05/08/2026
Congrats to the Ghost Lake Team!
St. Louis County, Minnesota Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Blandin Foundation
Like most art, films can be deeply personal. For Ojibwe filmmaker Ginew Benton, the short film Ghost Lake is rooted in the personal.
Ghost Lake is set on a reservation in Northern Minnesota and follows an Ojibwe hunter and a tribal police officer as they uncover a drug smuggling operation after the overdose death of a young boy. As the investigation unfolds, the story turns toward grief and accountability.
Benton, too, has experienced the loss of friends and family to fentanyl-laced drugs. After years of thinking about it, he said he finally felt like it was the right time to make a film facing this issue head-on.
Listen to Andrew Dziengel's full conversation with Benton to hear more about the Ghost Lake production and his history with film online!
https://www.kaxe.org/show/91-7-kaxe-90-5-kbxe-morning-show/2026-05-06/area-voices-native-led-short-film-ghost-lake-opioid-impacts
Photo: Contributed / Ghost Lake Instagram
