Jeremy Gould

Cameraman Jeremy Gould films footage for "LaPorte, Indiana" from the overpass.

   UPDATE: The showing of “LaPorte, Indiana” on Thursday, July 15, at 7:30 p.m. have been sold out. Another airing has been added for the same evening at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are now on sale for that showing at B&J’s American Cafe, 607 Lincolnway. Purchase ticket at the restaurant between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily. Thanks to Billie Pappas of B&J’s for the update.

   Filmmakers of the documentary ”LaPorte, Indiana” have released times and ticket information for the film’s premiere at LaPorte Cinema on Wednesday and Thursday, July 14 and 15.

   The Wednesday, July 14, showing is a Friends and Family Premiere at 7:30 p.m. The filmmakers, Jason Bitner and Joe Beshenkovsky, have sent invitations for that showing.   

   The Thursday, July 15, showings are open to the public. The 7:30 p.m. showing is sold out; tickets are now on sale for an added 9:30 p.m. showing. Tickets are available at B&J’s American Cafe in LaPorte.

   “For out-of-towners wishing to join, please e-mail us and we’ll do our best to reserve a spot for you,” the filmmakers stated in a press release. Their e-mail address is laportedoc.gmail.com.
   LaPorte Cinema is located at 608 Colfax Ave. The film is based on the book by the same name, released in 2006 by Bitner.

   “We know that many of you are not in northwest Indiana, so we’re working hard to set up some Chicago, New York and national screenings after we share the film with our favorite LaPorteans,” the filmmakers stated in the release. “We’ll keep you posted with dates and times of future screenings, as well as the eventual LaPorte DVDs.”
   The film will also be shown at the Indianapolis Film Festival at two screenings on Saturday, July 17, and Thursday, July 22. The festival takes place at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, 4000 Michigan Road, Indianapolis. Check the film fest’s website, www.indyfilmfest.org, for times.
   At the website for “LaPorte, Indiana,” www.laportemovie.com, you can now watch a sneak preview of the film. In the clip, entitled “Space or No Space?” LaPorteans are interviewed about whether our community’s name is spelled LaPorte or La Porte.

   Such are the quirky things that make LaPorte unique, and such are the types of things documentary makers Bitner and Joe Beshenkovsky focus upon in the film.

   Bitner’s book “LaPorte, Indiana” features 1950s and ‘60 photo portraits found in the old studio of the late photographer Frank Pease. His studio was above what is now B&J’s American Cafe on Lincolnway, and many of his photos can still be found there.

   Here’s what the Wall Street Journal had to say about the book:

Beshenkovsky Bitner

Beshenkovsky and Bitner.

   “Fortunately, magazine editor Jason Bitner happened upon the stored prints of a LaPorte studio photographer named Frank Pease and, delighted by the hoard he had discovered, assembled this assortment. Though the book yields motifs — couples, siblings, pearl necklaces, buzz haircuts, bouffant hairdos, horn-rimmed glasses — the faces appear anonymously, each a souvenir from the 1950s or ’60s. Nothing is played for laughs, no postmodern sarcasm at the expense of clueless Hoosiers. The expressions are easygoing and ingenuous, if shaded toward the tentative and diffident. If there was an American look 40 or 50 years ago — at least one recognizable throughout Middle America — these faces may be it. Nothing edgy, smirking or brash. But much that is earnest, benign and hopeful.”

   The documentary focusing on our hometown promises to deliver more of the same. You can also watch the trailer for the film at www.laportemovie.com.

   Filmmaker Beshenkovsky, incidentally, recently won an Emmy Award for his editing work on the TV show “This American Life.”

   “Please join us for the world premiere of ‘LaPorte, Indiana!’ Beshenkovsky and Bitner say on the website.

   July 14 and 15 should be fun nights for LaPorteans. And La Porteans.

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A boxful of just some of Frank Pease’s portraits.