Comanche Nation College
Press Release
Immediate Release
10/13/08
Contact:
Juanita Pahdopony
Comanche Nation College
1609 SW 9th Street
Lawton, OK
580-591-4988
Email: jpahdopony@cnc.cc.ok.us
Workshops with ABC/Disney Fellows Kick-Off Annual Film Festival at the
Comanche Nation College
(Lawton, OK) The public is invited to the Comanche Nation College, 1609 SW 9th Street, Lawton for the 5th Annual Comanche Nation Invitational Film
Festival, Saturday, October 18. This festival, founded by Juanita Pahdopony and Annette Arkeketa, showcases and provides networking opportunity
for American Indian filmmakers. Many of the films to be screened have ties not only to tribal nations in Oklahoma but were filmed on various locations
through out the state. This year, two film education workshops will be held Friday, October 17 the day before the festival. All events are free and
open to the public.
Here is the line up for both Friday and Saturday.
Film Education Workshops
Friday, October 17
9:00 am to 12 Noon,
Steven Judd will hold a workshop, "Screenplay Writing
for TV and Independent Film" which will include information about the
"ABC/Disney Writers Fellowship".
Steven is Kiowa/Choctaw currently living in Los Angeles as a staff writer on
the TV show Mongoose and Luther, which will air February 2009, on the new
network Disney XD. His work with Tvli Jacobs, "MAC V PC" was a
NBC/Universal's 2007 Comedy Short Cuts semi-finalist. This short has been
screened daily at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
during 2008. He is a fellow for the 18th Annual Writing Fellowship program
sponsored by the Disney-ABC Television Group and Walt Disney Studios, in
partnership with the Writers Guild of America. He is a member of the WGA's
American Indian Writers committee, which is dedicated to finding the next
generation of Native American writers. He was nominated as a 2008
Distinguished Alumni for the University of Oklahoma.
1:00 - 3:30 pm, Thomas Yeahpau workshop, "No Budget Filmmaking: Poor Man's
Road To Hollywood". Topics include script writing, special effects editing,
camera tricks, editing, working with first-time actors, and scoring your
independent movie. Attendees will work on producing a short film in the workshop.
Thomas is a member of the Kiowa Tribe and resides in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
A graduate of Riverside Indian School and Haskell Indian Nations University,
Thomas was awarded the 2006 ABC/Disney Studios Writing Fellowship, where he
spent a year in Hollywood, writing scripts for TV shows such as The George
Lopez Show, Lost, Medium, and My Name Is Earl. He is a published author.
His First book "The X-Indian Chronicles" was published in October 2006. He
is currently finishing the 2nd book of "The X-Indian Chronicles" of that
trilogy. He is a producer for the Hip Hop group N.D.N.S.
Sponsors for the workshops: Hokte Productions and Juanita Pahdopony
5th Annual Comanche Nation College Invitational Film Festival
Saturday, October 18
10 am to 10 pm
10:00 - 10:15 OPENING AND WELCOME
10:15 - 12:00 NOON
1. "Comancheria" (30 min) Fiction starring Patrick Attocknie,
Martin Flores, Mame-Neta Attocknie, Wallace Coffey, Joe Elm, and Beau
Cheatwood, filmed in Oklahoma, the film employs cinematic effects from
different genres, as documentary, road movie and western. The documentary
elements confuse and complicate the fiction and vice versa. By blurring the
boundaries between fact and fiction, the appearance of a new Comancheria
comes forth."
Norhagen Productions: Directed by Marthe Thorshaug, who lives and works in
Hamar, Norway. She graduated from the Art Academy in Oslo in 2003. Her first
solo exhibition in Norway was "Comancheria" at Fotogalleriet in Oslo spring
2007. She is currently working on the manuscript for a film project entitled
"The Legend of Ygg", a Norse Thriller.
"One day in the Comancheria, Comanches are roaming around, preparing for
a sweat lodge. Suddenly a trickster dog appears, and an adventure begins.
This leads to a journey through contemporary Comancheria. But something is
in the wind on the prairie. The Comanche Indians are again expanding in the
American heartland. A Norwegian couple travels to Comancheria and encounters
a new world ...”
