Mike Scholtz

Directing

Mike Scholtz

Mike Scholtz is a documentary filmmaker based in northern Minnesota. His first film, Wild Bill's Run, circled the globe on the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. His second film, Wicker Kittens, premiered at SXSW. His most recent film, Lost Conquest, debuted at IFFBoston. He also helped establish the world's first film-festival-in-a-barn, the Free Range Film Festival, near Duluth, Minnesota.

Known For

Broken EyesBroken Eyes · 2024
Broken Eyes
2024
MovieDocumentary
What starts out as an attempt to hang onto her lifelong passion turns into a harrowing investigation into a multibillion industry and the discovery of an underground network of thousands of patients permanently scarred by Lasik, the so-called “safest elective surgery on the market.”
RectanglesRectangles · 2024
Rectangles
2024
MovieDocumentaryHistory
A family mystery leads a filmmaker on a discursive journey to discover the past. Featuring true crime, Halloween costumes, microfilm, Scandinavia, the inescapable feeling of doom that creeps in when contemplating lost time, and machetes.
RiplistRiplist · 2020
Riplist
2020
MovieComedy
A group of friends meets once a year to draft celebrities they think might die. But while playing the game of death, they learn the value of life.
Lost ConquestLost Conquest · 2015
Lost Conquest
2015
MovieFantasyDocumentary
Long before Columbus, Viking explorers claimed the state of Minnesota. And the nice folks who live there have the ancient artifacts to prove it. LOST CONQUEST is a deconstructionist documentary about why we believe the things we believe. With swords.
Wicker KittensWicker Kittens · 2014
Wicker Kittens
2014
MovieDocumentary
Every January, the country's largest jigsaw puzzle contest is held in St. Paul, Minnesota. Choose your favorite team and watch them try to put the pieces back together.
Fargo Theatre: The First 100 YearsFargo Theatre: The First 100 Years · 2026
Fargo Theatre: The First 100 Years
2026
MovieDocumentary
In celebration of the Theatre’s centennial, we take a look back at the first hundred years of movies, pipe organs, concerts, festivals, popcorn, architecture, smoking lounges, and, very briefly, farm animals.
Wild Bill's RunWild Bill's Run · 2012
Wild Bill's Run
2012
MovieDocumentary
This is the strange but true story of Wild Bill Cooper. Part Arctic adventure and part crime caper, WILD BILL’S RUN is an unforgettable ride with a true American folk hero. In the winter of 1972, Wild Bill Cooper led a ragtag crew of mechanics, ranchers and photographers on a grueling expedition across the polar ice. During some of the darkest days of the Cold War, their goal was to snowmobile 5,000 miles from Minnesota to Moscow.
The Secret History of DonnellyThe Secret History of Donnelly · 2021
The Secret History of Donnelly
2021
Movie
Ignatius Donnelly is Minnesota's most famous forgotten man. Even though he was a bestselling author, a U.S. Congressperson and the leader of a populist farmer's movement, few people remember his accomplishments today. Duluth-based filmmaker Mike Scholtz’s short story begins near the tiny town of Donnelly, Minnesota and takes viewers on a wild ride, beginning with a tragic death and ending in the lost city of Atlantis.

Filmography

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