Robert Erickson

Into the Cold Blue: Restoration and Reinvention

In 1943, legendary Hollywood director William Wyler and his film crew flew combat missions on B-17 bombers to document the fierce air battles of World War II. Over 70 years later, the footage was discovered in the vaults of the National Archives. After painstaking, shot-by-shot sound and picture restoration, director Erik Nelson has constructed a new film out of the material. Inside the making of The Cold Blue.

A Gray State

In 2010 David Crowley, an Iraq veteran, aspiring filmmaker and charismatic up-and-coming voice in fringe politics, began production on his film Gray State. Set in a dystopian near-future where civil liberties are trampled by an unrestrained federal government, the film’s crowd funded trailer was enthusiastically received by the burgeoning online community of libertarians, Tea Party activists and members of the nascent alt-right. In January of 2015, Crowley was found dead with his family in their suburban Minnesota home. Their shocking deaths quickly become a cause célèbre for conspiracy theorists who speculate that Crowley was assassinated by a shadowy government concerned about a film and filmmaker that was getting too close to the truth about their aims.

UFO Over Illinois

An investigation into a UFO sighting by a miniature-golf course owner and several police officers in January 2000.