2. "Backroads" (15 min) a tragic event haunts an Oklahoma Back Road.
Thomas M. Yeahpau is a member of the Kiowa Tribe and resides in Weatherford,
Oklahoma. A graduate of Riverside Indian School and Haskell Indian Nations
University, Thomas was awarded the 2006 ABC/Disney Studios Writing
Fellowship, where he spent a year in Hollywood, writing scripts for TV shows
such as The George Lopez Show, Lost, Medium, and My Name Is Earl. He is a
published author. His First book "The X-Indian Chronicles" was published in
October 2006. He is currently finishing the 2nd book of "The X-Indian
Chronicles" of that trilogy. He is a producer for the HipHop group N.D.N.S.
12:00 - 1:30 Lunch Break, on your own – for information about restaurants and other services in Lawton visit
www.lawtoninfo.com or http://www.lawtonfortsillchamber.com/index.php?pr=Tourism_Development
1:30-10:00 PM
3. "Raccoon and Crawfish" (8 min) is a based on an Oneida story animation
of a how hungry a raccoon can get and is sure to win the audience. This
story was the featured animation at the Cannes Film Festival, in France. It
also won the Audience Choice award at the Moondance Film Festival.
Brent Michael Davids produced the original music score. Composer Brent
Michael Davids is an enrolled citizen of the Mohican Nation. Davids' career
spans 30 years, including awards from ASCAP, NEA, and the Rockefeller
Foundation. Davids holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music Composition
from Northern Illinois University and Arizona State University respectively,
trained at Redford's Sundance Institute, and apprenticed with film composer
Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare In Love) on the TV-Miniseries Dreamkeeper
(Hallmark and ABC). Davids has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, NPR, PBS and
NAPT. The National Endowment for the Arts named Davids among the nation's
29 "most celebrated" choral composers in 2006, in its project "American
Masterpieces: three Centuries of Artistic Genius" in all 50 states.
4. "Riding with my Uncle" (11 min) is a lighthearted nostalgic ride with
the filmmaker's Uncle as he shares stories of his work life on the police
force. (mild profanity)
Weyodi Grandbergs is a published and award-winning Comanche poet,
screenwriter, and filmmaker who has lived most of her life in Lawton,
Oklahoma. Like many people, she grew up without a father, but throughout
most of her childhood, had close contact to her mother's older brother who
lived next door.
5. "Fry Bread Babes" (30 min) Six American Indian women use candor and
humor to discuss body image and identity and how the lack of American Indian
women in mass media impacted each of them. This documentary features Elaine
Miles, (Cayuse-Nez Perce) best known for her role as Marlyn Whirlwind on the
television series "Northern Exposure" as one of the six interviewees. CNC
Film Festival Co-founders Arkeketa and Pahdopony are included. .
This film was recently purchased by the Heard Museum for its collection.
Steffany Suttle is an enrolled member of the Lummi Nation of Washington
State. She was born and raised in Texas. She received her B.A. from Texas
A&M University - Corpus Christi. Steffany completed the Native Voices
Documentary Filmmaking Program at the University of Washington - Seattle,
and earned a Master's of Communication (M.C.)
6. "The Guardian" (12min) is about an American Indian man who decides, on
his 100th birthday, to meet the Guardian that stands on top of the Oklahoma
State Capital
Tvli Jacob is a Choctaw Indian from Oklahoma. He worked on several
documentaries, movies and television shows, and published in magazines and
other collections of creative writing. As a child, he continued to tell
stories even when teachers advised him to stop. Currently, he's a freelance
videographer, editor, director, writer and producer
Steven Judd is Kiowa/Choctaw currently living in Los Angeles, California, as
a staff writer on the TV show Mongoose and Luther, which will air February
2009, on the new network Disney XD. The series co-creators are (Even
Stevens) and Tom Burkhard. The last short he wrote and co-directed with
Tvli Jacob, MAC V PC with a Native Twist, and was a 2007 semi-finalist of
NBC/Universal's Comedy Short Cuts, and a part of the 2008 Comedy Caravan
that screened daily at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American
Indian. He is a fellow for the 18th Annual Writing Fellowship program
sponsored by the Disney-ABC Television Group and Walt Disney Studios, in
partnership with the Writers Guild of America. He is a member of the WGA's
American Indian Writers committee, which is dedicated to finding the next
generation of Native American writers. He was nominated as a 2008
Distinguished Alumni for the University of Oklahoma.
