Written and Directed by James Fishback

Land of Many Birds

Some people find themselves by leaving. Some find themselves here.

About the Film Stay in Touch

The Film

A family lodge. A son who isn't ready. And the land that won't wait.

Wyatt has spent his whole life on the water's edge — content, unhurried, rooted. When his father hands him the keys to the family's lake lodge in rural South Dakota, it should feel like a natural next step. It doesn't.

Land of Many Birds is a contemporary rural drama about what it means to stay — and whether staying is something you choose or something you earn. Shot on location in Dell Rapids and Canistota, South Dakota, the film follows one season in the life of a community that holds together because someone decides to show up.

Cast

Featured Cast

Luke LeBrun as Wyatt

Wyatt

Luke LeBrun

A Minnesota-born actor raised in Pine City, Luke brings three years of professional film and television experience to the role. An Honor Roll athlete and choir standout in high school, he went on to play collegiate football at the University of Northwestern–St. Paul while anchoring the campus news station. He has since appeared in 12 film productions.

Alexis Kulm as Sophie

Sophie

Alexis Kulm

A South Dakota-based actress making her feature film debut, Alexis brings over a decade of dance experience and a strong regional theatre background to the role — including a lead turn as Viola in Shakespeare in Love. She portrays Sophie with the grounded emotional precision the character demands.

Craig Roath as Ted

Ted

Craig Roath

A Fargo-based actor, director, and voiceover artist, Craig has appeared in film, television, and theatre across the region. Screen credits include Deliver Us From Evil and End of the Rope; stage work spans The Elephant Man, Judgment at Nuremberg, and Young Frankenstein. He has also directed for Fargo Moorhead Community Theater and Tin Roof Theater.

Roberta Gibbons as Evelyn

Evelyn

Roberta Gibbons

A Minneapolis-based actor and voiceover artist with an extensive stage and screen resume, Roberta's film credits include Hand Me Down (2021) and Buck It List (2018). Her stage work spans Oscar Wilde, Arthur Miller, and contemporary theatre across the Twin Cities — including a villainous turn in An Ideal Husband and Beatrice Carbone in A View from the Bridge.

Peyten Wiese as Lucy

Lucy

Peyten Wiese

A Milbank, South Dakota native and SDSU theatre graduate, Peyten originated the role of Katya in the world premiere of The Escape Thingy and has been a recurring member of Prairie Repertory Theatre. Land of Many Birds marks her feature film debut — a natural next step for an actress who has been working toward the screen since her earliest days on stage.

Director

James Fishback

James Fishback on set

James Fishback

Writer & Director

I wanted to make a film with universal language set somewhere hyper-specific. South Dakota, its seasonal rhythms, its wide skies, the particular kind of people who don't have the desire to leave and don't need you to understand why, felt like the only place this story could live. The land isn't backdrop here. It moves. It marks time. It holds people accountable in ways they don't always see coming.

Wyatt isn't lost at the start of this film. He's content. That was important to me. The drama isn't about running from something. It's about what happens when life asks you to show up before you feel ready.

I hope when the credits roll you feel like you just spent a year in my corner of the world.

Production

Behind the Camera

Shot on location in Dell Rapids and Canistota, South Dakota — on the banks of Lake Vermillion and the main streets in between — across multiple seasons.

On set — exterior day shoot
On set — interior restaurant scene
On set — lodge crowd scene
On set — bar scene with Red Raptor
On set — lodge exterior
On set — lakeside shoot

Stay in Touch

Follow the Journey

The film is in post-production. Leave your email and we'll reach out when there's something worth sharing — a trailer, a festival date, a release.