Issued by: Beth Stafford
414-229-4800
bstaff@uwm.edu
Date: Feb. 20, 2003
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Issued by: Beth Stafford Date: Feb. 20, 2003 |
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| Allen Hakala in a scene from Brian Artka's "The Hakala Brothers." |
MILWAUKEE -"The Hakala Brothers," a half-hour documentary by a UWM alum, Brian Artka (BFA 2002), airs on Channel 10 at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
The film, which was Artka's senior independent study last spring, is about two brothers who live in northern Wisconsin under what most people would consider primitive conditions. These modern-day pioneers live with no electricity and no running water.
Artka's professors and family urged him to send the documentary to PBS for consideration by the network. He talked to people at Channel 10 in Milwaukee, visited Web sites for more information, then submitted his work. "They contacted me and said they would really like to screen it several times in 2003," Artka reports. To make the documentary, Artka spent days with the brothers, and edited about 45 hours of footage down to a half hour.
He describes the Hakala Brothers as "Really nice guys, who are happily living life the only way they know how to." The two men own about 60 acres of property in Ashland County, in an area Artka says is "absolutely gorgeous."
Artka met the two men through his father. "My dad knew them from his hunting and fishing in the area," Artka says.
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| Harold Hakala |
Both never-been-married bachelors, the two men work at odd jobs as their own bosses at nearby farms and warehouses, log their woods and use their mechanical talents to earn what little cash they need. "They own 50 or so cows but they're actually more like pets than farm animals," Artka reports. He says they only sell one of the cows when they really need the cash.
The brothers also have accumulated an ever-growing mound of aluminum cans that is roughly 5' by 30'. Artka says he asked them when they would sell the cans and they said, "When the price goes up."
Artka is currently working with a few companies on internet-related projects (web design) and video post-production projects.
"I also offer my services through a company my friend Sean Kafer (current UWM film student) and I started, influx media (www.influx-media.com)," Artka says." We offer video production and graphic design services to small businesses and individuals. In the future, I plan to work at my company, keeping up with the ever-changing technology and using that knowledge to fulfill clients' needs."
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