SUGARHOUSE (2025)

In rural Vermont, aging sugarmakers honor a centuries-old tradition in this powerful meditation on family legacy, loss, and resilience. Through seven distinct portraits, the film forms a rich tapestry of stories about how we spend our time on this earth—and what we leave behind.

STATUS

Complete

OFFICIAL SELECTION

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival - World Premiere (Finalist, Oscar®-qualifying Best Short Competition)
Green Mountain Film Festival
Made Here Film Festival

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Sugarhouse was made in Marlboro, Vermont—the town where I was born, raised, and live today. When producer Michelle Holzapfel first approached me about making a film about local sugarmakers, our rural town, like many others, was struggling with the effects of social isolation. Michelle saw the film as a way to bring people back together, to share stories, and see our community reflected on screen. With sugaring season already well underway, I started filming the next morning, bogging down muddy roads, moving from sugarhouse to sugarhouse. Little did I know, what started as a commissioned project would become my most personal work, honoring not only the people and place that shaped me, but also my decision to return home.

Told through seven portraits, the film is a moving mosaic about time, tradition, and impermanence. In one scene, fourth-generation sugarmaker Jerry Lundsted describes how his grandfather taught him: “The way old Vermonters talk is they give you one little thing and let you figure that out, and then give you another little thing, and it won’t be all at once.” This philosophy would eventually inform the entire structure of the film. With each vignette, the story unfolds, revealing itself, until it culminates to profound effect.

CAST

Fred Bisbee, Dan Elliot, Mike Fuller, Phil Howe, Liora Lindsay, Sabine Lindsay, Tess Lindsay, Jerry Lundsted, Dan MacArthur, Gail MacArthur, Gary, MacArthur, Louisa MacArthur, Milo MacArthur, Thorin MacArthur, Dave Matt, Eric Matt

CREW

Director - Jesse Kreitzer
Producer - Michelle Holzapfel
Producer - David Holzapfel
Producer - Michele Hernandez Bayliss
Producer - Bruce Bayliss
Camera, Sound, Edit - Jesse Kreitzer
Original Score - Leander Holzapfel
Poster Design - Ben Mackey
Sound Mastering - Guilford Sound
Fiscal Sponsor - Vermont Folklife

POSTER ART

DOWNLOADS

Poster I Press Stills

PRESS

Seven Days, Three Local Short Films Explore Vermont’s Food Scene

Support the Release of Sugarhouse

There’s still time to make a tax-deductible contribution before the digital master is transferred to film.  All donors, at any level, will be acknowledged in the end credits.  PLEASE NOTE: Write ‘Sugarhouse’ in the “Make my gift in honor of” field when making your online donation. PREFER TO MAIL A CHECK?  Send to: Vermont Folklife, 74 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401, Memo: Sugarhouse

MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION via vermont folklife

Student Artwork Inspired by 'Sugarhouse' at Big Sky

As part of the Big Sky Film Institute’s “Filmmakers in the Schools” program, students in Missoula, Montana, watched Sugarhouse and created original illustrations inspired by the film and its themes.

WHERE TO PURCHASE SYRUP

Purchase directly from the sugarmakers featured in the film (in order of appearance):

JERRY LUNDSTED (Dalrymple)
134 South Road, Marlboro, VT 05344

MATT’S MAPLE SYRUP (Winchester)
• 370 Higley Hill Rd, Marlboro, VT
• New England House, 254 Marlboro Rd, Brattleboro, VT
• Smokin’ J’s, 1796 VT-9, Brattleboro, VT
• Starfire Bakery, 129 VT-9, Wilmington, VT
• Online ordering

MIKE FULLER (Higley)
NFS.  “I just boil for myself and to give to family and hiking friends.”

FRED BISBEE (Jencks)
NFS. “For family and friends.”

GARY MacARTHUR (Ichobad)
• Wild Carrot Farm, 118 Fairly Wild Way, Brattleboro, VT
• Rebop Farm, 1320 Sunset Lake Rd, Brattleboro, VT
• Brattleboro Food Co-Op, 2 Main St, Brattleboro, VT

DAN MacARTHUR (King)
• Whetstone Ledges, 1000 MacArthur Rd, Marlboro, VT
• 778 MacArthur Road, Marlboro, VT (when in operation)

DAN ELLIOT (Whitney)
1926 Higley Hill Rd, Marlboro, VT
Only when in operation, or call for orders: 802-380-3401

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Barbara Ackemann, Jenny Altshuler, Fred Athey, Robert Anderson, Jean Boardman, Lou Bolster, Carol Brooke-deBock, Cornelia Carey, Martina Dancing, Warren Etheredge, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Tyler Gibbons, Marcia Hamilton, Kate Haughey, Lisa Hecht, Carol Hendrickson, Bruce Hinchliffe, Adam Holofcener, Forrest Holzapfel, Simon Holzapfel, Nora Jacobson, Carol Ann Johnson, Susan Jones, Smriti Keshari, Ramona Kones, Anna Kreitzer, Bob Kreitzer, Lynda Kreitzer, Bob and Luann Kreitzer, Susan Kunhardt, Alina Kulpaviciute, Dawne Langford, David Lyons, Daniel MacArthur, Robin MacArthur, Philip Marshall, David Matt, Robin Matt, Sammy Matt, Marlboro Alliance, Jennifer Mazur, Claudia Milne, Cyrus Moussavi, Sandy Muschler, Howard Nelson, Linda Nutt, Cathy Osman, Michelle Petersen, David Pistilli, Patricia Reid, Catharine Rhodes, Andrew Richardson, Rachel Richardson, Jacob Smith, Dave Snyder, Kristi Strahler, Margaret Tiffany, James Tober, Patrick Towne, April Weeks, Judith Weitz, Patricia Webster, Bailey Whiteman, Nora Wilson