THE TRIBUTE SERIES is a highly-acclaimed series of videos that are in homes, libraries and schools all across the United States, several of which have appeared on PBS and international television. Combining history, beautiful photography, and interviews with local people, these videos are designed to give viewers an in-depth understanding of different places, people, and cultures.
My brother John and I began the series in 1991, spending several months during the year traveling around the State of Indiana - our home State - and finally completing a one-hour film that received a tremendous reception from the people of Indiana.
From there, we went to St. Petersburg, Russia and spent a month filming in that extraordinarily beautiful city. The following year our film, St. Petersburg: A Tribute - translated to Russian by then - was shown all over Russia twice, to roughly 80,000,000 people, and my wife Elizabeth and I appeared on television at the same time to the same audience.
Subsequently, John and I traveled to ten other places to produce videos. The main point of the videos was to capture the essence and history and beauty of the country or place we were in, and to make people aware of the greatness of each place and people we filmed. I think this commitment to bringing out the best in people was the reason for the wonderful reception our films received, and continue to receive.
Of The Tribute Series, the Seattle Times writes: "The Hilgendorf brothers are unique in the world of travel videos...No one is better at revealing the heart of a place than brothers Jim and John Hilgendorf."