Rethos: Places Reimagined

Rethos is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working nationwide for the use of old buildings and sites. They began working with Ely’s Historic State Theater to support the theater’s renovation project and quickly realized what a unique story the theater represents to community members in Ely, Minnesota. Rethos believes that old buildings, culture, and small businesses are the foundation for a community to flourish, and their mission is to lead and inspire people to connect with historic places, promoting community vitality. Needless to say, the Ely Historic State Theater checked off all the boxes to be a great partner with Rethos!

Rethos approached Jacob at White Pine Productions back in the fall of 2020 with a vision for a documentary film to celebrate the Ely State Theater’s historic rehabilitation. We hit it off and immediately found that our shared values would be a solid foundation for producing a really cool video project that would have more than one audience interested in viewing. White Pine Productions brought together a small crew to capture interviews, B-Roll, & aerial footage, and the film you see here is the result of everyone’s efforts!

Because Rethos was involved in starting the RevitalizeMN coalition to advocate for Minnesota's Historic Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit to be extended by the legislature in 2021, the footage we captured that winter was also utilized in producing a series of social media content to educate and empower Minnesotans to join the coalition! For us, this is a great example for how media assets that we produce can have more than one audience and may need more than one video to tell your story effectively.