HIBBING — There’s a lot of steps in releasing a film. Even when the filming is done, there’s still the editing and finding distribution. The new film Small Town Girl is in the distribution step.
Small Town Girl is set in 1973 and is about a 14-year-old girl and young mother’s move to a small Midwestern town. While struggling at first, the teenager eventually befriends some popular girls, but then goes missing. A twist in the case puts the town in shock for years to come.
The director and a producer of the film, Bill Cooper, told Area Voices on the KAXE Morning Show that he describes the film as Gone Girl meets Mean Girls, but family friendly.
Cooper added, “It's basically a little film about remembering that what we say matters, and truth matters in the end.”
Cooper is no stranger to film, having worked in film and television for more than 45 years. Beth Hind, the screenwriter of Small Town Girl, worked with Cooper before on another film project and wanted to work with him again. She asked if he’d be interested in working together again with Small Town Girl.
After reading the script, Cooper came on board and knew early on that he wanted to film it in Northern Minnesota for a couple of reasons.
First, there’s a growing film community going on, and second, there is a lot of financial support in filming in the area, like a rebate program and the Minnesota Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation.
They started filming in June 2025, and it took about 19 days to shoot. They cast a lot of Minnesota actors and some even from the Hibbing area. Cooper also said the community really embraced the project. Some people even volunteered to work in the background.
Cooper said he has simple goals when filming in a place like Hibbing: “Come to your town, do well by the town, and leave money.”
The biggest challenge in the filming process was recreating the look of the ‘70s. The movie is a period piece, and finding cars, ambulances, furniture and clothing from that era can be difficult. However, Cooper built a strong team to get these things together.
Small Town Girl will make its world premiere Sunday, April 26, at the Zeitgeist Minnesota Film Festival in Duluth, which is already sold out. After that, there will be invite-only cast and crew screenings in Hibbing and in the Twin Cities.
Cooper said a film like this will not end up playing in a bunch of movie theaters. Even though many would prefer to see it on the big screen, this film was designed for streaming. They’re currently looking for distribution for the film. You can follow the film’s Facebook page to keep up to date.
Cooper said even though this is a mystery thriller where some bad things happen, it’s not meant as a critique of small towns. Things like gossip can happen in communities of all sizes.
"I want to make sure we know that this is, in some respects, a love letter to small towns, because I loved shooting there and I loved being there," he said. "But also, remind ourselves that it's important to be nice to each other. I think our world needs more of that.”
Listen to the full conversation with Bill Cooper about the production, what a director does and who they partnered with to make the film possible.
Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota by emailing psa@kaxe.org.
Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
