South Dakota filmmakers raise thousands to produce film on social justice

By John Hult, for Pigeon605

Bobby Peacock and Daniel Bergeson have plenty of disagreements. 

On social issues, political issues – issues controversial enough that they’d rather not discuss the details in print. One leans right, the other left. 

The specifics don’t really matter, they say. 

What does matter, both for their friendship and the creative partnership that has produced several short films since Bergeson first reached out to Peacock more than two years ago, is what they agree on. Namely the immersive power of the moving image to spark conversation, and the deep need for South Dakotans to engage with one another on questions of race and social justice.

Moving beyond divisions by confronting hard topics with humanity and respect opens the door to deeper connection, Bergeson said. 

“We want to create space for those difficult conversations through these narratives,” Bergeson said. “It’s a big part of our philosophy and our mission: how can we create empathy in spaces where empathy doesn’t normally exist.”

Sometimes, Peacock said, that means putting others in the same uncomfortable place he and Bergeson found themselves on a six-hour road trip scouting locations for “Hazard,” the film that grew into their nonprofit organization, The Hazard Film Project.

Stuck together in a car from Sioux Falls to Rapid City in service of a shared goal, the two were forced to find peace and move on. 

The move from confrontation to connection serves to illustrate what Peacock has come to see as the animating force behind his art in the two years since then.

“We’ve had some of those difficult conversations, but we’ve been able to work through them and understand each other,” Peacock said. “What I’m learning is that I want to frustrate people to the point that they’re willing to ask the right questions.”

First major film aims for 2022 release

The producers and their crew recently wrapped a four-day shoot for “Hazard,” a short about a Black family whose cross-country trek through the National Park system is derailed by an encounter with a white police officer.

Bergeson, the writer and director, and Peacock, the executive producer, used a Kickstarter campaign to raise the $25,000 needed for filming, which took place in Presho, the Big Sioux Recreation Area and along Highway 53 near Vivian. 

It was the largest-scale project either had ever done, and there were plenty of speed bumps along the way. Six vehicles broke down. The initial director of photography canceled a month before shooting, forcing Peacock to step into the role. There were minor emergencies every day.

“It was a friggin’ disaster, but it was also amazing,” Bergeson said. “For every horrible slip-up that we had, there were these beautiful moments we were able to capture.”

“There are no photos of Daniel smiling (from the shoot),” Peacock recalled with a laugh.

They can both smile about it now. Bergeson said the Twin Cities- and Atlanta-based lead actors were incredible, the more experienced crew members offered guidance on technical questions to the young creators, and some of the younger crew members stepped up to show leadership and poise under pressure. On the day six vehicles broke down, for example, assistant director Micala Burns “wouldn’t even tell the creative team what was going on.”

“She was like ‘just focus on the creative side,’ ” Bergeson said.

They’re now looking to raise money for postproduction and film festival entry fees, with an eye to a summer 2022 release. The Hazard Film Project Kickstarter page has the details and updates for backers.

Short film serves as launchpad for nonprofit

Those interested in the team’s work needn’t wait that long. 

The nonprofit they founded in 2019 to raise money for “Hazard” quickly outgrew its original purpose, expanding in scope to become what they hope will be an engine for elevating Black voices in South Dakota through cinema.

“The Black Project,” for example, is a series of short films documenting the bias experienced by Black Sioux Falls residents. Several of those testimonials are available on the group’s Facebook page and on YouTube.

The pair also spent time in mid-July filming interviews with Julian Beaudoin, a Black state trooper in Sioux Falls who has run for City Council, for a short documentary titled “The Black and Blue Project.” 

“Initially, it was just there to fund (“Hazard’), but we realized that there was so much more that we could do,” Bergeson said. 

Bergeson found his partner for the project on social media, impressed by Peacock’s video projects for local churches, his flair for presentation, as well as his skills as a musician – he creates music under the name DJ Peacock.

Peacock was intrigued, but it wasn’t an easy sell. 

“Being in the Christian realm, I was really wary of the project,” said Peacock, a 28-year-old child of the South Dakota foster care system who considered the ministry before finding his voice in church video projects. “I wondered what my friends would think of me for being involved with a ‘political’ topic that a lot of Christians struggle with.”

The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin last year changed that for Peacock, who had been “silent on racial issues for like seven years.”

“That was when I decided to speak out,” he said. “People think it’s a political issue, but in my view, it’s a God issue.”

Bergeson encouraged his friend to use that voice and to help him help others find theirs. The pandemic had upended plans for the full “Hazard” shoot, which gave the duo the time to dive into the smaller-scale production work of “The Black Project.”

The films have gained traction on social media, and the conversations they’ve sparked have already moved beyond the screen. The film work, Peacock said, has served as a springboard to community outreach. 

“It’s given me the opportunity to go into churches and speak on these issues,” he said. 

Bergeson hopes the pair’s work can show that a production company that tells stories and serves its community is a workable model for promoting the art of filmmaking in South Dakota.

“We can be a production company and be a nonprofit,” he said. “The best way to engage a community is as a nonprofit, with a mission and a board of directors.”