7. "Anticipation of Land in 2089" (11:30 min) Tribes participate in a
land-run, where they define rules by which to live on acquired lands. A
young Comanche woman (Jan-Marie Sapcut) fills out her paperwork with a
government agent (Seth Joseph) who is also an ex-boyfriend. It is creates a
conflict when her rules and relationship.
Sunrise Tippeconnie is a film director and writer of Numunuu and Dine
decent. He has an MFA from Temple University's Film and Media Arts program
in Philadelphia and was a Co-Director of the Nextframe Film Festival.
Sunrise has taught at the Temple University Film Program and recently
offered Filmmaking I & II at the University of Oklahoma. He freelances in
film and television and worked for Lucasfilm, Ltd., Bunim/Murray on the The
Real World: Philadelphia. Tippeconnie worked as Director of Photography for
Concrete Pictures HD channel Moov and as gaffer on the Yen Tan feature Ciao.
He was nominated for a 2007 Re:New Media Fellowship, and selected artist for
the Untitled [art space] show"Looking Indian" and for the OklaDaDa Oklahoma
centennial art show "Current Realities." Other film productions include
Contest which have shown at the deadCenter Film Festival, the Heard Museum
and ImagineNATIVE, and the National Museum of the American Indian. A
Comanche Saw Swindle was shown at the Untitled[artspace}.. Sunrise
currently lives in Oklahoma City and developing feature films and a
television pilot.
8. "A Momentary Lapse of Brilliance" (12 min) is an American Indian
reporter who struggles with guilt when given damaging evidence that could
ruin his best friend's political career.
Roderick Pocowatchit is Comanche, Pawnee, and Shawnee. He lives in Wichita,
KS. As director, screenwriter, producer and editor, he made seven short
films and two independent digital features. Dancing on the Moon and
Sleepdancer. He has won several awards, including recognition from the
American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco, the Los Angeles American
Indian Film & TV Awards, and support and training from the Sundance
Institute. Rod appears as an actor in the upcoming feature film The Only
Good Indian starring Wes Studi and directed by Kevin Willmott (the Sundance
favorite "C.S.A: The Confederate States of America"). Rod is currently
in pre-production on his next feature script, The Dead Can't Dance. He
serves on the advisory board for NativeVue, a national organization that
supports and promotes Native Americans in the media.
9. "LaDonna Harris: Indian 101" is a trailer of the upcoming documentary
film about Comanche activist, LaDonna Harris. Held in the highest regard by
her colleagues for her numerous historic achievements, LaDonna is now
passing her knowledge to a new generation of emerging Indigenous leaders by
instilling the importance of traditional tribal values.
Julianna Brannum is a Comanche documentary filmmaker. She lives in Los
Angeles and her film credits include the PBS film, "The Creek Runs Red"
which was in last year's CNC Film Festival. She is also working with the
upcoming PBS Series, "We Shall Remain" - a 5-part historical series on
American Indian history.
10. "Mekko Perspective" (30 min) was included in the OklaDaDa Oklahoma
centennial art show "Current Realities" exhibit held at the IAO Gallery in
Oklahoma City, is a documentary of tribal leaders featuring Martha
Berryhill, Lt. Governor Jefferson Keel, and Principal Chief of the
Cherokees, Chad Smith and their responses to the Oklahoma Centennial.
Annette Arkeketa (Otoe-Missouria and Muscogee Creek) is a graduate from
Texas A & M University at Corpus Christi, Texas and holds a Master of Arts.
