New film highlights worlds of Great Lakes ice

By MATTHEW HALL
Capital News Service
LANSING — The shaping of the Great Lakes’ geographic, economic and cultural history by ice is revealed in a documentary set to be finished in late April. Producers of “Project Ice” used high-definition cameras to capture spectacular scenes of ice on the lakes, as well as intimate portraits of residents’ connection to the wonders of winter, said William Kleinert, executive producer and director of the film. “Ice has been involved in so many aspects of the Great Lakes, right from its original creation from glaciation, on through the present and the development of its culture, economy, shipping, navigation and commerce,” Kleinert said. He began the project two years ago to document the historic car ferries on the Straits of Mackinac. But it evolved into something bigger and more illustrative of the entire Great Lakes region.