Author: Rick Minnich

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The short film "We Are Here", which I shot in Odessa last summer and made together with Guy Dimenstein from Meet the Good Ones, is a finalist in the prestigious Smiley Charity Film Awards – the world's largest competition for films about charities and NGOs. I will be traveling to London together with Guy and his producer Mirjam to attend the award gala on March 20th at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square. In addition to the juried prizes, there is also an audience award. Please cast your vote by midnight GMT on March 12th. Thanks!

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I'm thrilled to announce that the short film the Meet the Good Ones team and I made about the Berlin charity Berlin Odessa Express is a finalist in the Geographical Better World Video Awards, hosted by the Royal Geographical Society in the UK. We would be very grateful if you would take the time to watch the 8-minute video and cast your vote for it. Voting closes at midnight GMT on February 25th. Thank you for your support!

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Leading polar cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions has invited me to screen my film The Strait Guys and tell stories about my adventures filming in Arctic Alaska and Russia on board their July 2-10 cruise to Spitsbergen (Svalbard). That’s the archipelago north of the northernmost point of Norway, way up close to the North Pole. We'll spend eight days cruising around Spitsbergen, and will even help clean up trash along the shore. Let's keep the beautiful Arctic clean! In order to make the whole thing work, I need to recruit at least seven passengers for the voyage. Sound like fun? Well come hang out

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On Thursday, January 25, 2024, I was a guest of the Keller Revue at the Brecht Haus in Berlin, where I presented excerpts from The Strait Guys and told anecdotes about my adventures shooting the film in Alaska and Russia. It was a great honor to present my work to a capacity crowd in the former home of the legendary German playwright Bertolt Brecht. The event was streamed live and can be watched here. A big thanks goes out to my colleagues who shared the stage with me, Isabel Fargo Cole and Ann Gaspe, the event organizer and moderator Martin Jankowski and

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In 1994, Rick and his film crew spent three days in the blistering heat digging up the head of the 19 meter tall Lenin statue, which stood in East Berlin from 1970-1991. Following the collapse of the GDR (East Germany), the Berlin city government had the statue torn down and buried in the forest. But Rick and his friends knew where to find it. The story is told in the short film The Book of Lenins. In 2015, the Zitadelle Museum in Berlin had the head officially excavated and brought to the museum as one of the highlights of its exhibition

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The latest Our Man in Berlin newsletter is out now. Read about Rick's recent adventures with Lenin's head, his upcoming "performance" at the Brecht Haus in Berlin, the German TV broadcast of The Strait Guys, and a chance to travel to the top of the world Spitsbergen/Svalbard (Norway) with Rick this summer.

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Rick will be the guest filmmaker at Fort Ross Dialogue 2023, taking place online November 30, 2023. He will be the featured speaker in "Panel IV. Documentary Filmmaking - Transcending Borders", which goes live in English with Russian translation at 11:00 am PST / 2:00 pm EST / 9:00 pm Moscow. Founded in 2012, Fort Ross Dialogue is an international, high-profile event that strives to keep open channels of communication between the United States and Russia, particularly during challenging times such as these. Fort Ross Dialogue is free and open to the public. No registration is required. The entire event will be

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Rick's most recent film The Strait Guys will be screening at the Global Peace Film Festival in Orlando, Florida on September 23, 2023. Rick will be attending in person and will be joined by Strait Guys Scott Spencer and Joe Henri via Zoom to discuss the film with the audience. The film will then be available to stream worldwide from September 25-October 1, 2023. 

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Rick will be participating in the SDG Action Weekend at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City September 16-17, 2023 as an arts envoy of Create2030. Founded by filmmaker Lisa Russell, Create 2030 is: “an artist-led, international network of professional, diverse artists and storytellers who are committed to using their voices and platforms in support of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).” This will be Rick's first visit to the UN Headquarters, and he is looking forward to meeting with colleagues from around the world who are also putting their creative powers to use to help build a sustainable