Carl Ben Eielson documentary to screen at Fargo Film Festival
‘Carl Ben Eielson: Over the Top of the World’ also received two regional Emmy Awards
After having won a pair of regional Emmy Awards, a UND-produced documentary will debut at the Fargo Film Festival set for March 18-22.
“Carl Ben Eielson: Over the Top of the World,” was produced by the UND Aerospace Network (ASN), which serves as the distance learning division of UND Aerospace. ASN has the University’s only TV production studio and operates the sole digital high-definition uplink in Grand Forks. With those resources, ASN produces promotional and educational content for UND Aerospace as well as for external clients.
The Eielson documentary was produced for the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission; one of ASN’s clients and partners. The commission operates the North Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame, where Eielson is listed as a 1997 inductee.
“UND’s Aerospace Network is proud to screen ‘Carl Ben Eielson: Over the Top of the World’ at the Fargo Film Festival,” said David Kuznicki, director and producer of the film (along with co-producer Robert Cary). “This is certainly a first for us, but hopefully not the last. Carl Ben Eielson’s story is a testament to courage, innovation and the human drive to push boundaries. His journey resonates far beyond aviation enthusiasts, offering inspiration to anyone who dares to dream big.”
Kuznicki is a video production specialist with Academic Support Services at UND, and Cary is an audio/visual producer and director, also with Academic Support Services.
The film is included in the online film database IMDB.com, where Kuznicki describes it as a look into the adventurous life of a game-changing aviator, who met a tragic end.
“Soaring over unforgiving Arctic expanses, Carl Ben Eielson defied death to etch his name among the most daring aviators ever known. From meager roots in North Dakota, Eielson developed an insatiable thirst for conquering the skies. With frozen fortitude, Eielson achieved the unthinkable — the first aerial crossing of the North Pole. But the lure of heroics proved fateful. During a harrowing 1929 rescue mission in remote Siberia, fortune abandoned him. This gripping saga follows Eielson’s meteoritic rise from prairie obscurity to Arctic legend, culminating in that ill-fated final flight into the annals of adventure.”
In Oct. 2024, the Eielson documentary received two regional Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Upper Midwest Chapter. The film received the Historical/Cultural/Nostalgia-Long Form Content Emmy (with Kuznicki and Cary listed as producers), and the Short or Long Form Content for Writing Emmy (with Kuznicki listed as writer).
The Fargo Film Festival is held at the Fargo Theatre. More information about the festival, including lodging and other film entries, can be found on the festival’s website. Screening dates for “Carl Ben Eielson: Over the Top of the World” have not yet been released, but are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. People interested in viewing the documentary are encouraged to check the website for further details.
According to the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission, Hatton, N.D.-native Eielson accomplished several milestones in aviation, including flying the first Alaskan mail route in 1924 and co-piloting the first nonstop flight over the North Pole in 1928. In 1929, he received the Harmon Trophy from President Herbert Hoover. The award is the nation’s highest honor given for aviation. Eielson died in November 1929, when his plane went down during a rescue attempt.
Eielson attended UND from 1914 to 1916.
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Media contact: Adam Kurtz at adam.kurtz.1@UND.edu, or 701.777.4304.
