Gee whiz -- it's a documentary
Gee whiz -- it's a documentary
Attendees at this year's annual meeting of the Washington State Horticultural Association are in for a rare treat on Dec. 3. They are scheduled to get a private screening of the new documentary, Gee Whiz: the Story of Grady Auvil.
Filmmaker Jamie Howell and co-producer Jeff Ostenson have captured an intense snapshot of the larger-than-life figure who introduced the Granny Smith apple to Washington's Wenatchee Valley. Intense work on the project also revealed a man who was obsessed with efficiency and had a few quirky takes on just about everything.
"We're in the race to the finish," Mr. Howell told The Produce News. "At the end of this, we're going to have a 30-minute documentary." Mr. Howell laughed before adding, "There is certainly some entertainment value [too]."
When asked what event-goers can expect, Mr. Howell's response came swiftly. "People should be ready to laugh and learn."
A public screening has been scheduled for Dec. 4 at the Wenatchee Valley College.
Once it is unveiled, Mr. Howell said, the documentary will be shipped to a public broadcasting station in Seattle for television broadcast.
The idea for the documentary actually hatched at a previous annual meeting. Referencing this year's event, Mr. Howell said, "We will have been working on this three years on the nose when we show it. We expected it would be a big project, and it was."
After conducting 31 interviews and spending countless hours pouring through photographs and written documents, Mr. Howell said he came away with some interesting observations. "[Grady Auvil's] gift was a complete fixation with the future," he mused. "He was always looking ahead to solve problems."
Apparently, Mr. Auvil had an acute sense of smell which served him well. "He really, truly happened to be a horticultural genius," Mr. Howell stated. "He could smell a problem [with an apple orchard] from the road."
The entrepreneurial Grady Auvil was a master of efficiency, and tales told by family and friends support this. "He had a daily routine, and it was locked in," Mr. Howell stated. This included everything from keeping milk containers open in the refrigerator to eating the same meals each day.
When asked what surprised him the most about his research into Wenatchee's famous orchardist, Mr. Howell replied, "He was more cantankerous, less forgiving and more dictatorial at work than I was expecting."
Some old footage of taped interviews has been woven into the documentary, which helps put a human face on things, Mr. Howell indicated, because Mr. Auvil died some years ago.
Looking back on the project, Mr. Howell said, 'I'm very comfortable and pleased with the subject matter. All of this becomes archival material."
The documentary is the first of what Mr. Howell said may be a series on Washington's agricultural community. A long list of figures tied to the field has already been developed and could serve as the basis for future projects.
Filmmaker Jamie Howell and co-producer Jeff Ostenson have captured an intense snapshot of the larger-than-life figure who introduced the Granny Smith apple to Washington's Wenatchee Valley. Intense work on the project also revealed a man who was obsessed with efficiency and had a few quirky takes on just about everything.
"We're in the race to the finish," Mr. Howell told The Produce News. "At the end of this, we're going to have a 30-minute documentary." Mr. Howell laughed before adding, "There is certainly some entertainment value [too]."
When asked what event-goers can expect, Mr. Howell's response came swiftly. "People should be ready to laugh and learn."
A public screening has been scheduled for Dec. 4 at the Wenatchee Valley College.
Once it is unveiled, Mr. Howell said, the documentary will be shipped to a public broadcasting station in Seattle for television broadcast.
The idea for the documentary actually hatched at a previous annual meeting. Referencing this year's event, Mr. Howell said, "We will have been working on this three years on the nose when we show it. We expected it would be a big project, and it was."
After conducting 31 interviews and spending countless hours pouring through photographs and written documents, Mr. Howell said he came away with some interesting observations. "[Grady Auvil's] gift was a complete fixation with the future," he mused. "He was always looking ahead to solve problems."
Apparently, Mr. Auvil had an acute sense of smell which served him well. "He really, truly happened to be a horticultural genius," Mr. Howell stated. "He could smell a problem [with an apple orchard] from the road."
The entrepreneurial Grady Auvil was a master of efficiency, and tales told by family and friends support this. "He had a daily routine, and it was locked in," Mr. Howell stated. This included everything from keeping milk containers open in the refrigerator to eating the same meals each day.
When asked what surprised him the most about his research into Wenatchee's famous orchardist, Mr. Howell replied, "He was more cantankerous, less forgiving and more dictatorial at work than I was expecting."
Some old footage of taped interviews has been woven into the documentary, which helps put a human face on things, Mr. Howell indicated, because Mr. Auvil died some years ago.
Looking back on the project, Mr. Howell said, 'I'm very comfortable and pleased with the subject matter. All of this becomes archival material."
The documentary is the first of what Mr. Howell said may be a series on Washington's agricultural community. A long list of figures tied to the field has already been developed and could serve as the basis for future projects.
