‘Bonding’ producers excited to bring award-winning thriller to Vero Film Fest

Following a win for Best Feature Film at the Omaha Film Festival in March, “Bonding,” a psychological thriller produced by Vero Beach residents Barry and Carmen Nordstrand, will be showcased at the Vero Beach Film Festival with screenings on Friday and Saturday.

The founder, owner and CEO of Stoner Ranch Productions, Barry Nordstrand and Carmen spent their career years in Minneapolis before purchasing an oceanfront home here in November 2020.

Despite the timing, he says COVID wasn’t the reason. “We just were ready.”

Previously a fixed-income banker, Nordstrand became CEO of the check processing firm founded by his father-in-law and transformed it into a revolutionary healthcare payments company that was eventually acquired by United Health Group.

Several years ago, the couple, who also have a place in Telluride, purchased a Colorado ranch that doubled as a popular ski resort until the mid-1980s. Although historic – Butch Cassidy apparently changed horses there after robbing the Telluride Bank – it needed a lot of fixing up. The Hells Angels also held a big event there, drawn by its name.

“It’s called Stoner Ranch. People think of pot smoking, but it was named that in 1880 because the Stoner Creek runs into the Dolores River on the ranch,” Nordstrand explains with a chuckle.

While walking about the lodge pondering renovations, he recalls his son David, an actor, commenting that it was “so creepy” it would be a good film location.

“We thought well, before we fix it up, let’s do a movie here. So we did,” Nordstrand says.

Knowing nothing about the film industry, Nordstrand admits they went about the two-year process “completely backwards.”

He began by relaying the type of storyline he wanted on various writer websites, providing a link to the property so they could envision the setting.

“I said I need a pitch; a one pager of a thriller. It needs to have a big twist and turn in it in the second act. And, it needs to have a vibe to it like ‘Hotel California’: ‘You can check in but you can’t check out.’”

Nordstrand next sought a director, requesting clips of their work, and was drawn to Victoria Trofimenko, a Ukrainian director. Her demos, he says, “were just absolutely gorgeous. Took my breath away.”

She flew to Telluride and together they selected a storyline by writer Michael Colucci.

“It’s a story with a natural tension from the outset. And it’s really good,” says Nordstrand, adding that after multiple script revisions, they landed on the final version.

The initial budget soared with expenses such as renting expensive camera equipment to produce high-quality cinematography and hiring well-known actors. His son David is one of the leads, joined by actors Jefferson White (“Yellowstone”); Gloria Reuben (“E.R.”); Tate Donovan (“Argo”); and Alexandra Doke (“City on Fire”).

“The budget just started going up and up,” says Nordstrand of what became $3.5 million.
He explains that people in the industry question whether it’s worth it three times: when you write it, shoot it and edit it.

“In every step of the process, I had that feeling, ‘Oh no, what are we doing?’ But every time I did, we had more money invested, so the ‘oh no’ kept getting bigger and bigger. And, in every step of the way you almost can’t go back. You realize that’s the process.”

Particularly disheartening was that after viewing the initial film production, three different industry experts counseled that the story wasn’t understandable; it needed additional scenes to round it out. Bottom line, it needed a reshoot.

“So we went back last summer and did it. Starting last May, 70 percent of the film changed in one way or another. And it got longer by five minutes, but it seemed 20 minutes shorter. It just really flowed,” says Nordstrand.

The movie, he explains, is about three siblings who don’t get along. Each has problems in their life and ideas of how to fix them. They make it to the ranch one night; part of it planned, part of it by chance, and “everything goes sideways.”

“It’s a thriller; it’s a fun story. It twists and turns and keeps you wondering what’s going to happen. The other part of it is, how far will you go for family if you don’t get along? You grew up together, you love each other, you’ve been estranged, but you’re still family. You’re in a tough spot. How far will you go for them? It’s something we can all relate to,” Nordstrand says.

Despite the panic spots along the way though, he found the overall process rewarding.

“It’s a whole different experience, a whole learning experience. The attention to detail is so important. And the finishing process is really interesting. It’s amazing what all goes into it.”

Although the Vero Beach Film Festival was the first to accept the film, it premiered to sold-out audiences in Omaha because of the timing of the release.

“But Vero Beach was the first acceptance we got and it means so much to us. Hopefully, we’ll go on to make them proud. After going to Omaha and seeing how these festivals come together, they’re really great community events,” says Nordstrand, adding that a lineup of other festivals will follow this one.

“It’s such a labor of love. The people working in these festivals are helping filmmakers show their products to the world. It’s really kind of inspiring to see how that all comes together.”

He’s the executive director of a new movie that already has the storyline, location and actors, where his role will involve financing but not the day-to-day operations. With “Bonding,” he was “diving deep” into every detail, which gave him a good feel for how the industry works. And while fun, his goal with this next one is to leave time for golf.

“These people are really professional; you know, really, really talented. I was like, wow, this is going to be a good one,” says Nordstrand, describing the film as a nuanced art house movie.

David Nordstrand, who was a lead in “Bonding,” will be a supporting actor to two very well-known actors in the new one.

“He’s always wanted to be an actor. He loves it and he’s good at it. His first try at it, he’s getting really, really strong reviews. It made me feel really good.”

Nordstrand hopes that Vero audience reactions to the film will be as positive as the ones it received in Omaha.

“Hopefully, we can get everyone out there to see it and support the Vero Beach Film Festival. These are very caring and dedicated people and were so appreciative for them to accept us.”

For more information, visit VBFilmFest.org.