News Release

Premiere of Octave Chanute Film at National Park

Octave Chanute Filming

Paul Nelson

News Release Date: January 31, 2020 INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL PARK: Octave Chanute, the renowned civil engineer and flight pioneer, is known by many in Northwest Indiana as the region's icon of innovation. Now, a feature documentary is telling the story of the influential flight pioneer whose experiments in the Indiana Dunes propelled the development of the airplane to new heights. The Indiana Dunes National Park will host the national premiere of the film, Octave Chanute: Patron Saint of Flight, on Sunday, February 16, at 2:00 pm at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center.

At 2:00 pm, Chanute biographer, Simine Short, will give a brief talk and introduce filmmaker Paul Nelson before the screening. The hour long film tells the story of the French immigrant who eventually earned wealth and admiration as a high profile civil engineer before pursuing the study of heavier than air flight. The documentary then provides insight to Chanute's groundbreaking flight experiments on the southern shore of Lake Michigan and Chanute's complicated relationship with the Wright Brothers. “These sites that are located right on the lake in Northwest Indiana should be revered in the same way that Kitty Hawk, North Carolina is for flight enthusiasts,” said Paul Nelson, the film's director. “It's just another aspect that makes the Indiana Dunes so special.”

After the screening, viewers can partake in a Q&A session with Short and Nelson and also connect with others interested in aviation, Octave Chanute and Region history. Light refreshments will be provided.
 
Funding for the Chanute video was provided in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Indiana Department of Natural Resources Lake Michigan Coastal Program. The Indiana Arts Commission, South Shore Arts, Indiana Humanities, The National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, The Anderson Foundation and Indiana Dunes Tourism.
 
The Indiana Dunes Visitor Center is located at 1215 North State Road 49, about one mile north of Interstate 94. For more information on this or other programs at Indiana Dunes National Park, call 219-395-1882 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/indu and our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/IndianaDunesNPS.