bagged folding chairs common to outdoor gatherings — Jacob gets a lot of details right.

In classic Iron Range fashion, I can watch the trailer and say “Hey, I work with her!” when I see his mom Rhonda.

“Pollywogs” makes its Minnesota debut at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 2 at the Zinema 2 in downtown Duluth. I look forward to seeing it sometime, as it looks like a tight, well-shot film with some powerful moments.

Go below the jump to see the trailer.

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