Keri Pickett’s film to premiere at film festival
The Fabulous Ice Age, a film about the history of figure skating by MSUM Art & Design alum Keri Pickett, ’82, is set to premiere at the Minneapolis International Film Festival Sunday, April 14, at the St. Anthony Main Theater in Minneapolis. Pickett is the director, producer and director of photography of the film, and says she learned to become a filmmaker in order to make this film.
Pickett’s film chronicles a century of theatrical skating, from Berlin’s Charlotte, to America’s Ice Follies, Ice Capades, Holiday on Ice, and the Sonja Henie shows, illustrating how those programs dominated live entertainment for decades. The film features never-before-seen footage, photos and rare archival material of a handful of skaters, producers and entrepreneurs. Starting in America with the Hippodrome and hotel shows and big arenas, the film also portrays how Holiday on Ice brought skating to Europe, behind the Iron Curtain, to Asia, Africa and South America, places where ice had never been seen before. The film also depicts the work of skater Roy Blakely to keep the history of theatrical skating alive.
Pickett is an award-winning photographer based in Minneapolis whose work has been exhibited and published nationally and internationally. Her journalistic work focuses primarily on human-interest feature stories and environmental portraits. Her photography has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, including People, Time, Life, Geo, Parenting, Christianity Today, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, Der Spiegel, and numerous others. She is the author of three books of photography, including Saving Body & Soul: The Mission of Mary Jo Copeland; FAERIE: Visions, Voices & Pretty Dresses; and Love in the 90s: BB and Jo, The Story of a Lifelong Love: A Granddaughter’s Portrait.
She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts photography fellowship, a Minnesota State Arts Board grant, three Jerome Foundation grants, and three McKnight Foundation photography fellowships.
The Fabulous Ice Age is featured in April issues of Skating Magazine and Minnesota Monthly. Reviews of the movie, articles and interviews with Pickett are accessible from the film’s website: www.fabulousiceage.com.