National Geographic Society

In scoping the All Roads films at the Santa Fe Film Festival, I was often struck by intimate level of access afforded the filmmakers. In addition to the epic Arctic Sun, where I know that Father and Son would have definitely gone to blows had the cameras not been rolling, I would also like to mention Wetback (Aturo Perez Torres) and The Journey of Vaan Nguyen (Duki Dror.) Speaking of Mr. Dror, his film was recently screened at the Washington Jewish Festival.  Here is a report.

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The magic of a good documentary his how the film draws the viewer into the inner-most details of the subject's world.  At times seemingly sacred, we are made privy to the intimate feelings exposed through real life emotions as they play out.  The news media also does this, but it feels different.  Whereas the news media will stick a camera and a microphone into the face of a grieving victim for the sake of the moment or shock ratings, a documentary is telling a story.  Its more thought out.  There is a perceived, deeper sense of trust between filmmaker and subject. 

These are the feelings I experienced while viewing these films. 

In Wetback, Arturo tells the unbiased story of the perilous journeys of illegal immigration from the perspecitves of migrants, U.S. Border Patrol Agents and patriotic vigilantes.  He captures them each in such a way that I found myself rooting for all three. At one moment, we would be traveling with a duo of Central American gentlemen, desparate to reach the "American Dream", whisking through the thick brush on the banks of the Rio Grande.  I am sitting on the edge of my seat with sweaty palms fearful they (or we) would be caught at any moment.  Then in the next frame, we are traveling with the border patrol agents, hoping they (or we) would bust someone trying to cross into the country illegally.  It just seemed so dangerous from every angle and as a viewer, I could literally feel the danger.

The All Roads Film program "Women Hold up Half the Sky" brought in the crowds on Thursday and Saturday afternoon.

The program featured:

• Sa'ah (Sarah Del Saronde)
• Mare (Ana Santos Mejita & Luna Maran)
• The Lore of Love (Beck Cole)
• Jaisalmer Ayo! Gateway of the Gypsies (Melitta Tchaicovsky & Pepe Ozan)

Of all of the films in the All Roads Film program this year, Mare is the most avant-garde...

The All Roads filmmakers, photographers and staff attending this year’s Santa Fe Film Festival work hard and play hard, although through the latter, life-long relationships both professional and personal are forged.  Following the day’s official screenings, the Santa Fe Film Festival provided opportunities of networking and fellowship through informal “parties” in local hotspots.  Cowgirls provided the backdrop for the first night’s event.  Filmmakers, producers and festival staff all gathered to get acquainted through food, music and good spirits while mingling shoulder-to-shoulder. 

The film festival circuit is a tour of sorts for filmmakers, as they travel from city to city sharing their films with new audiences across the globe.  Throughout the tour, filmmakers who first met at a festival in Cannes, would cross paths again in Berlin, then perhaps in Hawaii and now here in Santa Fe they are reunited to share industry insights.  While most filmmakers either traveled alone or with a very small entourage, the All Roads contingent traveled deep and always made quite an impact on the scene.  Traveling from indigenous communities in Australia, Alaska, Arizona, Guatamala, Israel, Canada and Mexico to name a few, the presence of All Roads added to the richness of the festival.  Everyone gained through the sharing of ideas and fresh perspectives brought by the global mix. 

Officially, Santa Fe shuts down at midnight.  Although, this is by no means a barrier for the night to continue.  This is when the “breakout sessions” begin.  Some head to bed for much needed sleep, while others gather in cliques for a deeper engagement of ideas. 

More to come...

The All Roads Film Project opened at the 2006 Santa Fe film festival with screenings of Arctic Sun and The Hardest of these of Love.  National Geographic's Francene Blythe and Eduardo Abreu welcomed the packed audience at The Screen Theater by introducing the All Roads Film Project and Photography Program.  Suvi West's delightful film The Hardest of these is Love, charmed attendees through the universal language of love.  Not too heavy and not too smarmy, the film follows West on her quest and discovery of love through three main characters, an elderly couple married 50 years, a divorced single mother and a middle age couple who secretly had a high-school crush only to find each other again later in life.  Through their collective experiences West tries to figure out her own plight as a parade of  boyfriends come and go thoughout her life.

More to come...

YeeeeeHaaa!! Today, All Roads filmmakers, photographers and staff were treated to a special tour of the iconic Bonanza Creek Ranch. This amazing piece of Americana provided the backdrop to such films as "The Cowboys" (featuring the late John Wayne) "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "Young Guns", "Walker, Texas Ranger" and countless other movies, commercials, television shows and music videos since the 1950's. From the authentic old fashioned saloons to the local jail, we were escorted throughout literal "ghost towns" ranch's passionate owner and caretaker Imogene Hughes.  Totalling over 30,000 acres, the ranch has been in Hughes' family since the 1940's. 

The most recent film to wrap production on Bonanza is the soon-to-be-released "Astronaut Farmer" featuring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thorton.  Actually, the film is set to debut at this year's Santa Fe Film festival.

(Images courtesy of Lenny Williams, National Geographic Society)

 (Group image courtesy of Carolyn S. Brown)

While the official opening of the Santa Fe Film Festival is still a day away, the All Roads Film Project has hit ground running with a full head of steam in the Land of Enchantment.  Day 1 featured the "New Directions Symposium: Indigenous Film and Photography Workshop" at the Institute of American Indian Arts.  Students of both film and photography descended (or shall I say ascended, the altitude here is almost 7,000 feet1?) to IAIA for a full day discussion panels, hands-on training and networking with All Roads Filmmakers, photographers, Advisory members and staff. 

For the filmmakers, this was an amazing opportunity for students to engage directly with the All Roads team and each other on the issues and challenges faced by Indigenous filmmakers in today's complex industry.  Panels covered such hot-button topics as "Telling Our Own Stories by Any Means Necessary", "Making Movies in Indigenous Communities", "Indigenous Films and Mainstream Audiences "and "The Future of Technology, Marketing and Distribution of Indigenous Films."  It's true that there are many challenges facing the Indigenous filmmaker, but the overriding theme of the day was "it's all about the story and one's passion."  Indeed filmmaking is all about the story.  A good story, no matter what the topic, knows no bounds.  A good story transcends generations and cultures. Film is just a canvas through which a story can be told, limited only by the boundaries of your imagination, and perhaps budget.  Passion is the driving force behind the dedicated of a filmmaker.  Only through passion, can one find the courage and strength to endure the challenges and minutiae necessary to live a career in film. 

The photography workshop provided students with an engaging hands-on experience with 2006 All Roads Photography award recipient Larry McNeil.  Before I go any further, let me mention that IAIA has an AMAZING suite of fully loaded Mac G5's with 27in monitors.  Digital Photography was the topic of the day.  Larry began the session with useful tips for shooting manually on a digital camera.  Every student came to the session prepared with their trusty tool of the trade. We proceeded to embark on a field trip to the infamous Jackalope where students had free reigns to capture their unique images through photography throughout the eclectic 30 year old import emporium.

After 2 hours, everyone's memory cards were filled to capacity and everyone proceeded back to the IAIA for hands on instruction on editing and archiving through Photoshop.  Students were happy for the opportunity to take part in a project that gave them a  tangible completed project at the day's end.

(Images courtesy of Lenny Williams, National Geographic Society)