Matthew Koshmrl

34, Chisholm and Duluth

What do you do? (job, community involvement): Filmmaker, educator and community organizer.

What is important to you? I value growth and have found that documentary filmmaking as an art form has brought about growth on a personal and community level. As an individual, filmmaking has been my way to learn more about the world around me. On the community level, I am motivated to build, organize and bring people together around the art form. My practice as a filmmaker has led me to explore complex themes, such as the evolution of tradition, generational trauma, humankind’s relationship with place, and human dominion over nature.

My work is now focused on underrepresented rural stories; after spending time abroad, I returned to the Iron Range to explore my roots, to spend time listening to the oral history of my family and to those in the community. Filmmaking is an incredible privilege and has large cultural, financial and geographic barriers. My goal as an educator and community organizer is to address this lack of access to the art form.

I started working on developing community film production classes at the Minnesota Discovery Center in summer 2020. We co-wrote grants to supply class participants with professional film equipment and a computer lab to edit in. Just over a year later we have held six classes and worked with dozens of first-time filmmakers. We recently had a screening of student work from a class. These films explored a variety of topics, including the process of mining iron; the nature of regional waterways; experiences of racism on the Iron Range; the history and importance of a local orchestra; an accordion-heavy music video about productivity; and many more. I saw growth within each new filmmaker and I saw people in our community coming together to share local stories. It was inspiring.

How do you spend your free time? I enjoy cooking during my free time. The last film I made took just over six years to complete. I love that it only takes me an afternoon to make fresh pasta or a jar of kimchi. There is also nothing better than sharing a home-cooked meal with friends and family.

From nominator: “Matt brings a wealth of experience as a filmmaker and educator to the region that does not have a large presence in film. He is driven to provide film access and education to an area and to people who would not have access otherwise. He also has an understanding and commitment to the region with his grandparents’ family being immigrants to the region of the Iron Range.”

— Dahee Kim