The directors of “Dryland” were busy with other projects when they spotted a sign along a Washington highway one day that read, “Mt. St. Helens dropped in; why don’t you?: Lind Combine Demolition Derby and Rodeo”.
Sue Arbuthnot and Richard Wilhelm, who are married, said it was too much to resist. Already loving the area and landscape, plus the concept of a derby, the idea seemed “unfathomable.”
“We thought we were doing a quirky film about a combine demolition derby,” Wilhelm said.
Little did the documentary duo know that this unexpected sign on the road would lead to a film project spanning 10 years.
“We thought we were going to make a film that was going to last 10 minutes,” Wilhelm said.
NIC’s Sociology Club hosted the film’s first Idaho screening at an event on campus Tuesday.
“Dryland” tells a story of the true grit of farm life in the American West through the plot of a local combine demolition derby and the families who participate in it. Through the intimacy that is required of documentary-making, the film begs viewers to gain a better understanding of what it means to be a farmer.
Arbuthnot said she hopes the film can unite people from all walks of life in finding a common ground between each other.
“We hope to realize that maybe we’re all a little more similar than we knew that we were to begin with,” Arbuthnot said. “That we do have shared values.”
Arbuthnot attended Columbia University in New York during her college years, but she filmed her first ever documentary, “The Pipes are Calling,” on NIC’s campus in 1988.
“It’s great to be back after all these years,” Arbuthnot said.
The duo also gave some advice for students wanting to pursue documentary filming.
“You’ve got to have it in you,” Wilhelm said. “You’ve got to have a reason to pursue it.”
“There’s something in you that wants out, and you’ve got to figure out what it is, and how to get it out.”