2010 Films

A River Of Skulls

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After losing their loved ones, Eula Seeley and “half- breed,” Jack Rivers, fight tragic odds to survive deceit and betrayal, greed and violence in the wild 1870’s, finding each other in the process. The action takes place in Raven’s Bend, a boomtown in Calaveras County*, where death in the mining camps, the brothels, and even the child-birthing bed challenge men and women, alike, to stay alive.

A River of Skulls, written, directed, and produced by Suza Lambert Bowser and Sheep Ranch Productions, is a dramatic story set during the California Gold Rush. The film focuses on two young people, who are cast adrift from two distinctly different social worlds. Eula Jane Seeley, a young white woman, and Jack Rivers—or Joaquin Rivera—a half-Mexican, half-Native American man, both struggle in a time defined by hard scrabble mining camps, towns built overnight with sudden wealth, bustling hotels, banks, and brothels, and the intense dynamics of racial assimilation.

Eula Jane Seeley (Kelly Nixon) the oldest daughter in a family recently rocked by her mother’s death in childbirth, faces the sad reality of her father’s emotional disintegration. Forced to work under the ever-watchful (and ever scornful) eyes of Mabel Flescher, played beautifully by Sheila Doyle, she earns a small income to support her younger sister and brother.

Jack Rivers (Joaquin River), reeling from the racially motivated murder of his grandfather, Liwanu, finds himself captured by Eula’s beauty and resilience. Separated by the social barricades of the times, Jack and Eula are unable to express their feelings for one another. At the same time, the arrival of the newly rich Percy Willloughby (Erik Rhea), complicates the situation when he beguiles Eula with false hopes of marriage.

A parallel plot strand involves the beautiful but bitter Betsy Beaumont (Kristina Van Cleave) and her rascally, unapologetic rake of a husband, Carson Beaumont (Bruce Cole). Their lives interweave with Eula and Jack after Mabel Flescher (Betsy’s sister) engineers a cruel trick that propels Eula into a downward spiral.

Shot on locations that include the historical landscapes of Sheep Ranch, Columbia, and Murphys, A River of Skulls features the breathtaking cinematography of Matt St. Charles (Director of Photography), the intelligent discernment of Malcolm DeSoto (Second Camera), the creative talents of Joshua D. Nelson (Assistant Director) and the directing skills of Bruce Cole (Fight Director).

A River of Skulls is a unique project, an independent feature length film that explores the far-reaching consequences and interconnections of sexism, racism, class, and social upheaval. By screening A River of Skulls in Calaveras County, the director, Suza Lambert Bowser, wishes to express her deepest gratitude to the fine folks of the Gold Country, without whose help, the vision for the film would never have become a reality.

Bury Me In Redwood Country

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"A film of startling craftsmanship and design, Bury Me in Redwood Country is destined to go places. Its assured cinematography, accomplished sound design, and methodical pacing suggest comparisons to films like Rivers & Tides." - Michael Falter, Program Director, Pickford Film Center.

The Redwood tree is a meditation on extremes. It evolved ages before the emergence of man, persisting through the coming and going of dinosaurs. Many alive today are older than Christ. It is the tallest and largest tree on the planet, the scaffolding of vibrant micro-ecosystems, and constituent of a cathedralic spiritual aesthetic. Bury Me in Redwood Country takes us into that landscape, constructing a meditative experience that pulls the viewer into the ancient and ephemeral realm of the trees.

Staring: Michael Taylor - Naturalist, Chris Atkins - Naturalist, Steve Sillett - Canopy Scientist, Ada Charles Bates - Elder Basketweaver, Fern Bates - Basketweaver, Patricia Gerrity - Ranger, Ralph Hirt - Forester, Jim Wheeler - Ranger, Ruskin Hartley - Conservationist, & Jerry Partain - Forester

Illegal Smile

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"Jack is a wanted man. His past is catching up fast. He has no where to run or no where to hide. His crimes are many and he's about to pay for them ALL..."

The original film script was written by Chris Durant. Karen Gordon is the Executive Producer, and the film was directed by James Faulk. We had a couple of names from Hollywood, including emmy award winner Jack Hanrahan and also Russ Thompson.

The World Premiere of the film was on December 15, 2006 at the historic Eureka Theatre. The house was packed and we got a good response from the audience.

Karuk Voices

"Documentary" - Links: Homepage, Contact, Two Rivers Tribune Article

"The projects were “very incredible” and it was wonderful to see the youth working with and listening to the elders. Public discussion was all positive and it was nice to see such a positive event. The Karuk Tribe as a whole were very proud of the kids and the community is really excited about the project." - Phil Albers Jr., Vice Chair, Karuk Tribal Council

The Karuk Tribe held the first public showing of Karuk Voices Film Festival on May 20, in Orleans. The presentation of Oral History films were interviews with Karuk elders. The films were produced by local youth. A community discussion, led by Phil Albers Jr., vice chair for the Karuk Tribal Council, followed the presentation.

