Filmmaker Chad Terpstra Makes Big-Screen Debut With “Father The Flame”

By MIGUEL RUIZ • OCT. 17, 2018 • LOYOLA PHEONIX •

“Father the Flame” is the documentary audiences never knew they needed to see.

Premiering Oct. 12 at the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF), director Chad Terpstra and master pipemaker Lee Erck take viewers on a visually stunning journey chronicling the timeless legacy of the tobacco pipe.

Terpstra brilliantly contests the widespread tradition of pipe smoking being one for the ages with beautiful cinematography and an engrossing story that’ll intrigue even the most reluctant viewer.

The Phoenix had the chance to sit down with Terpstra and editor Scott McCambridge, along with stars Erck and Italian briar cutter, Mimmo.

“I wasn’t interested in making a film about pipes at any point,” Terpstra said. “It was just like ‘oh pipes are great, but let’s leave it at that. We stumbled into the idea a little bit.”

While the film’s premise is simple, there’s much more boiling beneath the surface.