Lights, Camera... Ely!
by Shadrach RobertsonBorn and raised in Ruth, Dutch Marich was like many children, chasing lizards, building tree forts, sledding, and running around all day with friends.
However; the son of Dan and Kathy Marich came from a family of miners, and he very well might have surprised his household when proclaiming at a very young age, “I wanna be an actress!” Although he may not have understood the correct theatrical terminology then, Dutch did know early on that being in the movies was what he wanted to do when he grew up.
Throughout childhood, Dutch gravitated towards the darker side of films; the scary movies, the horror flicks of Hitchcock and slasher films for the eighties and nineties.
He later found more specific movie motivation when watching a documentary showing what happens behind the scenes. Remembering these moments that shaped his interests, his pursuits, and his youth while attending White Pine County Schools, Marich said, “From that point on I started getting involved in theater. Our theater teacher, Kathy Tucker, was absolutely incredible. She encouraged me to pursue a career in acting. She knew I really wanted to be an actor and she told me I had a gift.”
Taking Tucker’s advice, Dutch ran with his dreams and began recording himself with an old VHS recorder. He filmed puppet shows, directed his mother in short films, and eventually earned his parent’s support in looking for the next step to making movies a reality.
“My parents said, ‘You really do love this, why don’t you go for it,'” he said. “We looked and found a reputable school, found The American Academy of Dramatic Arts; I flew down and auditoned during my senior year and was offered a scholarship. Right after graduating in 2003, I moved to LA.”
It was after he completed his education at the academy when his interests in performing for the cameras and audiences waned and he developed a deeper appreciation for story telling from behind the lens.
Transitioning from in front of the camera to behind, Dutch admits he has failed as many times as he has succeeded. Filming and making movies, like everything, takes commitment and perseverance.
The first production he attempted as a writer/director was, in his words, “an unmitigated disaster” and “will never see the light of day.”
He explained, “I consider that first experience my film school, because of how much I learned there. A lot of what went wrong as out of our control and was impossible to prepare for, but you move on and learn from it.”
During his budding career, Dutch has shot all his films in White Pine County and Ely: The Dark Hand, Infernum, Hunting, Reaptown, and Horror in the High Desert, the latter two of which made their debuts at the Ely FAM Festival.
Annually in March, Ely goes Hollywood. The Ely Film, Art, and Music Festival provides moviegoers a wide selection of events, panel discussions with filmmakers, the craft of storytelling, as well as the art of making movies. The Festival celebrates White Pine County and Ely in relation to the artistic, historic, and cultural heritages of our area that have been captured in a wide array of cinematic creations over the past century. The historic Ely Central Theater plays host during several of the festival’s main events and screenings.
The festival also provides aspiring cinematographers and artists the opportunity to express themselves, with special awards presented for the best films and pieces.
The movies selected for the Ely FAM Festival enable viewers to glimpse White Pine County from different angles and unique perspectives, encouraging locals to see the magic of our home come alive through the magic of movies.
For Marich, the magic of White Pine County and the bond of his upbringing continue to bring him back, to make films and share them with others, as he put it, “The majority of the work I do now, when I sit down to write a story, I automatically write based on my experiences, stuff that takes place in small rural towns because it’s what I know and love.”
With major Hollywood production studios gravitating towards Dutch’s cinematic creations, he is proud of the work he has done and plans on continuing to film in Ely.
“I love doing all my work in Ely, because there has been so much support. You can really set any type of movie here, because it is so remote, it has its own unique charm,” he said.
Discover More About This Year’s Ely FAM Festival HERE!