Dustin Hulet and Professor Tom Lefler, Department of Media Arts
Two years ago, I came across an essay written by my great-grandfather, Albert Hulet. The short, two-page document, entitled “I Remember,” is a reflective piece written from a vantage point high in the Tetons. In the essay, Albert reflects as an old man, looking down the drainages surrounding him, describing the experiences he had in each canyon as a boy herding sheep in that area, and expounding on how those experiences shaped him into the man he became.
My middle name is Albert, as is my father’s and my grandfather’s. I am the first generation of the Albert legacy that did not know Albert personally and the discovery of the essay showed me that my great-grandfather is not a carbon copy of my grandfather. It turns out he was a playwright and a poet, something to which I can relate. This discovery, teamed with the transitional phase of life I find myself in, stirred in me a desire to come to know my roots. I decided to make a film that would depict visually the things described by Albert in his essay. I hoped to learn through the experience about Albert, about his legacy, why I should pass a strange name like that on to my posterity, and how my ancestral foundation could be a strength to me as I press forward into the great, post-college unknown.
Planning
The original idea was to have the three living generations of Alberts read the essay, and intermix those three voices as the narration to the visuals I would capture. It didn’t take long for the project to evolve, and it soon expanded to include more of the process of searching for the place where Albert had written the essay. Instead of me venturing out alone, and filming what I thought to be the right places, my grandpa agreed to lead us on an expedition to find where Albert had written the essay. Grandpa is ninety years old, and had been to that place as a thirteen-year-old, so that complicated things a bit.
It appeared my funds would be insufficient to acquire the horse support needed, but a small miracle occurred, and the rough, tough cowboy for whom I do photography in Jackson Hole consented to lend me two of his horses for the weekend excursion. From there, I had much to plan.
With the changes made in the film, I would need to appear in the film, and not be behind the camera for a large portion of the shooting, much to my chagrin. I hired two friends from BYU’s film school to shoot for the weekend. Between coordinating the shoot, scouting out the vicinity where we would be heading, preparing the horse support, and reading the weather forecast of impending torrential rain, there was much to be done to pull off the shoot.
Shooting
On the first day of the two-day excursion, it rained all day. After a couple of hours of making our way up the muddy trail, we were forced to send grandpa back with the two cameramen. My grandpa rode down on a horse. The cameramen chased the horse they were supposed to be leading all the way back to the truck.
My dad and I pressed on, sopping wet, and in grass up to our necks. To our great surprise, we found what we were looking for.
The next day, the sun came out, and exposed the Tetons. With Grandpa’s help, we were able to find a very distinct rock, atop which we stood and identified everything mentioned in Albert’s essay. It was incredible! It is almost certain that Albert had to have written the essay there, or at least very near to that location. Following some very personal interviews I conducted with my Dad and Grandpa, we headed back down the mountain, feeling that the shoot was a great success.
Continuation of the Project
I have been shooting family events and additional B-roll this winter, including a two-day winter shoot capturing sunrises and other winter elements to include in the film. I have begun to recruit the necessary editors, graphic designers, and illustrators to start the postproduction phase of the project. I have acquired permission to use material in the film that I was hired to shoot on a trek to the basecamp of Mount Everest. I obtained permission to use a recording studio in Idaho to record the narration for the film, including the reading of the essay by my father, and my grandfather. There is still much to be done, but things are coming together, and I have been able to get very talented friends excited about the project, which I believe will contribute greatly to its success. I am learning much about the complexity of producing a well-made documentary.
Come August, I will submit the film to the Banff Mountain Film Festival. I plan to travel to Banff (a national park in Alberta, Canada) and attend the festival during the first week of November.
Should the film be accepted into the festival, and into the festival’s world tour, I believe it will provide excellent networking opportunities and significant exposure for me as a filmmaker. Once successful with a film at Banff, it is much easier to obtain funding for another adventure film, due to the presence of representatives from the biggest recreational gear manufacturers in the world.
More importantly, I believe that the film itself will be an invaluable asset to my family, as subsequent generations view it, and hopefully have their hearts turned to their fathers. My goal is to inspire them, and others to tap into the legacies of their own family histories, and draw strength from them, as well as a resolution to honor those who have come before by living excellent lives today.
I am extremely grateful for the funding provided me through the ORCA program. This film was aided immensely by the generous contribution I received.