In the Wee hours to Premiere Jólakötturinn in Harrisburg
Pennsylvania natives Dan Hertzog & Barry Atticks will return to their hometown to premiere the short film Jólakötturinn at Midtown Cinema on Sunday, December 8, 2024. The film is a collaboration between bicoastal production company In the Wee hours and the Tell School of Music at Millersville University.
Since 2020, the Clair Brothers Music Business Technology (MBT) Program at Millersville University has been producing a winter holiday video each year. This initiative provides students the opportunity to collaborate with award-winning filmmakers and Grammy Award-winning music producers. Past music videos have received accolades at international film festivals, and this year’s narrative short promises even greater international appeal, bringing unprecedented publicity to Millersville and its programs.
The story revolves around the Icelandic legend of the Yule cat (Jólakötturinn) which prowls on Christmas Eve. According to the legend, if children didn’t receive new clothes for Christmas, the Yule cat would eat all the food in their house and then take the children back to his home to eat them. The legend originated in Iceland, a clothing-making society where receiving new clothes for Christmas was a reward for hard work, while those who didn’t work hard had to wear old clothes and face the Yule cat.
Dr. Barry Atticks developed the concept after learning of the legend last year while attending the Iceland Airwaves Festival, the world’s most northerly music showcase and industry festival. Stretching all the way back to high school, Dr. Atticks then recruited Central Dauphin High School alum and In the Wee hours director/dp Dan Hertzog to join him with this ambitious undertaking. Both grew up in the Harrisburg area.
The extended music video/short film was shot entirely on location in Iceland prior to this year’s Iceland Airwaves Festival. In addition to the stunning and unique landscapes, towering waterfalls, black sand beaches, and rustic houses, it features Icelandic actors portraying a family from the 1860s, along with mythical figures such as Freya (the goddess of love and magic) and the Yule cat itself.
The Clair Brothers Music Business Technology (MBT) program at the Tell School of Music offers a distinctive blend of courses in music technology, music business, live audio, and performance. Students in the program build a strong foundation in these areas before choosing a concentration in one or more specializations: Music Production, Music Management, or Live Audio Production. Notably, all 150 MBT majors are also performers.
Each year, select MBT students form the Lilla Jul Rockeband, which then records the song for the program’s annual winter holiday video. This year’s lineup features Kaitlyn Myers (vocals), Aden Getz (guitars), Zoey Noble (bass), Dylan Gehringer (drums), Em Haas (percussion), and Dr. Barry Atticks (keyboards), with additional students contributing background vocals and synth parts. The song “Jólakötturinn” will be released on music streaming platforms this week ahead of the short film premiere.
Dubbed “Hollywood in Harrisburg”, the Jólakötturinn Premiere Screening & VIP Afterparty will include special theatrical presentations of the award-winning In the Wee hours’ shorts Dating Audrey and Domino Springs along with a cast & crew Q&A and meet-and-greet with the Jólakötturinn filmmakers. For more details, go to the Midtown Cinema event page at midtowncinema.com/film/hollywood-in-harrisburg.