She is the Founder and President of Hokte Productions; a published poet,
playwright and a speaker on issues concerning American Indian rights and
issues. Hokte productions was formed to promote and document American
Indian leaders, educators, activists, artists, and issues. She teaches at
CNC.
11. "The Flying Head" (3:40) Stories told to the youth to encourage them
to come home before dark.
Shelly Nero is a member of he Six Nations Reserve, Mohawk, Turtle Clan, she
graduated from the Ontario College of Art with hours in visual arts. In
2001 she became the Eiteljorg recipient at the Museum of Western and Indian
Arts, Indiana, Indianapolis. She participated in the Women in The
Director's Chair Program at the Banff Centre for the Arts, 2003. In the
fall of 2006, Shelley was selected as a fellow in Women in Film and GM
Accelerator Grants. In March, Nero exhibited the photographic exhibition
Contemporary Voices' with Jeffrey Thomas at Canada House, Trafalgar, Square,
and London, England. Recently Niro prepared a sole exhibition at Oboro,
Montreal titled "Almost Fallen" for April 2007. Niro's short film "Tree"
was selected for screening at the Images Festival in Toronto. In the summer
of 2007, Niro collaborated with performance artist Lori Blondeau,
artist/curator Ryan Rice and academic/curator Nancy Marie Mithlo at the
Venice Biennial's "The Requickening Project."
12. "Sinew" (23 min) A powerful and courageous award winning documentary
film of Betty Cooper, a Blackfeet activist and Tribal Council Woman's
life story as documented by her daughter, and film producer Patty Collins.
Patty Collins is a graduate of the Native American Studies Program from UC
Berkeley. She has spent her life as a traditional healer helping families
heal from historical and personal traumas.
13. "Lost in Oklahoma: Chapter One" (15 min) is the first segment of a
one hour program currently in production. Chapter One was originally
produced for Current Realities: a dialogue with The People, presented by
OklaDADA. That exhibit was conceived as a forum for Oklahoma's Indian
artists, writers and filmmakers to ensure that Native perspectives would be
clearly heard during Oklahoma's Centennial year.
Producers: Mary Helen Deer (Kiowa/Creek), Vicki Monks (Chickasaw) ,
Christopher Smith (Kiowa/Creek), Richard Ray Whitman (Euchee), Written and
directed by Vicki Monks,Narration: Mary Helen Deer, Richard Ray Whitman,
Camera: Christopher Smith, Vicki Monks
a documentary addressing the Oklahoma Centennial from the perspective of
American Indian community leaders.
14. "Four Sheets to the Wind" (1 hour 21 min) After his father's untimely
suicide, Cufe leaves his home on an American Indian reservation to search
for a more fulfilling life.
Director Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Creek) was selected in 2006 as one of the
inaugural recipients (and the first Native American recipient) of the
prestigious United States Artists Fellowship, which is supported by a
consortium of major foundations. He was selected for a 2006 Media Arts
Fellowship from Renew Media (now a fellowship program of the Tribeca Film
Institute). Also in 2006, Harjo won the top Creative Promise Award from
Tribeca All Access for his script Before the Beast Returns (working title).
Harjo's first feature film Four Sheets to the Wind premiered at the 2007
Sundance Film Festival and was widely screened nationally and
internationally at film festivals and art cinemas. Harjo was selected in
2004 as one of the Sundance Institute's first five Annenberg Film Fellows, a
multi-year program launched to provide filmmakers with financial support and
full involvement in Sundance's professional workshops. Harjo's short film
Goodnight, Irene, which premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, was
cited for Special Jury Recognition at the Aspen Shortsfest. In 2008, he
served as a member of the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute film and video
faculty. Harjo grew up in Holdenville, Oklahoma, and lives in Tulsa.
Funding for this Program has been made possible through the generosity of
the Comanche Nation College, National Endowment of the Arts, The City of
Lawton Arts and Humanities Council, The Oklahoma Arts Council, Buffalo Boys
Media, Comanche Nation Higher Education Program, and the Comanche National
Museum.
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Media Contact is Juanita Pahdopony, 580.591.0203 x 115 or
Email: jpahdopony@cnc.cc.ok.us