Red Tail Poster
PRESS RELEASE
June 7, 2010
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Dawn Mikkelson
Director/Executive Producer
dawn@emergencepictures.com
651-503-0274

Mike Cortis
AverageJoeInc.com
 commonmail@AverageJoeInc.com

DETROIT AREA PREMIERE
The Red Tail  at
the Farmington Civic Theater . . . ONE NIGHT ONLY!
(Detroit, MI) - After a year of touring international film festivals from Ireland to Germany -- the critically acclaimed documentary film,The Red Tail will play for one night only on the big screen on June 23, 7:00 and 9:00 pm at the Farmington Civic Theater. 

  "The aftershocks of Northwest Airlines' (NWA) labor disaster are still being felt in the Detroit Area.  We are honored to be invited by former NWA employees to share The Red Tail once again with this community," says Director Dawn Mikkelson, (Mikkelson partnered with Director Melissa Koch on this film).  The screenings are being hosted by AverageJoeInc.com, an online community of former NWA, now Delta Flight Attendants from around the country.  Mikkelson will be present at the screening to answer questions from the audience and talk about the process of making this film.

  As Northwest Airlines, disappears in its merger with Delta, the stories of the lives left behind still linger. "The Red Tail will make sure that the stories and legacy of the workers are not forgotten," says Director Melissa Koch.  This story is presented in the documentary, The Red Tail.  Emerging filmmaker Melissa Koch and award-winning filmmaker Dawn Mikkelson followed the airline mechanics from the picket line to the bread line as they lost their jobs to outsourcing.  Notably, Koch and Mikkelson received unprecedented access in Hong Kong and Xiamen, China, two of the cities NWA mechanic jobs were outsourced to.

     Koch says,  "The Red Tail becomes increasingly relevant in the context of this economy as more and more US workers lose jobs.  The NWA mechanics story is powerful and cautionary, and begs the question, 'What can the average person do in the face of globalization and outsourcing?'

  

Attending Screening, Q&A, AND Available for Press Interview:
  • Dawn Mikkelson, Director/Executive Producer
 
Event details:

What:    One-night-only screening of The Red Tail on the big screen

When:   Wednesday June 23 @ 7 & 9 pm

Where:  Farmington Civic Theater, 33332 Grand River Ave., Farmington, MI

TICKETS: Online for $7 at http://www.averagejoeinc.com/redtailmovie.htm or at the door for $9.


The Red Tail (Synopsis):

 While 4,400 aircraft mechanics wage a seemingly endless strike to keep their jobs from being outsourced - Mechanic Roy Koch and his daughter Melissa (Director of The Red Tail in collaboration with Dawn Mikkelson) follow the trail of outsourcing to China. The Koch's journey is a search for dignity amidst the helplessness experienced by global workers; a quest to reclaim their power. While in China, the Koch family not only meets Roy's replacement and top management, but they also become enmeshed in the bigger picture. The Red Tail offers fascinating insight and access into the inner workings of the global airline industry, providing a new perspective on globalization and the lives that hang in the balance.

Director Bios

Dawn Mikkelson (Executive Producer/Director/Writer): 2010 McKnight Fellow for Filmmaking and Named to AV Multimedia Producer's 2004 National "Top Producers Showcase", Mikkelson is both an award-winning media producer and documentary filmmaker. From National PBS broadcasts to being selected as a Featured Video Podcast by iTunes, Mikkelson's work in film and video has received international acclaim across broad delivery platforms. Mikkelson has completed three award-winning feature documentaries. Her second film, THIS obedience, won numerous festival awards and was distributed for national PBS broadcast by American Public Television. Mikkelson premiered her third documentary, Green Green Water, in October of 2006 in Toronto. The film is currently touring festivals around the world and has broadcast on PBS affiliates.

A former television news reporter at an ABC affiliate, Mikkelson graduated magna cum laude, Phi Kappa Phi, with departmental honors from the University of Minnesota in Political Science and Women's Studies and a minor in Music. Mikkelson has spoken at numerous festival panels on documentary filmmaking, GLBT and environmental issues, as well as speaking at colleges and universities across the country. Dawn is also a film instructor and has served as adjunct faculty at Ottawa University and is currently teaching Documentary Storytelling at IFP/Minnesota.

Melissa Koch (Director/Producer/Writer):
Koch is an emerging filmmaker introducing her feature-length documentary debut, "The Red Tail." She is a multi-disciplinary media-artist who has directed narrative short films and has worked in documentary video, photography, and radio. Koch studied cultural theory, media arts, and social change at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and the University of Tasmania, Australia. She has worked with community organizations for eleven years primarily focusing on work with youth, LGBTQ communities, and the arts. In addition to working as a free-lance video producer, Koch currently serves as the Community Programs Director for In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre. This fall Koch will begin the MFA in Digital Arts and New Media program at UC Santa Cruz.