ITVS Presents Mark Brodin’s DELAFIELD

The Closing of a 125-year-old Rural Church Prompts Filmmaker to Return Home to Try to Find Out What Went Wrong in America’s Farming Communities

DELAFIELD to air on Public Television Stations in May 2002 (check local listings)

(San Francisco, CA) Delafield Evangelical Lutheran Church, located in a fertile, rural pocket of southwestern Minnesota, was founded by Norwegian settlers in the 1870s and had provided spiritual and social sustenance to subsequent generations in that community for over a century. That continuity was broken in 1998 when the aging, dwindling congregation was forced to face the harsh realities of modern American rural life. They did what they had never dreamed possible, deciding to disband the congregation and give away the church building that had been so central to their lives. Why did this happen? In DELAFIELD, filmmaker Mark Brodin, who was raised in the church, explores the changes taking place across rural America, trying to find out how this could happen to a place he has always assumed would be waiting for him. DELAFIELD will air nationally on public television in May 2002 (check local listings).

Like most of the younger generation raised in rural America, Mark Brodin left the family farm to go to college and moved on to the city after graduation. When his mother called to tell him about the closing of their old church, Mark returned to Delafield Township, determined to find out how things had gotten that bad. Through interviews with neighbors and his family, who have been in Delafield since its founding, Brodin elicits a story that is being played out in small farming communities across the nation. He discovers what he already knew – that the economics of family farming just don’t add up any more. As the farmers talk, we learn that the price of grain has fallen so low that farmers have to grow more than ever to make a profit. Growing more means investing in the latest expensive machinery and technology, but the profits never seem to cover the cost of production. Farm subsidies help but don’t solve the problems. As the elders of Delafield say, farming is no longer a profession they can in good conscience pass on to their children. Delafield is now a town of senior citizens, their children and grandchildren having moved on.

In DELAFIELD, Brodin takes us to a meeting of the Farm Forum in Marshall, Minnesota, a place where farmers and politicians get together to talk about solutions. But, as Mark says, “It’s gotten so complicated that even the good guys don’t know what to do.” As we hear Senator Paul Wellstone say to the assembled crowd, “I think we agree about the way this affects people and why it’s unjust and why it’s wrong, but the question is what to do about it.” But as the old timers talk about their profession, they share a love of the land and a passion for their calling that is seductive. We understand why they so desperately cling to this dream and this way of life.

If there is a solution, it does not come in time to save the church. We join the congregation for the final service and the final potluck supper, a last communion for the heart and soul of Delafield. Friends and family from thousands of miles have come together one last time to celebrate Delafield’s strong heritage of faith and hard work. A few days later, the church’s contents are auctioned off and the building disassembled. It is moved to Fort Belmont, a historical tourist sight 22 miles down the highway.

As parishioner Anne Kanten says, the closing of the church represents “The history of the collapse of the heartland. And I don’t think that anyone has ever figured out, economically, politically or environmentally, what it means to the future of our country to let our heartland go down the tubes. I’m scared and I’m angry, just angry in my gut.”

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About the Filmmaker

Mark Brodin (Producer and Director)
DELAFIELD is a deeply personal story for Mark. He was compelled to tell this story and felt honored to have the opportunity to make the film. Says Mark, "I’m the first generation in my family not to farm, so then what do you do? I try to find jobs that are as diverse as the life I grew up with." Mark has made a living from acting and producing to electrical work and banking. Mark’s production skills aren’t limited to video; with years of audio engineering experience he still tours with music groups and produces a couple of albums a year.

Although this is his first long format documentary, Mark had previously worked on THE CAPTURE AND TRAIL OF ADOLF EICHMANN for Court TV’s Crime Stories; DEEP FREEZE, an independent short about going to the coldest place in Minnesota on the coldest day of the year; and 7TH SON OF SAM, a music video.

About DELAFIELD, Mark says, “I saw friends and family struggle with the change going on around them in rural America and I felt a need to tell this story. My hope is that this film will promote a lot of discussion about these issues and help find a way for rural communities to survive and grow.”

About ITVS

Unique in American public television, the Independent Television Service (ITVS) was established by Congress to fund and present programs that "involve creative risks and address the needs of underserved audiences, especially children and minorities," while granting artistic control to independent producers. ITVS has funded more than 375 programs for public television since its inception in 1991. Critically acclaimed ITVS programs include THE FARMER'S WIFE; AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY; FORGOTTEN FIRES and SCOUT’S HONOR; Emmy Award–winners BLINK; SING FASTER: THE STAGEHANDS' RING CYCLE; SCHOOL PRAYER: A COMMUNITY AT WAR; GIRLS LIKE US and NOBODY’S BUSINESS; the Peabody Award–winning documentaries TRAVIS; A HEALTHY BABY GIRL; COMING OUT UNDER FIRE and THE GATE OF HEAVENLY PEACE, and duPont Award–winners TAKEN IN: THE LIVES OF AMERICA’S FOSTER CHILDREN and STRUGGLES IN STEEL: A STORY OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN STEELWORKERS. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people. For information, contact ITVS at 501 York St., San Francisco, CA 94110; e-mail: itvs@itvs.org or visit the ITVS website at www.itvs.org.

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