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Director finds 'Sweet Land' on Minnesota prairie
By JEFF STRICKLER, McClatchy Newspapers
MINNEAPOLIS --- Ali Selim doesn't want to be known as "the guy who makes Minnesota farm movies. There's not much of a career in that."
Probably not. But it did produce one heck of a year for the writer/director. His feature-film debut, the period romance "Sweet Land," has won critical applause from coast to coast, and two Spirit Award nominations, the indie film world's version of the Oscar. It opens Friday in Cedar Falls.
It's arguably the most-Minnesotan movie ever made. Sure, there's "Fargo," the "Grumpy Old Men" comedies and "The Mighty Ducks" trilogy. But they all could have been moved out of the state --- in fact, the third "Ducks" film was --- without much of a rewrite. Take Minnesota out of "Sweet Land," or vice versa, and it wouldn't be the same.
"I truly believe that," said Selim. When financiers tried to talk him into filming in Canada, where production costs were lower, he told them that "I didn't want any part of it. I said, 'The actors need to stand on the Minnesota prairieland where this story takes place.' And when we were done, the actors said they were glad they had been able to do that. It affected their performances."
That polite tenacity has served Selim well in the 17 years since he first read the short story by Minnesota author Will Weaver that inspired "Sweet Land." Set shortly after World War I, it's about a Minnesota farmer who arranges for a mail-order bride. When she turns out to be part German, some locals take offense, but she and her stoic Scandinavian husband-to-be battle through the bigotry with a faith in people and the power of love.
The public reaction has been the stuff of Hollywood endings. A month after the film opened in October, it was still selling out theaters on weekends --- something that might not be a surprise in the Twin Cities, but it was happening in Los Angeles, too.
"The Hispanic community in Los Angeles really picked up on it," Selim said. "They relate to the immigration issue and to the language problems and to being an outsider." The distributors added more theaters to the L.A. run, which gratified Selim since he wanted to reach a wider audience.
"We knew all along that even though this is a Minnesota story, we had to find something universal in it," he said. "That's the issue of love and fitting in and finding a home."
Selim has been nominated for a Spirit Award for best first feature while Elizabeth Reaser (TV's "Saved"), who plays the bride, was nominated as best female lead. Asked if he plans to attend the awards ceremony, held in Los Angeles the day before the Oscars, he said he wouldn't miss it for the world.
"I might never get invited again," he said. "That's the nature of this business. Tomorrow I could be looking for a job as a janitor."
Actually, he got into the movie business as something of an all-star. Selim, 46, directed more than 750 TV commercials and won a passel of awards, including the Cannes Advertising Film Festival's top prize, the Gold Lion. He also impressed a lot of actors, which is why, when he started casting his movie, he could attract the likes of Ned Beatty, John Heard and Alan Cumming. In fact, Cumming offered to help produce it.
"Ali and I have been friends for years, and he let me read the script while he was working on it," Cumming said. "I loved the film, and I wanted to support it. So I told Ali that I would do anything I could to help."
Selim grew up near Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. His father, University of St. Thomas economics Prof. Mohamed Selim, is a native of Egypt who came to study at the University of Minnesota, and met Selim's mother, the daughter of a Minnesota farm family that had emigrated from Germany. And, yes, that family heritage is reflected in his movie.
"I always say that, officially, the movie is inspired by a short story written by Will Weaver," Selim said. "But a lot of stuff goes into a script, and some of that comes from my mother's family."
When "Sweet Land" first opened, he decided to personally respond to every viewer who sent an e-mail to the movie's Web site.
"We were only getting a couple a day, so it was no big deal," he said. "Now we're getting a hundred a day. But I still answer all of them. If our movie touched them in some way, I feel the need to respond."
Now he faces one of the most difficult decisions for successful first-time filmmakers: what to do for an encore. He's been offered "I can't even tell you how many" scripts about turn-of-the-century farmers, but he's not interested.
