Holly Lynn Ellis co-wrote, acted in and produced 2010 Sundance Film selection ‘Prairie Love’
By Enid Spitz Asst. Copy Editor spitz13@up.edu
From the very first time she spoke on stage, Holly Ellis knew she wanted to be an actress. She was seven.
She could not have known at the time that her dream would lead to a role written just for her and a place at the international Sundance Film Festival.
This fall the UP graduate saw herself on the silver screen and attended premieres across the nation for "Prairie Love," a feature film she acted in, co-wrote and produced.
When she got the call that "Prairie Love" had been selected to play at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Ellis couldn't believe the news.
"I kept saying, 'I'm sorry, what?'" Ellis said.
"Prairie Love" follows a vagrant who lends a hand to a dying man. He discovers the man when he is en route to contact his pen-pal girlfriend. The movie follows the vagrant and the choices he makes fueled by love.
After submitting a rough cut of the film to Sundance in 2010, Ellis says she'd completely forgotten about it.
"I'm a very practical person. I don't spend a lot of time on the 'what ifs,'" Ellis said.
Eventually the reality of having her film shown at Sundance sunk in, and after a rigorous month of final edits, "Prairie Love" was ready for its debut.
Then Ellis and her nine other "Prairie Love" team members saw their film play at the Sundance ranch in Utah.
"It was surreal, mind-blowing, awesome," Ellis said.
"Prairie Love" was Ellis's first time acting in a main role in a feature-length film. Director Dusty Bias, who went to high school in North Dakota with Ellis and her costar Garth Blomberg, wrote the role specifically for her.
Since showing at Sundance, "Prairie Love" has screened across the nation, from Santa Cruz to New York.
Ellis enjoyed the premieres and parties and is proud that Academy Award nominated actor James Franco attended the screening at Sundance.
Making the film wasn't all Hollywood glamour, though.
It was the harshest winter on record in North Dakota since 1936 when Ellis and her high school classmates braved negative-20-degree weather to film "Prairie Love." With a significant wind chill and about 70 percent of the filming done outside, Ellis said production was challenging for the cast, crew and equipment.
"There was not a single day when something terrible didn't happen," Ellis said. "'Prairie Love' is going to be different from anything else I ever do."
Ellis mainly worked on short films before "Prairie Love" and said she stumbled into the position of writing and producing.
Throughout her time at UP, Ellis prepared herself for a career in drama. Professors remember Ellis, a drama major, as incredibly involved in the University's artistic community.
"She worked everywhere," fine arts professor Jill Hoddick said. "She was always ready to jump in wherever we needed her."
Professor Ed Bowen taught Ellis at UP and was impressed by her success after graduation.
"Her script writing has taken off," Bowen said.
After obtaining a master's degree in New York and pursuing acting, Ellis found herself drawn to script writing.
"I wasn't getting the roles I wanted, so I just started writing them," she said. "I never wanted to produce."
Nevertheless, Ellis found herself a co-writer and producer for "Prairie Love" in addition to appearing onscreen.
Even though "Prairie Love" was challenging, it hasn't deterred Ellis from a dramatic career. Now she is continuing her work with feature films, working on another called "Turtle Hill, Brooklyn."
Early next year, the dream Ellis began in childhood will continue when her feature film "Prairie Love" is released to a huge audience.
The film will be available on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon in 2012, according to Ellis.
Ellis encourages other young dreamers to pursue what they love.
"Don't sit around waiting for someone to hand you something. Just do it," she said.
