McNair Scholar Windmill Managing Editor The English Club/Sigma Tau Delta President From: "Carmen Hill" <[log in to unmask]>; To: "recipient list suppressed" <>; Subject: 2nd Annual Motion Picture & Video Symposium - SAT/27/APR/02 Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 10:14:45 -0500 (CDT) The Office of Special Projects and the Filmmaker in Residence, Producer/Director Shawnee Brittan, School of Art, College of Fine Arts, presents the Second Annual Motion Picture & Video Symposium, Saturday, 27 April 2002, 9 a.m. to 5p.m., at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (SNOMNH), Robert S. Kerr Auditorium, on Chautauqua Avenue, Norman. With a focus on Native American filmmaking and the Sundance Film Festival, the event counts with the participation of independent filmmakers Kate Montgomery and Sheila Tousey (Christmas in the Clouds – Sundance Film Festival 2001) and brothers Duane and Gene Humeyestewa (Running on Indian Time – Sundance Film Festival 2002) A distinguished panel comprises Dr. Drake Bingham, New Mexico Highlands University; Dr. Mary Jo Watson, Art History Curator, Native American Art; John Parrish, Executive Director, Jacobson House Native Art Center; and, Scott Hale, Native American Film. The symposium will be a one-day event, including a luncheon at the Oklahoma Memorial Union with a key speaker (to be announced.) The feature presentation is the movie, 'Christmas in the Clouds,' recipient of the Official Selection at 2001 Sundance Film Festival, 2001 Austin Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature Film, 2001 Santa Fe Film Festival for Best Native Film, Lake Placid Film Forum Honorable Mention for Best Feature Film, Mill Valley Film Festival Annual Membership Screening, American Indian Film Festival Closing Night Gala, and voted One of the Most Popular Films at the Vancouver International Film Festival, where it made its international premiere. This is the first American-made romantic comedy to star an American Indian cast. 'Christmas in the Clouds' was selected by Variety as one of five “festival circuit favs that are strong candidates for U.S. distribution.” Shot on the world-famous Sundance Resort in Utah by special permission granted by Robert Redford, it premiered at Sundance 2001 to sell-out crowds and received standing ovations. It has been a success on the festival circuit ever since. “This sweet-spirited comedy nimbly defies a number of categories. It’s set on an Indian reservation, with a predominately American Indian cast, but it is by no means a generic or preachy ‘ethnic’ movie.” Variety Special Issue: The Independents Kate Montgomery is a talented and vibrant writer, director, and producer, who, as stated by the Marin Independent Journal “ . . . demonstrates a good flair for subtle comic scenes.” “Kate Montgomery’s directorial debut is a classic screwball romantic comedy worthy of Frank Capra or Howard Hawks,” The Vancouver International Film Festival. Kate is also executive producer of the digital feature, Ever Since the World Ended, which just won the Audience Award at the 2002 San Francisco Independent Film Festival. A Wall Street Journal executive for eight years, Kate has produced award winning commercials and corporate films for Apple Computer, Lincoln-Mercury, MTV, and the Disney Channel. She is a member of the Director’s Guild of America and the Writer’s Guild of Canada. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two children. Sheila Tousey, who co-produced and acts in the film, is an accomplished film and television actress. She has worked with writer-director Kate Montgomery on every aspect of the film’s development and production since 1995. She also brings her wonderful comic skill to the role of “Mary,” a conscientious concierge who regularly escapes from real life into romance novel fantasies. Sheila has acted on Broadway, directed regional theater, performed with the American Indian Dance Theater, and won awards for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco and the LA based “First Americans in the Arts.” Sheila has appeared on the big screen opposite Val Kilmer in Michael Apted’s, Thunderheart; starred in the acclaimed HBO mini series, Grand Avenue; Sam Shepard’s, Silent Tongue; and, the Canadian Comedy, Medicine River. As the mysterious femme fatale in Sam Shepard’s new play, The Late Henry Moss, when it premiered in San Francisco, Sheila was the only woman in a cast that included Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, Woody Harrelson, Cheech Marin, and James Gammon. She reprised the role on the New York stage last fall in a cast that featured the actor Ethan Hawke. Sheila is currently on location on the new feature film, Skinwalkers, based on the Tony Hillerman’s book, and directed by Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals.) The film also stars Wes Studi and Adam Beach. An alumna of New Mexico and N.Y.U.’s Tisch Graduate School of the Arts, Sheila Tousey is a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, and the Menominee Nation of Wisconsin. Duane Humeyestewa was born and raised on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. He is currently living in Los Angeles and working on a variety of productions. Humeyestewa volunteered for the Sundance Institute and the Film Festival for over four years. His short film, 'Running on Indian Time,' premiered at Sundance 2002, and is the story of a pueblo village and the city, that miles apart, are not too far to bring redemption between father and son. Gene Humeyestewa is the business mind in the partnership with his brother, Duane, and a graduate of the University of New Mexico Business School. “We are honored to host these thriving individuals, who are so important to the independent filmmaker movement,” said Shawnee Brittan, Producer/Director and Filmmaker in Residence. Brittan added that “more names will be announced as the symposium date approaches.” The cost of participation including the luncheon is $49; without the luncheon, $34; and luncheon only, $15. To register, please call (405) 325-1947, College of Continuing Education. For more information, contact the Office of Special Projects at (405) 325-4670 or e-mail [log in to unmask] Visit the websites: Christmas in the Clouds www.warriormouse.com www.cafe.ou.edu/mpvs http://www.ou.edu/finearts/art/symposium.htm