Local youth spent six months interviewing elders of the Karuk Tribe, who possess a wealth of traditional and contemporary knowledge and stories, in order to share their lives and wisdom with a larger audience. The youth worked in groups to make video recordings of elders and then edit the recordings for presentation to the community.

The first film was an interview with Lillian Bennett by her granddaughter, Leesa Jordan, next up was “Sticks and Stones,” an interview with Karuk artist Brian D. Tripp, by Jared Wilder. Following were: “Weaving Roots” an interview with Karuk basketweaver LaVerne Glaze, by Sinead Talley and Ashely Allgier, “Achviivich,” an interview with a Karuk Tribal medicine man David Arwood, by his nephew, Mike Polmateer, and “A personal Story of the 1964 Flood,” an interview with Adrian Gilkison, by Geena and Josa Talley.

Communities are welcome to volunteer host showings of the videos. Rouvier said groups who are interested in holding public showings should contact her at (800) 505-2785 x 2205.

The event was dedicated to the memory of Lillian Bennett. The project was supported by a grant to the Karuk Tribe from the California Council for the Humanities’ California Story Fund and additional funding by the Karuk Tribal TERO Commission.

May I Be Frank

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"It is a beautiful sight. The caring behavior of the three young coaches is the essence of the revolutionary spirit that Che Guevara meant when he said 'True revolution is about tenderness." - Alice Walker, author, The Color Purple

"I was deeply moved by Frank's transformation. Frank and the boys demonstrate what community can look like if we take a stand for a purpose larger then ourselves. Seeing this film is an invitation for your heart to open." - Woody Harrelson

May I Be Frank documents the transformation of Frank Ferrante’s life. Frank is 54 years old, obese, depressed and addicted. He stumbles into a local raw, organic and vegan restaurant in San Francisco, Café Gratitude. When Ryland, a server at Café Gratitude asks Frank “What is one thing you want to do before you die?” Frank replies, “I want to fall in love one more time, but no one will love me looking the way I do”.

Ryland, his brother Cary, and Conor, his best friend, are inspired by the possibility of helping Frank. For the next 42 days, Frank will eat only raw food, practice gratitude, visit local holistic practitioners, and get a weekly colonic. Ryland, Conor, and Cary get to support Frank’s miraculous transformation. Frank gets a new body, a clearer mind, and most importantly, a soaring spirit. May I Be Frank documents the essence of the human condition and what it truly means to fall in love again.

Redland

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Redland is a film about a family living in the rural area of America during the Great Depression, but that’s like saying ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is a film about a war. On the surface, ‘Redland’ tells the tale of a young girl who lives in the wilderness with her two brothers, mother and father. The family is struggling, fighting off the hunger and even starvation that faces them day-in and day-out. The young girl is hiding a secret from her family. She has had an affair with a young man, and that affair is the catalyst that drives the narrative forward.

Norton’s story, which was co-written by Magdalena Zyzak, goes to the heart of what holds a family together and what can, eventually, tear it apart at the seams. It is a story that never wavers, never lets you feel that the screenwriters behind it have lost their own way. Norton and Zyzak know full well where their story is headed, and every, little detail that stems from the screenplay serves towards the film’s final moments. There aren’t any real surprises to be found in the screenplay, but that is hardly an issue in the way ‘Redland’ plays out. Even if you have a sneaking suspicion where the story is headed, you aren’t fully sure how Norton is going to handle it or what the ultimate outcome will truly be.

River of Renewal

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River of Renewal examines the water and wildlife crisis in the Klamath Basin—a bioregion larger than nine of the fifty states. The communities that harvest food from the Klamath Basin—raising crops and cattle, catching salmon in the river and offshore—have all suffered due to the lack of enough water to serve the needs of irrigation and fisheries alike.

The crisis began in 2001 when the federal Bureau of Reclamation - responding to biologists' warnings that the over-allocation of Klamath water was endangering several species of fish - cut off irrigation water that farmers and ranchers had long depended on. Irrigators responded with a dramatic civil disobedience campaign: a bucket brigade that carried federally banned water for a mile along Klamath Fall's Main Street and into an irrigation canal. Their protest paid off during the election year of 2002. Circumventing the Endangered Species Act, Vice President Dick Cheney made sure that the farms and ranches within the federal Klamath Project got all the water they could use. That September, 80,000 spawning salmon died in the estuary. Also that year, more than 80% of the juvenile salmon died after reaching the mainstem of the Klamath River.

In the years since then, a remarkable conflict resolution and consensus building process gained influence among the communities of the Klamath Basin. Eventually, they found common ground, recognizing that economic revival could occur only if ecological vitality were restored. The Klamath River tribes' ethos of world renewal, or pikiawish, "fixing the world," now influences the entire Klamath Basin. The film shows leaders of different communities coming together to seek a way beyond economic stagnation, environmental disaster, and polarized politics.

