Producer’s Club of Bending River Films
Producer’s Club of Bending River Films
Each year, Bending River Films will produce 3-4 documentary films for Detroit PBS which are themed on an array of Michigan cultural topics. Award-winning filmmakers Keith Famie and Mark Salloum are excited to introduce the Producer’s Club of Bending River Films. As a member, you’ll be part of a small group of community leaders who champion human interest stories about the people, history, and cultures of the Great Lakes State!
How This Works
As a club member, you’ll receive year-long recognition as an Executive Producer on the films of your choice, along with an array of other special benefits (details below). Each film will be celebrated at a community premiere which also benefits different local charities.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MEMBERSHIP LEVELS
THE DIRECTOR — $25,000 DONATION
Film Credits
You will be featured as one of the Executive Producers on all three of the Bending River Films for the year. With this title, your name will appear at the open of each film and be featured in the closing credits.
Community Film Premiere Charity Celebrations
Each film will be celebrated with a community premiere which benefits local charities. As a “Director Member”, you’ll receive 8 tickets to all three film premieres. Your bio or tribute will be featured as an Executive Producer on a full-page in the media booklet for each film.
Website
All Bending River Films’ productions will have their own website for community engagement, and your name will be featured on the front page of the film’s website as an Executive Producer.
Private Dinner / Behind the Scenes Experience
As one of our featured Executive Producers, you and a guest will be invited to a private evening gathering event where award-winning filmmakers Keith Famie and Mark Salloum will provide an in-depth talk about the filmmaking process and share a compilation of the many films they have produced. This evening will also include an amazing dining experience with a featured chef and their restaurant.
Bending River Collectibles
You will receive a copy of each film on Blu-Ray or DVD, as well as two stylish Bending River Films’ coffee mugs and t-shirts.
THE PRODUCER — $15,000 DONATION
Film Credits
You will be featured as one of the Executive Producers on two of the Bending River Films for the year.
Community Film Premiere Charity Celebrations
Each film will be celebrated with a community premiere which benefits local charities. As a “Producer Member”, you’ll receive 4 tickets to the premieres of each of the two films you support. Your bio or tribute will be featured as an Executive Producer on a half-page in the media booklet for each film.
Website
All Bending River Films’ productions will have their own website for community engagement, and your name will be featured on the front page of the film’s website as an Executive Producer.
Bending River Collectibles
You will receive a copy of each film on Blu-Ray or DVD, as well as two stylish Bending River Films’ coffee mugs and t-shirts.
THE EDITOR — $7,500 DONATION
Film Credits
You will be featured as one of the Executive Producers on one Bending River Film of your choice for the year. With this title, your name will appear at the open of each film and be featured in the closing credits.
Community Film Premiere Charity Celebrations
Each film will be celebrated with a community premiere which benefits local charities. As an “Editor Member”, you’ll receive 4 tickets to the premiere of the film you support. Your bio or tribute will be featured as an Executive Producer on a half-page in the media booklet for each film.
Website
All Bending River Films’ productions will have their own website for community engagement, and your name will be featured on the front page of the film’s website as an Executive Producer.
Bending River Collectibles
You will receive a copy of the film on Blu-Ray or DVD, as well as two stylish Bending River Films’ coffee mugs and t-shirts.
THE KEY GRIP — $5,000 DONATION
Community Film Premiere Charity Celebrations
Each film will be celebrated with a community premiere which benefits local charities. As a “Key Grip Member”, you’ll receive 4 tickets to the premiere of the film you support. Your bio or tribute will be featured as “Community Supporter” in the media booklet for each film.
Website
All Bending River Films’ productions will have their own website for community engagement, and your name will be featured on the front page of the film’s website as an Executive Producer.
Bending River Collectibles
You will receive a copy of each film on Blu-Ray or DVD, as well as two stylish Bending River Films’ coffee mugs and t-shirts.
2026 Film Projects
Fork In The Road
This film will explore how Metro Detroit Youth Clubs has transformed the lives of thousands of young people when the road ahead seemed uncertain. Through interviews with former members, now working as community leaders, the film traces the clubs’ impact across generations.
A Salute to our WWII Generation
Filmmakers Mark Salloum and Keith Famie are joining forces with their new studio, Bending River Films. This film will be one of their first projects together, as it pays tribute to the brave men and women who served our country during World War II. The film takes audiences on a journey starting from the youthful days of these veterans, whether they grew up on city streets or country farms. It follows their transition to the battlefields and communications rooms where they played crucial roles in the war effort. The narrative continues to explore the challenges and triumphs veterans faced upon returning home and adjusting to civilian life.
Laid To Rest
Over the last 300 years, because of Michigan’s diverse ethnic population, it’s no surprise these places of rest for our loved ones represent rich cultures of faith and spirituality. This film includes stories of some of Michigan’s 3,000 cemeteries including the sacred ceremonies of the military’s and law enforcement’s color guards’ dedications paid to their fallen colleagues.
All Aboard! The Great Lakes Train History
A story that captures the romance and amazement of train travel while celebrating the history of an irreplaceable artery that has moved Michigan’s people and mobilized her manufacturing through three centuries. Michigan’s railroads remain inseparable with our economic development. Freight railroads provide shippers with cost-effective transportation for bulk commodities and the automotive industry continues to rely on the railroads to transport materials to plants and finished automobiles to the market. Equally, Michigan agriculture depends on the railroad to transport grain, and as an ecological bonus, freight-by-rail is not only cost-effective but energy efficient as it generates less air pollution per ton-mile than trucking.
Detroit: The City of Chefs III
This film will explore the world of vegetarianism and the rich agricultural bounty that Michigan has to offer the chef community. In the spirit of better understanding how in-depth our rich growing seasons are, we will feature chefs working closely with the farming community to better understand the significance of the term “farm to table” and why they refer to food as “medicine”. We will learn why Detroit is leading the way nationally with urban farming and how this has great benefits to the local communities. We will also learn how the Native Americans impacted Michigan’s agricultural community.
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