By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent AURORA, Ind. — While driving home one night in 2013, filmmaker Marshall Burnette was listening to NPR when a segment came on that haunted him. On the radio was the voice of a man named Will Piper, who described the day his friends Alex Pacas, 19, and Wyatt Whitebread, 14, died in a grain bin entrapment in Mount Carroll, Ill., in 2010. Burnette couldn’t get the image of the tragedy out of his mind. That accident awakened something within him as, for the first time, he realized the grave danger that lies within the silver bins he drove past every day growing up outside Johnson City, Tenn. “Like so many other people, I’ve driven by these silos all my life and never realized the dangers and never know how they worked,” he explained. In an effort to bring such farm accidents to life, in 2017 Burnette filmed and directed a documentary under the title “Silo: Edge of the Real World.” That film was used to drum up excitement and investors for the idea of making a two-hour scripted film he would call simply “Silo.” “This documentary-turned-movie shows the story of a grain entrapment in a Midwest community, along with the risks and rewards of a farmer’s life,” he said. Burnette’s 2017 documentary was filmed on the farm of Adam Fox of Rising Sun, Ind. He was anxious to produce a two-hour movie pertaining to farmers and the perils they face on the farm – and silos were the eye-catchers in this situation. “When I found out about silos and how they operate, I thought it was scary as well as inspiring when it came to the rescue effort involved, and all the work people put into the rescue. I started doing research and it all seemed very cinematic to me,” Burnette said. “It’s just a powerful story of people coming together, and the community involvement and hard work that doesn’t get recognized.” The independent fictional film “Silo” spans one day in the life of a small farming town. As the day unfolds, viewers follow the interwoven stories and secrets of the community members as they head for a metaphorical collision: A grain bin entrapment. “My takeaway from directing this movie is threefold,” Burnette explained. “First, I wanted to raise awareness to people who drive by ag communities and don’t think much about silos when they see them. Second, I want people to know how dangerous silos can be and how many people work around these things. “Third, even some of the farmers who do this kind of work don’t realize the dangers that are there. “I also hope people who don’t know anything about farming can connect with these characters through the stories that we’re telling. It’s not just a movie about people planting and harvesting corn. It’s about the interaction, the relationships within the town, the community, and the past,” he added. Burnette spent more than a year researching the movie concept before he reached out to Samuel Goldberg, a movie producer from New York. The two hooked up with a variety of screenwriters and started working with Bill Field, a professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue University who specializes in farm safety. Playing the role of Frank, a volunteer firefighter, is Jeremy Holm, best known for his role as Agent Nathan Green in the Netflix political thriller “House of Cards.” “It’s a compelling story about middle America, and Frank is a complex person who has problems but is trying to do the best he can,” Holm described his role. Sukup Manufacturing Co. (with offices in Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio) designed and built a 42-foot-diameter grain bin with modified flooring to make it look like there is 15 feet of grain inside. The faux silo was built in an airplane hangar in Mason City, Iowa. Hydraulic lifts were used to safely lower the actors in and out of the grain. The outdoor farm scenes were shot on Quint Pottinger’s corn and soybean farm in New Haven, Ky. Goldberg first saw the Sukup logo when he was visiting Kentucky, so with no background knowledge, he gave the company a call. “It turns out, they’re family-owned, care about safety, and are just epic people who are out-of-the-box thinkers,” he said. According to Goldberg, the Sukups, as well as experts like Field and Dale Dobson, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s farm and home safety program administrator, worked closely with the crew to give the film an accurate and authentic portrayal of rural America and farming. “While a title incorporating grain bins would be more accurate than ‘Silo,’ it doesn’t have the same sizzle,” Goldberg said. “For this reason, ‘Silo’ is a working title that may be changed before the film is released.” “Silo” is expected to screen in theaters this summer, and at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Ill., on August 27. A portion of the film’s proceeds will be donated to farm safety causes. More information about the movie, as well as the possibility of screenings for organizations, is online at https://silothefilm.com |
