TRAVERSE CITY — A new documentary showcasing the natural beauty and cultural history of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is gaining statewide recognition and making its way to public screens.
According to a July 10 news release, the Spirit of Sleeping Bear Dunes, a 50-minute documentary directed by filmmaker Keith Patterson, will be shown at 7 p.m. July 23 at the State Theatre in Traverse City as part of the Traverse City Film Festival’s community screenings.
Earlier this year, the film received the Best Michigan-Made Feature Documentary award at the Central Michigan University Film Festival and was accepted into the Royal Star Film Festival, scheduled for Sept. 11-14 in Birmingham, Michigan. The documentary is also set to air on PBS stations, with a broadcast schedule to be announced.
Subtitled Awaken Your Spirit, the film weaves together historical photographs and footage, contemporary outdoor scenes, and interviews with local historians and former National Park Service employees. Among those featured are Laura Quackenbush, Bill Herd, and the late Dave Taghon, longtime president of the Empire Heritage Group.
The film recounts both the geological and cultural history of the Sleeping Bear dunes, including the Native American legend of a bear and her two cubs who swam across Lake Michigan to escape a fire—an origin story for the dunes and nearby Manitou Islands.
Patterson said the project began as a short promotional video commissioned by the Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitors Bureau but evolved into a more in-depth exploration of the area’s heritage and present-day appeal.
“Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is one of my favorite places in the world, and this film was a dream to produce,” Patterson said. “I’m happy to see it getting recognition and distribution.”
The documentary also highlights nearby landmarks such as the Glen Lakes, Fishtown, Van’s Beach, Elberta Beach, and Point Betsie, capturing seasonal scenes to emphasize the year-round appeal of the region.
Patterson, who founded Manitou Films in 2018 after 15 years producing network television in Los Angeles, is also preparing to release two new films in 2026: Beer City, USA, focused on Grand Rapids’ brewing industry, and Frontier to Freedom, a historical documentary on Michigan’s role in the American Revolution.
Manitou Films received the 2024 State History Award for Media from the Historical Society of Michigan, and both The Spirit of Sleeping Bear Dunes and Lake Leelanau, Spirit of the Lake are slated for national PBS distribution in 2025.