Arts & Entertainment

Novi Filmmaker Tells 'One Soldier's Story'

The documentary will be shown at Emagine Theatre at 7 p.m. Monday, July 25.

For many Americans, the death of a soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq is just a headline on the five o’clock news. Rarely do we understand the depth of the soldier's sacrifice and how it impacts a family.

So says Keith Famie, a Novi resident and filmmaker, who is sharing one soldier’s story and hopes the message of bravery and sacrifice will stay with audiences for longer than just a news blip.

One Soldier’s Story is a documentary that tells the story of Sgt. Michael Ingram, Jr., of Monroe who was killed in action in Afghanistan in April 2010. He was 23 years old.

The emotional 70-minute film will be shown at Monday at 7 p.m.

One part of the film tells how just 30 days before he was killed, Ingram was given the chance to go home because he was injured. But he said he couldn't leave “his guys.”

The depth of camaraderie among the troops and the significance of a soldier’s sacrifice for his country is something Famie hopes people can better understand after viewing the film.

“[The film] will not leave you. It shouldn’t. That’s the whole point. It’s one of those things where I think it’s something that everyone should really have a chance to see,” he said.

Famie, who is a nine-time Emmy winner and is also known for his restaurateur days in Royal Oak, his Food Network TV show and his appearance on Survivor: The Australian Outback, said he is excited to be able to show the film in his hometown.

He reached out to Northville singer/songwriter Steve Pichan to write a song for the film, who was happy to help spread its message.

"I think that generally the public lacks a real understanding about what our soldiers go through,” Pichan said. “What they go through when they're in war, what they go through when they return. I think it's important to try to educate and increase the sensitivity of the public in general to the plight of our military people, especially considering that they're volunteers. They do this because they want to."

Mikie’s Minutes

Famie came up with the idea for the film kind of on accident.

At the time, he was working on a film about Vietnam veterans and was filming the Patriot Guard Riders, a group comprised mostly of Vietnam veterans who ride motorcycles and support families that have lost a soldier in action.

One cold, rainy day in April 2010 Famie went to Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township to film the Patriot Guard Riders as the honored a fallen soldier—Ingram.

He filmed the arrival of Ingram’s body and his funeral a week later.

When Famie met Ingram’s family to review the footage, they shared their vision to create a non-profit foundation called Mikie’s Minutes to provide calling cards to soldiers oversees. Ingram had often complained that soldiers had to use their own money to call home.

Famie understood their vision and decided to help by making One Soldier’s Story.

“They were excited just to see his legacy live on,” Famie said.

Today, the Mikie's Minutes organization has donated more than 19,000 minutes on calling cards to soldiers oversees.

The film even includes a section that follows some of the cards as they are shipped to Afghanistan, with the help of  Lt. Col. Fredrick C. Dummar of the Special Forces Command (Airborne) at Ft. Bragg, NC, who was moved by an early screening of the film.

Pichan focused on the family’s passion to create this organization when he wrote the song “Mikie’s Minutes” for the film. 

"I think the spirit of his parents and family is just terrific,” Pichan said. “They've reached out and shared this story with the public and it's really quite an honorable thing to do."

The Film Screening


A formal color guard will open the film’s premiere Monday, and Chuck Gaidica, WDIV-TV (Channel 4) meteorologist and Northville resident, will host. Famie and the Ingram family will also attend, and Pichan will perform “Mikie’s Minutes” live.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and tickets cost $20 with all proceeds going to Mikie’s Minutes.

The Visionalist Entertainment Productions film will also be shown as a special on PBS on Sept. 11. and screened in the following cities:

Find out what's happening in Noviwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Brighton—MRJ Town Square Cinema, Aug. 3
  • Warren—Andiamo Showroom, Aug. 7
  • Rochester Hills—Emagine, Aug. 15
  • Birmingham—Uptown 8 Theater, Sept. 26
  • Monroe—Monroe Community College, Sept. 26


Famie says he finds it difficult to watch the emotional film every time, but he knows it’s making a difference.

“It’s one of those things that’s a difficult thing to be a part of, but at the same time you know you’re doing something so significantly important,” he said.

To buy tickets or learn more, call 248-869-0096 or visit www.mikiesminutes.com.


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