The search for common ground became urgent with the collapse of commercial salmon fishing along 700 miles of the California-Oregon coast in 2006. That year also, the licenses for the Klamath River hydroelectric dams expired. Settlement talks about the future of the Klamath Basin, involving 26 organizations, led to a consensus on dam removal in 2008. Later that year, the dams' owner, PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire-Hathaway, signed an agreement in principle with the governors of California and Oregon and the Secretary of the Interior to remove all four of the hydroelectric dams on the Klamath. The greatest dam removal project in American history is in the works. River of Renewal brings this issue to the nation's attention with the intent that the Klamath Basin crisis culminates in the restoration of a once great river system and the return of wild salmon in abundance to the West Coast.

Sin By Silence

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Inside the California Institution for Women, the first inmate initiated and led group in U.S. prison history, shatters the misconceptions of domestic violence.

Convicted Women Against Abuse (CWAA) was created in 1989 to help women inside prison break the silence about abuse and learn more about what they needed to do to help others stop the cycle of violence.

Instead of fighting a system that does not fully comprehend the complexities of abuse, the women of CWAA led an initiative to help educate the system. Through careful orchestration of letter writing campaigns, media coverage, and senate hearings a movement was born and laws for battered women were changed. And for the founder of CWAA, the flicker of hope begins to grow as her possible freedom, after 26 years in prison, lies moments away.

Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Branch, Family Violence Prevention Program in collaboration with the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, Prevention Committee present Sin By Silence (2009) Saturday, October 9 at Arcata Theatre Lounge, 1036 G St in Arcata. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Cost is free and is all ages. Screening will be followed by guest speaker Brenda Clubine, a formerly incarcerated survivor featured in the film.

PRESS: For more info please contact Blanca Bautista at 441-5551

The Idiotmaker’s Gravity Tour

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New York Director Daniel Kremer invites you to a Special Rough Cut screening! Help determine this film's final form and assist in the final cut!

The Idiotmaker’s Gravity Tour is a fictional feature film co-written by Kremer and William Cully Allen (the film’s lead actor), primarily shot in exciting Uttar Pradesh, India locations, featuring domestic locations in Montreal, Humboldt and Long Island. This elegy to the classic 70’s American “journey films” (e.g. Five Easy Pieces and Two-Lane Blacktop) and 1960’s literature (e.g. Carlos Castaneda, Ken Kesey) tells the story of Max Plugyn, a wiley but free-spirited, quick-witted but jaded relic of the 60’s who has recently turned 57 years old.

Max ran away from home at age 16 to hitchhike across country (based upon the actor-writer’s real-life experience). A guru-like figure named Teschlock took Max under his wing when he reached the Lost Coast area of California and introduced him to the hallucinogenic wonders of the land. Teschlock, a self-proclaimed diablero (shape-shifter) and a widely renowned charismatic ascetic, invited Max to come to India with him and a few of his other ‘disciples’ to live on an ashram in 1970.

Max, following a truly transcendent meditation experience in which he returned from an outer-body death experience, declined and returned home to the bosom of his family to lead a different life. Now, decades later, Max finds himself in Uttar Pradesh in search of his guru’s unknown grave-site. A year after arriving there, Master Teschlock went off and vanished one day in remote rural India, never to be heard from again. It is said that Teschlock buried himself. Max has now come to India to find him, following a trail of cryptic clues, and at long last coming to grips with his lost youth, after living a reckless life of extended youth.

The River Why

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"Worth the [20 plus year] wait, lovely understated filmmaking, eye popping! When it looks this easy, you know it was hard work indeed." - The Southern Oregon Mail Tribune, April 4, 2010

Based on the classic novel by David James Duncan, The River Why is set on the banks of a wild river. It is the story of 20 year old Gus Orviston, the Mozart of flyfishing, who leaves his big city home in rebellion from his family to live in a secluded cabin on the banks of a wild river.

Instead of finding fishing bliss, his desolation drives him on a reluctant quest for self-discovery. In the process he comes in contact with an assortment of eccentric characters who help him in his journey to adulthood.

Most of all, The River Why is a love story. The love of a man for the wilderness, and for a beautiful woman who comes to share it with him.

Walking Dreams

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Originally from Seattle, filmmaker Chad Ross has been living part time in Humboldt for the past year. His background is music videos, hip hop, and documentary work. He shot Humboldt's Berel Alexander's recent music video. Walking Dreams was primarily shot in London.

“Walking Dreams” is a documentary by director Chad Ross as he followed David Garibaldi through a three year journey from doing underground shows in Sacramento to London and everything in between. This is just a teaser of the feature length documentary film to come.

Born in Los Angeles in 1982, Garibaldi began creating at a young age. After relocating and growing up in Sacramento, it was not until high school, after walking away from a life of graffiti in the streets, that he turned his influences of hip hop culture into a positive direction. Unfortunately by then, it was too late to make up lost time in school, and he could not graduate. A season of hard times to come could not shake the drive of this young artist from pursuing his dreams.