Lansing premiere of “SHIFT: The RAGBRAI Documentary” is Thursday; event includes Q&A with filmmakers and local participants
Red carpet at the RAGBRAI Documentary premiere in Des Moines ... Pictured above are riders and organizers whose stories are featured in “SHIFT: The RAGBRAI Documentary”, along with the film’s directors, at a recent premiere of the documentary film held at the Varsity Theater in Des Moines. The local premiere of the film in Lansing is scheduled for this Thursday, May 11 at TJ Hunter’s Banquet Hall. Left to right: Director Courtney Crowder, Torie Giffin, Dayna Chandler, Ian Zahren, Andrew Boddicker, Liam Lineberry, Adam Lineberry, Director Kelsey Kremer. Not pictured: Daniel Giffin. Submitted photo.
by Julie Berg-Raymond
TJ Hunter’s Banquet Hall will host the Lansing premiere of “SHIFT: The RAGBRAI Documentary” this Thursday, May 11 at 7 p.m. The event includes a purple carpet event; drinks and complimentary movie food; a silent auction supporting 10 local non-profits, the Eastern Allamakee School District (EACS), and other organizations; and a Q&A session with the filmmakers and film participants. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at Lansingiowa.com.
Directed by Kelsey Kremer and Courtney Crowder and starring Dayna Chandler, Torie Giffin, Daniel Giffin, Adam Lineberry, Liam Lineberry and Lansing’s own Andrew Boddicker and Ian Zahren, the film’s running time is 57 minutes.
“SHIFT: The RAGBRAI Documentary” is part of the Des Moines Register’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of RAGBRAI - the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, the oldest, largest and longest recreational bicycle touring event in the world. Lansing’s Andrew Boddicker and Ian Zahren, principal organizers of Lansing RAGBRAI 2022 - along with the community of Lansing, itself - are among the featured subjects in the film, which tells the story of RAGBRAI through photography and interviews with three riders and a pair of community leaders.
In an interview with The Standard last year, Courtney Crowder - award-winning Iowa columnist for the Register and one of the directors of the documentary - explained how she made the choice to feature Boddicker and Zahren as local organizers for RAGBRAI 2022. “Not only are Andrew and Ian dynamic personalities, but after living in big cities, both domestically and abroad, they made the conscious decision to move back to rural Iowa to begin their married lives,” Crowder said. “Their dedication to building bridges within the Lansing community to ensure its stability and growth for the future makes them great representatives for the power RAGBRAI can have at a local level.”
As for Lansing, itself, Crowder told The Standard it’s “an incredible place, and the community certainly put its best foot forward during this summer’s RAGBRAI.”
Among the other stories told in the documentary, as described on the film’s website at ragbrai.com, are those of “a loving mom working through her youngest son’s cancer diagnosis, (and) a recovering opioid addict biking to make riding more accessible for all.”
Boddicker and Zahren recently attended the Des Moines premiere of the film. “Watching the documentary and seeing ourselves and our fellow film subjects was an honor,” Boddicker said. “We had not seen the film yet, so it was an exhilarating experience to watch it unfold and see our community shine throughout the film.”
After the showing, they went onstage with the other film participants and had a brief Q&A with the filmmakers, Crowder and Kremer. “They did an incredible job of telling the RAGBRAI story through the participants in the film,” Boddicker said. “Lansing made an incredible setting for a host town, and our efforts in 2022 were well documented and portrayed in a compelling and moving way.”
Boddicker said the film exceeded all his and Zahren’s expectations. “The quality, depth, and portrayal of this incredible community is breathtaking,” he said. “We are so proud to be a part of it.”
