Los Angeles-based filmmaker Daniel Straub became obsessed with the 20-foot-tall LOTI Pencil sculpture after spotting it on Instagram. He and his brother Austin Straub traveled to Minneapolis from Los Angeles to film "A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil" which tells the story of the Pencil's humble beginnings as a 180-year-old oak tree that fell on John and Amy Higgins' front lawn during a storm. The film won in the best documentary short category at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February. The Walker Art Center hosted a private screening of the film followed by a panel discussion. The April 18 screening at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film festival is already sold out, with Straub suggesting an encore screening.