Video Documentaries &
Oral History Projects

The principal of the Ganzel Group, Bill Ganzel, has over 30 years experience as a producer, writer and editor for the Ganzel Group Communications and Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET). He has had several documentaries broadcast on PBS stations nationally and have won awards like the Cine Golden Eagle and a silver plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival.

Cultural Pioneers: A History of the Sheldon Art Association In 2013, the Sheldon Art Association turned 125 years old, the oldest continuously operating arts support organization in the United States. "Cultural Pioneers" honors the visionary people who created a world-class collection of American art, and whose vision has given us the Sheldon Museum of Art to house this collection. This hour-long documentary tells the story of these pioneers, their inspiratioins, dreams and visions. This sequence shows how the organization came into being only 15 years after the state was founded. With archival footage, photographs and interviews with current and past members, "Cultural Pioneers" is an exciting and compelling story of bringing art to the plains. Seventy-five years after the founding of the association, the group had amassed a world-class collection of art that demanded a building to house and display the works. Architect Phillip Johnson was chosen to design the new gallery. This second segment explores the building of the museum itself and what compelled individuals to join the group.
"Roger Donlon & Jan Rose Kasmir" Roger Donlon was a young captain in the Army's Special Forces when his unit came under surprise attack at Nam Dong, Vietnam. Wounded seven times, he directed his unit and South Vietnamese troops to repulse the attack. He was the first soldier in Vietnam to receive the Medal of Honor. He had little use for protestors like Jan Rose Kasmir. Kasmir became the subject of an iconic photo when she offered a flower to soldiers guarding the Pentagon with bayonets. Surprisingly, the two shared a similar personal history. Click here to see a "conversation" between the two.
"Lonnie C. King" Lonnie C. King was the leader of the first major civil rights actions in Atlanta in 1960. He organized sit-ins and boycotts that eventually forced integration of lunch counters, movie theaters, courthouses and other public buildings. Here he remembers the real possibility of violence and a difficult choice his mother had to make. Bill Ganzel was producer, writer, videographer, audio engineer, editor and compression engineer for this segment. Segment was shot and edited in HD.

"The Hunger Experiment" This segment on the Hunger Experiment is from the documentary "A Matter of Conscience" produced by Bill Ganzel for the NET in 1993. In WWII a group of conscientous objections volunteered to be starved so that researchers could document the effects of hunger on the civilian population of Europe. The goal was to discover what it would take to feed them back to health. Bill Anderson was one who volunteered to be starved. Bill Ganzel was the producer, director and writer; Alexandru Moscu editor; Perry Stoner videographer; Mac McHale audio engineer; and Kurt Labenz mix. Click here to see the Hunger Experiment segment.

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