Darling documentary to premiere at ‘Ding’ Days

Darling documentary to premiere at ‘Ding’ Days Film producer Samuel Koltinsky of Marvo Entertainment Group spent 10 days this month finishing up filming and interviewing at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge for a forthcoming hour-long documentary America’s Darling: The Story of Jay N. “Ding” Darling. As a highlight of “Ding” Darling Days this year, the refuge will host the national premiere of the documentary film on Friday, Oct. 19, at 1 p.m. From there the film, nearly three years in the making, will travel throughout the U.S. “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge (DDWS) was a major sponsor of the production.  For filming at the refuge, Koltinsky brought along two national treasures. The first, the great-great grandson of Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling, Christopher Steffen, will be the on-camera host of the documentary. The second, the printing plate of Darling’s farewell cartoon in the Des Moines Register, makes its debut to the public eye in the film, along with other never-before-seen archival materials, Koltinsky said.  Darling, who won two Pulitzer Prizes for controversial political cartoons in the early 1900s, visited Sanibel and Captiva islands often in the 1930s and was responsible for the refuge’s creation. Koltinsky has filmed from Darling’s hometown in Michigan to his Iowa stomping grounds and beyond, making several visits to Sanibel to research and film. On his latest trip, he interviewed Supervisory Refuge Ranger Toni Westland about the refuge’s educational mission and her recent trip to Russia, making a connection to Darling’s own Russian travels to meet Joseph Stalin in 1931.  “Toni always gives an inspiring interview,” Koltinsky said. “Her excitement captivates.” On previous visits, the producer has interviewed Darling’s grandson, Kip Koss, and various people involved in the Federal Duck Stamp and Junior Duck Stamp programs. Darling himself created the federal program, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the purchase of wildlife habitat; he also designed the first duck stamp. “I want to give special thanks to the ‘Ding’ Darling Wildlife Society and the refuge,” said Koltinsky. “They’ve been extremely helpful not only in the vision of this film, but also in allowing us to shoot on property and giving interviews.”