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✍️ PHASE 1 COMPLETE! ON TO PHASE 2!
I’m happy to report that Phase 1 is officially complete—and we managed to do twice as many interviews as planned for less than half the original budget. I am filled with gratitude along with a healthy dose of accountability so with that in mind, here is my report on Phase 1 - Exploratory Interviews followed by next steps.
Budget Summary
Total Spent: $9,555
Labor: $3,300
Equipment: $2,795
Travel: $3,105
Business Expenses: $355
What We Captured
8+ GB (100s of hours) of raw footage including…
60 interviews completed
40 in person
20 via Zoom
Drone shoot over the former GVHS (now Breck)
Several hours of B-roll (Golden Valley scenery, driving shots, memorabilia)
Dozens of archival materials collected (photos, home movies, physical artifacts)
1 Teaser music video!
What’s Next — Phase 2: Development
- Writing, writing, and more writing: I’m currently taking part in a Sundance lab which is helping me shape the grant proposal, pitch deck, and script. I look forward to your feedback on these things.
- Archival Work: Scanning, digitizing, and organizing a mountain of material—including the coveted Kafkas reels!
- Editing: Logging and trimming interviews for use in the film and as standalone archival content.
- Budgeting: Creating a detailed production and post-production budget for the full documentary.
- Securing Funding: Researching and applying for grants, fellowships, and partnerships to support Phases 2 and 3. I will update the mission statement of this GoFundMe and it will remain open for those who’d like to support development.
Looking Ahead — Phase 3: Production & Post (To Be Completed by 2027)
- Hiring a small support team: Camera Operator, Sound Recordist, Archival Producer, Editor, Post Supervisor, Colorist, Sound Designer, Animator/Motion Graphics Artist, Graphics Designer, Composer, Music Supervisor, and Legal Advisor.
- Additional interviews with GV alums, as well as scholars and experts in: education, civics, taxation, sociology, and community history
- More B-roll and archival collection
- Animated sequences to visualize abstract ideas (e.g., maps, timelines, voiceovers)
- Original music and sound design
- Post-production: editing, color grading, sound mix, titles, and final cut
This project is growing because of your support—thank you for helping preserve and tell this story. More updates to come…
Stacy’s little brother,
joey
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Phase 1 - Spec Interviews pitch from May 2025
“In 1957, an unusual experiment in education was dedicated at this site and continued for 23 years. By 1980, in ways often challenging, sometimes unique, but always memorable, more than 2189 children had become graduated adults in rites of passage steered by Golden Valley School District #275, also known as the Golden Valley Vikings.”
My name is Joseph Stephans. Or as my childhood chums know me, Joey. I grew up in a place called Golden Valley. That's right, Golden Valley. But, as John Steinbeck discovered with his dog Charlie, there is no Valley and the non-existent valley is not Golden. Yet, the name somehow fits with my memories.
I’ve spent my life thinking the public school I went to was a very special place. I wasn't sure how it got to be that way, or, if in fact it was! So at a class reunion I talked to some friends and found I wasn't alone...that we had what seemed to be an outsized affection for our school compared to the people we got to know as adults.
Was there something special going on? How did it come to be? And why did it come to pass just 23 years after its founding? Did the school closing in 1980 (after 9th grade for me and my classmates) and subsequent merger with Hopkins create more of an emotional attachment to GVHS for us? Driven by these questions, I decided to explore the history of our school and hopefully help preserve its legacy.
As a filmmaker, the natural course of action was to create a documentary film. However, the scope of the project initially overwhelmed me until I saw a manageable first step: conduct on-camera interviews with as many GVHS folks as possible. And, that is what I am asking for help with here … the funds to pay for the cost of filming at least 30 documentary interviews. This footage will help to preserve the memories and stories of GVHS and be incorporated into a forthcoming documentary tentatively titled, “Golden Valley Vikings.”
The funds raised will cover the cost of professional production of broadcast and theatrical quality footage that meet industry specifications and standards. If we fall short of the fundraising goal we will adjust the scope of work based on funds raised. I am a New York-based filmmaker so I will be driving to Minnesota at the end of April, staying in my mom’s GV house, and scheduling interviews to take place in May & June. The per interview breakdown of discounted costs are as follows:
Thank you for considering this project,
~Joe(y)
Joseph Stephans ~ GVHS Class of would be 1983
Co-organizers (5)
Joseph Stephans
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY
Carolyn Kuntz
Co-organizer
Kristi Rudelius-Palmer
Co-organizer
Lisa Smith
Co-organizer
Mary Kelley
Co-organizer