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Wamego Driven. Passionate. Meticulous. I love to hear him giggle. Steve Balderson rocks my socks.
The old adage "good things come in small packages" comes to mind when I think of Steve Balderson's latest work. When I first heard about the film Firecracker, I had no clue who Steve Balderson was. I certainly had never heard of his first film, Pep Squad (1998) -- a black comedy starring his sister Brooke, nor did I have any idea what a marvelous vision this man had while making this film.
A few years ago, I stumbled upon a BBS board that mentioned Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk) was working on an independent film project with a director I had never heard of and I needed to know more. I was a huge fan of Patton's previous projects and figured if he latched onto anyone to actually work on something, he would be selective and the work would be more than intriguing; it would be a masterful production. I sought out every article I could find regarding this project and discovered director Steve Balderson's website (www.dikenga.com) detailing the story behind his second film, Firecracker. Based on the true story about the disappearance of David White in small town Wamego, Kansas, Balderson brings a chilling murder story to life. One of the first things I thought when I looked at the original cast was, who the hell does an Indie film in Kansas and how the hell did he get Dennis Hopper and Debbie Harry? It seemed like years passed since I had first heard about the film, and while I could see progress at Dikenga, the cast changes, the interviews and bio updates, it seemed like post-production would never end. Steve had it together though. He went so far as to put his production calendar on the site and always had just enough information available to keep you interested. Finally, I had heard that post-production was completed. I had also heard that the film would be featured in a few independent film festivals so I was delighted to hear that sometime soon I'd be able to actually witness this film. I received a package in the mail last week, a copy of Wamego, the documentary supporting the movie-making process of Firecracker. I promised Steve I would review it.
Wamego enlightened me to the incredible work ethic and motivation of Steve Balderson and his family. This low-budget film (compared to Hollywood supported investments) was truly an all-inclusive family effort. Executive Producer and father, Clark Balderson offers the business aspect of heading a large film project. Brooke Balderson explains her working relationship with her brother and their lifetime of filming together. With his father's good business sense, his sister's acting abilities, and Steve's remarkable talent to visualize and handpick a syndicate of amazing talent, Wamego takes you through from pre-production to post-production phases of Firecracker and the amount of people and time it takes to put such a project together. I was particularly shocked to see the ingenuity of their set creations and the way the town contributed time and materials in helping the Balderson's with their film. Witnessing all of the work that went behind such a huge production, Wamego is a testament to Independent Filmmakers everywhere. Balderson calls the shots and successfully pulls it off. He recognizes the importance of bringing together an assembly that respects and works well together. Seeing him execute his vision in this teaser was unbelievable! His cinematography style is like no one I have ever seen or heard of. He knows what he wants and I was extremely impressed that he created such detailed storyboards and has visually edited his entire film before he's even filmed it. Wamego is motivation, passion, and determination to make quality work on the limitations of a small town and proving that there aren't really limitations to quality. Hollywood should be jealous.
Kathleen Rittinghouse
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