Gayle Knutson is a 25-year veteran of the film and television industry. She produced and directed the powerful dramatic short film GRANDFATHER’S BIRTHDAY, winner of 24 awards worldwide including a regional Emmy. GRANDFATHER’S BIRTHDAY is now used as an educational tool by more than 1,500 schools, churches and aging institutions across the North America, and is included in the Minnesota History Center’s film archives.

Her second independent short film, IF THERE WERE NO LUTHERANS...WOULD THERE STILL BE GREEN JELL-O®? is a humorous, short documentary about the “Church Sign Guy” of Stillwater, Minnesota. It has been selected for inclusion in the permanent film collection at the Library of Congress and the Minnesota History Center.

Gayle’s latest documentary, PRISONER 32,232 tells the story of longtime St. Olaf College (Minnesota) professor, Reidar Dittmann and how the Nazi invasion of his native Norway led to Dittmann’s three arrests and eventual incarceration in Buchenwald concentration camp. PRISONER 32,232  has been selected for inclusion in the film collection at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Gayle is from a small town in northwestern Minnesota and says “Uff da” and “Yah...you betcha” on a regular basis. She now lives in an even smaller Minnesota town with her husband Jim, daughter Casey and dog Skippy. She is currently in production on her next documentary, scheduled for release in June, 2008.