North Star Story Summit offers days of entertainment

DULUTH — For the third year, the annual North Star Story Summit will concentrate programming from the Duluth Superior Film Festival, Catalyst Content Festival, Minnesota WebFest and EDU Film Festival.

Programs will take place Wednesday, Oct. 2, through Sunday, Oct. 6. On Saturday, Oct. 5, there will be a shared awards ceremony at Blacklist Brewing.

The Duluth Superior Film Festival is a film fest on the classic model, spotlighting feature films and shorts.

This year’s features include the Minnesota premiere of “Cash for Gold” (Thursday, 7 p.m., Zeitgeist Zinema), a movie made in Chisholm and described as “a gripping narrative of loss, redemption, and the unforgiving pull of past mistakes.”

Filmmakers will be in attendance for that opening night screening, as well as for others, including features “A Good Wolf,” about clashing interests at the edge of Denali National Park; “Light Needs,” an “experimental documentary” about plant lovers; and “Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted!” about the eponymous musician and his “bachelor pad for aging musicians.”

Shorts programs in the Duluth Superior Film Festival include a group of films featuring “the powerful storytelling of Minnesota filmmakers” (Friday, 8:30 p.m., Zeitgeist Zinema).

Minnesota WebFest features “the best web entertainment in the world.” It has both online and in-person screenings, as well as presentations including a live podcast with a group of gamers broadcasting their session and “breaking down what makes Actual Play content such an exciting field for creators of all kinds” (Friday, 4 p.m., Depot Theatre).

The Catalyst Content Festival centers on episodic productions such as TV shows and podcasts. Sessions throughout the event include screenings, table reads and opportunities for creators to pitch their projects to industry veterans.

At Zeitgeist on Saturday (noon-4:30 p.m.), the EDU Film Festival presents a selection of student-made films, including those made as part of the “Horror High” educational experiences in which teenagers get real-world experience on a horror film set.

Throughout the North Star Story Summit, the Upper Midwest Film Office is sponsoring a lounge at 310 E. Superior St. UMFO is also presenting a Friday evening reception and industry update at Zeitgeist (6 p.m.).

The festival welcomes attendees to a 9 p.m. Thursday welcome party at Canal Park Brewing, as well as Saturday’s 9 p.m. awards ceremony hosted by actor Lori Roovers.

For tickets and information, see

northstarstorysummit.org.

Arts and entertainment reporter Jay Gabler joined the Duluth News Tribune in 2022. His previous experience includes eight years as a digital producer at The Current (Minnesota Public Radio), four years as theater critic at Minneapolis alt-weekly City Pages, and six years as arts editor at the Twin Cities Daily Planet. He’s a co-founder of pop culture and creative writing blog The Tangential; he’s also a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance. You can reach him at jgabler@duluthnews.com.