A movie filmed in Elk Horn by a Danish film production crew will be shown tonight at the Elk Horn Town Hall at 7 o’clock. Elk Horn Mayor Stan Jens says the film, with English subtitles, runs the gamut of emotions, from sad to happy to funny, in addition to being very informational.
He says the producers didn’t even know the Danish Villages of Elk Horn and Kimballton existed until a chance encounter. Mayor Jens says a Danish filmmaker was in a bar in Kansas City and ran into a Nick Jensen, an EHK graduate. Jensen told him about Elk Horn and it wasn’t long before a crew came to the area with their cameras and filmed a one-hour documentary.
Jens says 750,000 people saw the film in Denmark and word spread quickly among family members in the country to those back in the U.S. Jens says the response to the film was incredible and resulted in him and Jordan Hansen being flown to Denmark for the film’s premiere and a media blitz.
They were interviewed in English on several Danish radio stations and on the Danish version of “The Tonight Show” on TV. Jens said one of the things a popular talk show host in Denmark hopes the people of his country will get from the film is that Danes need to be a little more laid back in their approach to life.
The host said the people of the Danish Villages in Iowa are trying to hard to hold onto their Danish heritage and that’s something the Danes in his county should endeavor to do as well, and not let the old world traditions slip away. He said they “should try to keep it Danish in Denmark.”
Jens said the film has resulted in a new, open line of communication with Denmark and may bring increased tourism in Elk Horn and Kimballton. It may also provide a new spark to the annual TivoliFest Celebration, with volunteers coming from across the country and possibly abroad to help out with the event.
Also, it may even result in romances forming between Iowans and Danes. Jens says there’s been talk of creating a dating service between Elk Horn and Denmark. For more information on the film, call Lisa Steen Riggs, manager of the Danish Windmill at 712-764-7472.
(Reporting by Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic)