Beets

Retired nurse Gladys teaches her grandson how to make pickled beets

  • Andrew Gingerich
    Director
  • Gladys Nelson
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 55 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 15, 2015
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Andrew Gingerich

Andrew Gingerich is the director of three feature films and countless shorts. He attained his B.F.A. in Filmmaking from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and spent three years as the head of the Film and Media Production program at Western Iowa Tech Community College. He lives in Chicago.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

It's often been said that the best camera is the one that's with you. When, one afternoon, my grandmother offered to teach me her recipe for pickled beets, I reached for the iPod Touch in my pocket to make this short portrait of her.

Documentary is a new format for me, but I've always been inspired by the naturalistic work of the Maysles Brothers and Les Blank, in which the subjects are active participants in the creation of the film. In this regard, passing the camera to Gladys for a few shots was an entirely fitting progression of this form.

Gladys is 92 now, and still living on her own in Fort Collins, Colorado. In addition to pickled beets, she makes a mean pumpkin pie.