Just before the 45th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, Gig Harbor local filmmaker Collin Monda found himself gripped by the need to make a film about Harry R. Truman. Despite repeated warnings in 1980, the 83-year-old Truman would not leave his home beside Spirit Lake, in the shadow of the mountain that was about to blow. Truman died in the eruption — and his death is the one part of his life that no one really knows anything about. So, Monda wondered, what were his final hours like? What was it like — what is it like — to face and accept one’s own death?
In what ended up being a 15-minute film scored by Seattle-based band Massy Ferguson — with whom Monda’s uncle, Adam Monda, plays guitar — Monda examines what Truman’s final hours could have looked like in the film, “Man or Mountain.” The film will have its world premiere at the upcoming Gig Harbor Film Festival, which runs from Sept. 24 through 27. Monda is also the filmmaker behind 2018’s The Trouble With Wolves.
Gig Harbor Now sat down with Monda to talk about the making of the film, whether they really worked with 16 cats, and the underlying messages Monda hopes audiences will take away from the film…