Frontier History Documentary Wins International Awards

A two-hour television documentary about the first legal pioneer settlers of the Old Northwest Territory has been honored with four different international broadcast awards. "Opening the Door West" is more than the story of life on the Ohio frontier in 1787, it is the story of the first organized settlement that officially began our young nation’s westward expansion. 

The film's executive producer, WOUB-TV, Athens, and Shelburne Films, the producer, announced today that their production had garnered the following four awards:

1. A CINE Golden Eagle award (previously received by Spielberg, Lucas, Burns, among others)
2. A Silver Telly Award
3. The Communicator Awards/ Crystal Award for Excellence in Video Production
4. New York Festivals International Film & Video Competition Finalist Award / Feature Length

"These awards are important in that they verify that history programs can be of high quality," David Shelburne, the film's director, said. "This story is much more than a bit of Ohio history. It is a national story about the first steps of our new nation's expansion westward. It is an important part of our nation's history that has been greatly overlooked in the past. We hope these awards will help us bring this story to a national television audience." The program first premiered on all the Ohio PBS stations in the fall of 2003 as part of the Ohio Bicentennial celebration.

"Opening the Door West" not only tells the story of how Rufus Putnam led a company of Revolutionary War Officers and soldiers to found the city of Marietta, but how they also began the settlements of Belle Prairie (Belpre), Waterford (Beverly), Gallipolis and others on one million acres of SE Ohio land. These pioneer towns and forts are extensively illustrated in the film through the use of 3D computer animation. "Campus Martius," the Ohio Company's civilian fortification, was recreated in the film along with Fort Harmar, "The Point" village, "Farmer's Castle" fortification in Belpre and Fort Frye near Beverly.

"Careful attention to historical details while re-creating these frontier structures has given us exciting new views of these long vanished settlements," says Producer Ellen Shelburne.  "We followed the advice of our historical advisors to keep everything you see, from the clothes to the accoutrements to the furnishings, as close to historically accurate as possible."  The principle living history advisors for the film project were Bill Reynolds of Marietta, Ohio and  Ed Schweinfurth of La Rue, Ohio. 

The story of the New Englanders moving onto the Ohio frontier and the clash of cultures that ensued from contact with thousands of Native American Indians is lavishly told through the use of hundreds of accurately dressed re-enactors.  "The exact figure was nearly 250, I believe," said David Shelburne.  "We had 40 Native  re-enactors, and they all offered excellent portrayals of Eastern Woodland Indians of the period. They were all very dedicated to authentic re-enactment, so much so that many of them are willing to go to their regular jobs with shaved heads!"  Many of the settlers and soldiers were played by members of the Brigade of the American Revolution.

Historians, authors and descendents of settlers help tell the story through interviews. Famous author Allan Eckert (The Frontiersmen) relates some exciting frontier tales as does Marietta storyteller, Louise Zimmer. Historians like Dr. Andrew Cayton of Miami University, Dr. James O'Donnell of Marietta College, and Dr. Ray Swick, West Virginia Parks Historian, add depth and interpretation.

The period music used in the film was carefully researched and collected by Nikos Pappas and includes orchestral, choral, fiddle, Native American Indian and African American tradition music. Several pieces have been rescued from oblivion by Mr. Pappas and are performed here for the first time in recent history.  All together, the collection of music written from 1751 to 1820 represents the diverse music heard during our nation’s founding years.  “Music of An Emerging Nation” is the name of the audio CD containing complete cuts of all music used in the film.

For further explanation of the individual awards click here.

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