Event will include reception with filmmakers and re-creation of 1895 Mummy Tea

By Jason Emerson

Editor

The story of Hen, the Egyptian mummy that has been on display in the Cazenovia Public Library for more than 120 years, has been recounted in local history books and media reports for decades — and on Oct. 8, his story will make the leap to the silver screen.

Last winter, a Syracuse-area filmmaking company produced a documentary on Cazenovia’s famous resident and the recent medical tests performed on him, and on Monday, Oct. 8, a premiere event will be held in the Cazenovia Public Library. In addition to a screening of the documentary, titled “The Cazenovia Mummy,” there will be remarks by the filmmakers and experts in the film and a reception complete with a re-creation of the 1895 “Mummy Tea” held when Hen first arrived in the town.

“It’s a celebration of Hen and the culmination of many people — hospital staff, doctors, Egyptologists, library staff and community members — coming together to have this wonderful synthesis of what we work together to explain about our ‘co-worker,” said library Executive Director Betsy Kennedy. “It’s a celebration of a lot of work over many years.”

While Hen’s story is over 2,000 years old, he caught the eye of the production coordinator of Call of the Loon Productions, of Liverpool, in December 2017 when she saw a television news report about the mummy’s recent visit to Crouse Hospital for medical testing.

Hen was transported to the hospital on Dec. 10, 2017 and underwent CAT scans and biopsies in hopes of discovering more information about the ancient Egyptian mummy, including the prevalence of cancer previously discovered in Hen’s body.

“I thought that was the coolest thing — there’s a mummy in Caz? I went into work the next day and said, ‘Guys, we should do this!’” said Tonya Coulter, Call of the Loon Productions’ production coordinator. “So we contacted Betsy [Kennedy] and she said she was interested.”

Call of the Loon Productions, which does mostly commercial work, has produced three documentaries prior to this: “Still Here: 200 Years on the Erie Canal,” “Bringing Back Eagles” and “Aerial Assets: Drones in Law Enforcement.” Their films on the Erie Canal and aerial assets both won gold medals at the New York State Fair film competitions, one in 2017 and one in 2018.

“The Cazenovia Mummy” documentary took the crew of Coulter, producer Kristen Carton and director and editor Jake Coulter seven months to complete, during which time they interviewed library staff, the lead physician in the testing, an expert in Egyptology and the editor of the Cazenovia Republican. The documentary explores how Hen came to be in Cazenovia, what is known about him, what occurred during the Dec. 10 hospital visit and what the tests may show about him medically.

“This was our most intense endeavor and our longest documentary yet, and we’re really excited about how it came out,” said Jake Coulter.

Kennedy said she was a bit skeptical when she first received Coulter’s call, wondering how the filmmakers intended to approach the subject of Hen, but as soon as she met them she knew they were genuine.

“All three of them were so professional and they put us all at ease, which made it easier for me,” Kennedy said. “They were very thoughtful in all they did. The way they understood that we respected Hen and that Hen is a person and not just an object — they got it. They got our main theme.”

Kennedy said she is thrilled with how the documentary turned out and, once it is available, it will become a resource the library will share with schools interested in visiting the mummy. She said they may also update the touchscreen player in the Mummy Room to include the documentary, as well as put it on the library’s website.

For the general public, “The Cazenovia Mummy” will be available for free on YouTube.

“As a company we do commercial stuff to make money, but we create media films to promote Upstate New York and New York in general, so this project was perfect for us,” Carton said. “We want people to know about it and share it.”

Call of the Loon Productions also plans to submit the documentary to the Blackbird film festival in Cortland and the Archaeology International Film festival in Eugene, Oregon.

For more information about Call of the Loon Productions, or to see their previous work, visit their website at calloftheloonproductions.com.