On October 28, 2017, David Marek's film Thaw of the Dead screened in Traverse City in conjunction with the city's annual Zombie Run. Originally created as a series of short promotions for the Run, the film was expanded into a 40-minute film after Treefort Collective successfully raised money on a crowd-funding platform to create additional scenes. Eventually, out of the cast and crew's "love for the film," they banded together and created a feature-length film (85 minutes) with no additional funding -- and a lot of hard work and dedication. Director and writer David Marek reflects on the film's première at the State Theatre in Traverse City: "It was always the dream to have a première at the State, [and] the fact that we were able to coordinate having the screening on the same day as the Zombie Run fulfilled another longtime dream, as the inspiration to make Thaw of the Dead really started there. [...] It was a real treat to finally, after four years, share the film on the big screen with the folks who helped make it and with the local community who know and love many of the places we shot."

At its world première at the Royal Starr Film Festival in Royal Oak in October, the film won the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film, and recently, it secured several awards from the Terror Film Festival: Best Feature Length Film, Best Feature Film Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (Dan Kelly).