'Your Friend, Ranger Doug' now being presented at Paris Gibson Square Museum
Your Friend, Ranger Doug is being presented for the first time in exhibition format at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art from June 2, 2022, through Oct. 5, 2022.
This short documentary film was made by Celine Francois, Claire Jantzen, Kayla Borkovec, Lexi Johnson, and Sara Nell through Chapman University.
This film is about 93-year-old Doug Follett, a Glacier National Park Ranger for 58 years. Through his lifetime in Whitefish, MT, a small town nestled below the park, his charisma and accomplishments made him a local celebrity. However as Doug approaches the end of his life, he simultaneously watches the lifeblood of the exquisite environment melt away.
Doug and other Glacier National Park experts study and communicate the undeniable decay of the glaciers. Through moments of reflection, Doug uniquely parallels this loss to friends and family who have passed, and his regretful absence for one in particular. By sharing the history and his personal encounters through poetic prose, Ranger Doug proves that a simple conversation can keep those who have passed, and the natural environment alive.
Ranger Doug Follett was born in 1926, surrounded by the mountains of Fernie, British Columbia and has spent his life in the mountains of the Flathead Valley and Glacier National Park. Doug’s career spanned 35 years as a history teacher and 60 years as a seasonal park naturalist. Growing up in Whitefish in the 1930s, he was raised on hiking and fishing with friends from dawn to dusk, assuming the world would never change.
At 96, Doug is optimistic that the next generations of wilderness stewards can solve the issues facing our environment today, but to quote Doug, “They’d better hurry.” In the making of the documentary, Doug especially enjoyed working with the talented team of young filmmakers. They shared his passion for telling the story of climate change, the impacts, and the hope for solutions.
Kayla Borkovec, Producer for the film, expands on the origin story for the film, This film originated in a social issue documentary course at Chapman University called "Community Voices." It is funded by the Dhont Family Foundation, which allows each team to travel within the US to film their documentary shorts. The group was brought together through their love for the environment and interest in how people connect with nature.
While researching subjects that have a relationship to their environments, Celine Francois found a newspaper article about Doug. The group loved his passion about climate change and national parks and decided to reach out to him and fly to Montana shortly after.
Research and development in September 2019, followed by two separate shoots in Montana. One shoot was 10/23-10/29 and the other was 12/13-12/23. Post-production was finished in April 2020. Taking a grand total of eight months. The film premiered at Chagrin Documentary Film Festival in Chagrin Falls, Ohio in October 2020.
The community is encouraged to take the time to visit the exhibition to fully enjoy the film and read the accompanying texts in the gallery. Words are written by the makers of the film and by Ranger Doug himself. The film, viewed in relationship to the diverse art exhibitions that are simultaneously on view at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art this summer, coincides with a concern and extended effort to provide a thoughtful and critical understanding of the people we know, and the place we call home in Montana. Related Programming: Virtual Discussion via Facebook Live September 26, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. MST.
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Ranger Doug documentary showing at The Square in Great Falls
