A Lake of the Isles homeowner and a Minneapolis chainsaw sculptor shape meaning (and a twenty foot tall pencil) from the twisted trunk of a fallen oak tree.

But this pencil isn’t meant to last. Every year, thousands gather to sacrifice a part of the pencil in a sharpening ceremony, and in the process renew the collective promise to “do something.”

Curtis Ingvoldstad, sculptor of the Pencil in Lake of the Isles, lifts a giant sharpener
Daniel Straub, director of A Short Documentary About A Giant Pencil, surveys the pencil's glory for the first time
Austin Straub set up an incredible interview frame for Curtis Ingvoldstad. Daniel Straub has to dance through it to get in position to interview. It's a bit of an obstacle course.
Austin Straub, Emmy Award Winning Cinematographer, points his ARRI Alexa 35 towards the Giant Pencil. It is without a doubt the most beautiful thing it will ever capture.

DANIEL STRAUB
DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

Daniel is a Los Angeles-based director and producer whose most recent film, the award-winning investigative feature documentary OUT OF PLAIN SIGHT for the Los Angeles Times, is completely different than this and has almost nothing to do with pencils.

AUSTIN STRAUB
CINEMATOGRAPHER, PRODUCER

Austin Straub is an Emmy®-winning cinematographer (The Migrant Kitchen, PBS/KCET) whose work spans the gamut of the industry. They have lensed theatrical-feature films, as well as specials for Disney+ and Apple TV+, and their documentary-style camera operating has been tapped for concert films produced by HBO, Amazon and Apple. Austin thrives in intimate, human stories bathed in naturalistic light, and they are passionate about placing the audience in the heart of the most pointed issues of our time, including pencils.

BRYCE CYRIER
PRODUCER

Bryce is a film and documentary producer known for his versatile leadership and commitment to fostering the creative process. He’s made feature documentaries, doc series, shorts, commercials, and music videos, ranging in distribution from wide theatrical release to millions of views on YouTube. He has worked with professional athletes, NY Times bestselling authors, and Academy Award winners like Laura Dern and Golden Globe winners Paul Walter Hauser, Michael C. Hall, and Annette Bening. This is his first short documentary specifically about a giant pencil. He is also a screenwriter, a husband, and a proud father to two kids who love movies even more than he does.

JAMES ELLINGTON
COMPOSER

James is a lifelong musician, pencil user, composer, producer and music supervisor with an eclectic music palette.

Ellington's most recent project is Out of Plain Sight, an unprecedented feature documentary produced by the Los Angeles Times, for which he composed the entire score.