"This business is very quick to pigeonhole you," he said. "I've always been a generalist (when it comes to making TV commercials), and I hope to be the same kind of filmmaker. I want to tell a different story and shoot it a different way."
Probably not. But it did produce one heck of a year for the writer/director. His feature-film debut, the period romance "Sweet Land," has won critical applause from coast to coast, and two Spirit Award nominations, the indie film world's version of the Oscar. It opens Friday in Cedar Falls.
It's arguably the most-Minnesotan movie ever made. Sure, there's "Fargo," the "Grumpy Old Men" comedies and "The Mighty Ducks" trilogy. But they all could have been moved out of the state --- in fact, the third "Ducks" film was --- without much of a rewrite. Take Minnesota out of "Sweet Land," or vice versa, and it wouldn't be the same.
"I truly believe that," said Selim. When financiers tried to talk him into filming in Canada, where production costs were lower, he told them that "I didn't want any part of it. I said, 'The actors need to stand on the Minnesota prairieland where this story takes place.' And when we were done, the actors said they were glad they had been able to do that. It affected their performances."
That polite tenacity has served Selim well in the 17 years since he first read the short story by Minnesota author Will Weaver that inspired "Sweet Land." Set shortly after World War I, it's about a Minnesota farmer who arranges for a mail-order bride. When she turns out to be part German, some locals take offense, but she and her stoic Scandinavian husband-to-be battle through the bigotry with a faith in people and the power of love.
The public reaction has been the stuff of Hollywood endings. A month after the film opened in October, it was still selling out theaters on weekends --- something that might not be a surprise in the Twin Cities, but it was happening in Los Angeles, too.
"The Hispanic community in Los Angeles really picked up on it," Selim said. "They relate to the immigration issue and to the language problems and to being an outsider." The distributors added more theaters to the L.A. run, which gratified Selim since he wanted to reach a wider audience.
"We knew all along that even though this is a Minnesota story, we had to find something universal in it," he said. "That's the issue of love and fitting in and finding a home."
Selim has been nominated for a Spirit Award for best first feature while Elizabeth Reaser (TV's "Saved"), who plays the bride, was nominated as best female lead. Asked if he plans to attend the awards ceremony, held in Los Angeles the day before the Oscars, he said he wouldn't miss it for the world.
"I might never get invited again," he said. "That's the nature of this business. Tomorrow I could be looking for a job as a janitor."
Actually, he got into the movie business as something of an all-star. Selim, 46, directed more than 750 TV commercials and won a passel of awards, including the Cannes Advertising Film Festival's top prize, the Gold Lion. He also impressed a lot of actors, which is why, when he started casting his movie, he could attract the likes of Ned Beatty, John Heard and Alan Cumming. In fact, Cumming offered to help produce it.
"Ali and I have been friends for years, and he let me read the script while he was working on it," Cumming said. "I loved the film, and I wanted to support it. So I told Ali that I would do anything I could to help."
Selim grew up near Lake Harriet in Minneapolis. His father, University of St. Thomas economics Prof. Mohamed Selim, is a native of Egypt who came to study at the University of Minnesota, and met Selim's mother, the daughter of a Minnesota farm family that had emigrated from Germany. And, yes, that family heritage is reflected in his movie.
"I always say that, officially, the movie is inspired by a short story written by Will Weaver," Selim said. "But a lot of stuff goes into a script, and some of that comes from my mother's family."
When "Sweet Land" first opened, he decided to personally respond to every viewer who sent an e-mail to the movie's Web site.
"We were only getting a couple a day, so it was no big deal," he said. "Now we're getting a hundred a day. But I still answer all of them. If our movie touched them in some way, I feel the need to respond."
Now he faces one of the most difficult decisions for successful first-time filmmakers: what to do for an encore. He's been offered "I can't even tell you how many" scripts about turn-of-the-century farmers, but he's not interested.
"This business is very quick to pigeonhole you," he said. "I've always been a generalist (when it comes to making TV commercials), and I hope to be the same kind of filmmaker. I want to tell a different story and shoot it a different way."
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