THE SUBJECTS

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BoB Reiss

Bob Reiss, the son of founder Julian Reiss and former owner of the park himself, knows all the history of the park firsthand. He takes us on a tour of Santa’s Workshop, from choosing the site to pointing out the influence of artist Arto Monaco, who created the whimsical look and feel.

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Julie "Jingles" Robards

Julie "Jingles" Robards is a park performer and curator of the park's Memory Lane Museum. She takes the audience on a tour of former Adirondack theme parks in her vintage Dodge Meadowbrook.

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BOBBY GETCHELL + THE GETCHELL FAMILY

Bobby Getchell is a union electrician and plays Paul Stanley in NJ's premiere KISS cover band, Dressed to Kill. As one of Santa's Workshop's superfans, his family has been going to the park every Christmas since 1949.

ROY HOLZER

Roy Holzer is a Wilmington local who is committed to growing the Adirondacks tourism industry, while maintaining the town's small town feel.


THE FILMMAKERS

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Christa Orth, producer (left) and Ali Cotterill, director (right) have been collaborators since 2004. Their short films have screened at 100+ festivals around the world, won several awards, and been broadcast on Logo TV and Current TV. North Pole, NY, is their first feature. 

When they're not filming in the beautiful Adirondacks, Ali works as a film and video editor and Christa works as a consultant at a fundraising and design firm. They're based in Brooklyn, NY.

Want to contact us? Email us at northpolenyfilm (at) gmail (dot) com.  


DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT



I've loved theme parks and roadside attractions since I was a kid. In 2012, I visited Santa's Workshop with the intention of doing a larger documentary about the history of theme parks. I became so enchanted with the park, the people, and the town of Wilmington, that I decided to make the entire feature on Santa's Workshop. I want to share the magic of Santa's Workshop and North Pole, NY with the world.

The economic struggles of small towns across the U.S. are well-documented. As chain stores continue to replace mom and pop stores, Main Street U.S.A. is dying. Roadside attractions, once popular among state highway travelers, are rapidly disappearing in the U.S. or being replaced by behemoth amusement parks full of thrill rides. 

Wilmington is proof of the enduring power of both small town communities and the American roadside attraction. Overcoming floods, the recession, and a shady business deal, Santa's Workshop has provided generations of people with their first jobs since 1949. It is a true piece of 1950's Americana.

North Pole, NY is a story of resilience, the power of nostalgia and a portrait of the dreamers in one small town that have vowed to keep the magic of Christmas alive all year round.


OUR DONORS

It truly takes a village (a Christmas village!) to make an independent documentary. Huge thanks to all our Kickstarter donors.

James Abel

Alisen

Tammy Allen

Jason Andrew

Kofo Anifalaje

Anonymous

Jessie Auritt

David B

Matt Banks

Melissa Barber

Maeve Healy Bartik

Barbara Barton

Julie Gonyea Beaney

Kip Beardsley and Matthew Nelson

Gorman Bechard

JJ Bender

Patty and Hector Benitez

Paula Bernstein

Katie Beth Black

Jason Bock

Amy Heslin Bocompani

Los Borthwick

Elaine Bowers

Patrice Bowman

David Bragdon

Emily Branham

Leslie Brazier

Evan Briggs

Patti Brooks

Lydia Brown

Shannon Marie Brown

Holly Buechel

EW Butler

Dylan Byth

Daniello Cacace

Gwenn Cagann

Jim Calabrese

Anna Campbell

Randall Chamberlain

Victoria Chan

Sharon Chung

Alexis Clements

Davina Cohen

Elena Cohen

Uli Beutter Cohen

Joanna Colangelo

Kristina Collins

Charlotte Cook

Candace Cornell

Ryan Corvaia

Muni Cotterill

Jen Crothers

Jose Cuevas

Sally Dankas

Myriah J. Day

Dave DeHoff

Richard DeLigter

Anthony Denaro

Deb Dimasi

Craig Domanski

Kelly Donohue

Romona and Carson Dosztan

Emily Drabinski

Kate Drabinski

Alex Driver

Dwayne Duell-Waite

Denise Duplichan

Maxwell and Susan Eaton

Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Kathy Fennell

David Fitz-Gerald

Conor Flynn

Charles W.  Foster

Joanne Foster

Ruth Foster

Susan Foster

Ben Fried

Cheryl Furjanic

James Gange

Addison Genevieve

Marsha and Dan Gepford

Bobby Getchell

Dorey Gibbs

Ariel Gore

Rosalynn Green

Jamie Greene

Leslie Griep

Cassidy Griffin

Christopher Gross

Rick Guinan

Jessica Halem

Kelly Haley

Jonny Hamilton

Carolyn Hansen and Matt Christman

Santa Joe Harkins

Terri Hathaway

Christine Hayes

Dennis Hayman

Ann Henley

Courtney Hermann

Jacoby Anthony Hobbs

Catherine Hoffman

Roy Holzer

Cori Hook

Jim Hubbard

Valerie Wells Hudson

Barbara Hughes

Richard Hull

Sarah Hull

Dave Isay

Jennifer Johnson

Neal Johnson

John Kalnberg

Jodi Kansagor

Karl

Shirley and Harvey Katz

Stacey Kennard

Theodore Kerr

Diane Kirby

Peter Kopf

Irina Krylova

July Laban

Paul LaPuma

Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick

Alexander Lee

Karen Light

Robert Lillis

Louis

Zoe Lvy

Colleen M.M.

Anne MacKinnon

Dara Major

Gina Mamone

Lee Manchester

Lorrie Mandigo

Nathan Manske

Cassandra Marzigliano

Susie and Mat Matazzoni

Ian McAlpin

Terence McCormack

mdtommyd

Mr. Mike

Jonathan Miller

Karen Miller

Robert Monaco

Miles Moody

Lyn  Muxworthy

Gary Myers

David C. Nelson

Amy Nicholson

Kurt Nishimura

Mary Orben

Dave Orsinger

Penny Orth and Bill Sherrill

Caroline Palfenier and David Orth

Jane Pallokat

Perry Parsons

Susan Pearson

Terri Perry

Rion Philbin

Pidgeon

Prune Perromat

Carl Pollack

Amelia Power

Matt Quackenbush

George Quillan

John Raskin

Sydney Kopp Richardson

Julie Robards

Donnie Roberts

Sarah

Brian Sauders

Schelle

Thomas Schrier

Erik Schuddeboom

Kyla Schuller

Sarah Schulman

Deb Schwartz

Walter Scott

Emily Sheskin

Joshua C. Shields

Audrey Singer

Joan Skurnick

Robin Smith

Todd Smith

Pameal Staves

Stephanie

Janie and Joe Stevens

Rob Stevens

Helen D. Stiskal

Jamie Stover

Jeff Streb

Lisa Sullivan

Susan

Kimberly Taverna

Tomas

Marian H. Tomaso

Bara Jichova Tyson

Lynn  Ulrich

Kal Vadasz

Michael Waldman

Judy and Bill Waldy

Castle Walker

Andrew Wallace

Kenneth Wampler

Chris Wasser

Marin Watts

Jonathan Weiss

Marjorie Wendell

Andrew Wertz

Jeff Wetmore

Diane and Ty Wick

Greg Wick

Jen Wick

Doug Wingo

Rebecca Wisotsky and Katya Levitan-Reiner

EF Millis Woodworks

Maxwell Working

Peter Wyatt

William Yazzie

Amanda Yeoman