Making our projects transparent to the public is something that I’m working on. I feel that sometimes I enjoy being a bit under the radar and then letting the films speak for themselves. Yet these days so much of the amazing experiences I’m having are happening outside of the filming itself. So I’ve made a commitment to do 1 blog entry a week,… for whatever it is worth.
Yet first, I’ll summarize the events of Smooth Feather over the past 3 months.
___________LAKOTA PROJECT- May 22nd-May 29th>___________
Adam, Vena, Kendra and myself set out on a cross-country voyage to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Porcupine, South Dakota. Two years ago, a Lakota Medicine Man by the name of Jim Miller asked me if he could assist him in making a film “to help heal his Lakota people.” Jim explained that in 2003 he had a vision of riding on horseback over 350 miles from South Dakota to Mankato Minnesota. Jim went on to explain that his vision was directly connected to the largest mass hanging in North American which took place in Mankato on December 26th, 1863. Under the direction of Abe Lincoln, 38 Lakota warriors we’re hung by the shores of the Minnesota River.
After having this vision, Jim decided that by reenacting this ride himself he could provide his Lakota people with a process for healing. In December of 2008, Jim is organizing a ride for reconciliation on horseback which will trace the 350 miles of his vision and honor the 38 Lakota warriors that were hung.
After spending a week with Jim and his entire family, Adam, Vena, Kendra and myself came away inspired and excited to assist in documenting this amazing event.
When I get back to NYC next week I hope to upload a couple clips from the footage we shot. Here is a shot of our great friend "Baby J" at Pine Ridge.
_____TIBET ORAL HISTORY PRJOECT- June 16th-July 16th_____
(This excerpt is from a journal entry from June.)
6/16/07- Currently I’m flying at 583 MPH at an altitude of 37,000 ft. just about to cross over into Pakistan. Looking up at the digital GPS map I just noticed that while I was sleeping we soared over Baghdad and Kuwait. A pretty intense flight pattern which will eventually bring us to Bangalore, India in less than two hours. For the next three weeks we will be living in a Tibetan settlement called Bylakuppe and will be interviewing Tibetan elders about their histories.
So how I got to this seat on the plane is quite an interesting thing. And how I got here seeing as though we recently switched Smooth Feather over into the gift economy is even more interesting. :) Two months ago my good friend Jenny Douglas (Karma Tube Founder) asked if I might be willing to lend some gift economy service to a woman named Tashi Chodron who is working on a project regarding Tibetan Elders. I agreed to help Tashi with editing 7 hours of interview footage into a 7-minute promotional piece that would be shown at the Tibet House on May 17th. The goal was to create a short film that would provide a feel for what the Tibet Oral History project was all about. Below is the film we created.
On May 17th the above film was shown at the Tibet House in Manhattan as part of a fundraiser for the Tibet Oral History Project. Before the event Tashi casually mentioned that it would be great if I spoke a bit about Smooth Feather/ the gift economy before showing the film that we put together. I happily agreed and wasn’t fazed by it until I read the program for the evening. The two acts to go on before me were:
-Speech by Former Representative to the Dalai Lama, Rinchen Dharlo
-Musical Performance by Tenzin Kunse (who recently Opened for the Dalai Lama at a sold out Madison Square Garden)
Needless to say they both rocked the house and then the mic was passed to me. :) It was an amazing honor to follow such a high caliber introduction.
After the Premier Tashi and the Tibet Oral History project invited both Jenny Douglas and Myself to travel to Bylakuppe and join 1 of the four filming teams.
Here are a few still photos taken in Bylakuppe by one of Smooth Feather's top photographers Sean Goodwin.
Video from Bylakuppe will soon become available through the Tibet Oral History Project. www.tibetoralhistory.org
_________________JOE DAMON PROJECT_________________
(Here’s an excerpt from Joe’s Blog)
We had a very successful event, Friday, July 27, on the lawn, at our home, (in Connecticut) commemorating the premiere of a documentary, chronicling the life of a Traumatic Brain Injury patient, me, in this case. According to the forecast, there was the threat of a thunderstorm, but good luck prevailed and the weather remained perfect all night, highlighted by the moonrise of a nearly-full moon. With approximately 80 people in attendance, the film lasted about 20 minutes. Preceding the documentary, we showed Joe’s Progress, which Lynn had compiled of photos that she had taken, or, that she found in her collection, and following the documentary we viewed another documentary, also filmed by Silas Hagerty, chronicling the struggle of a quadriplegic, named Zack.
*Joe's 18 Minute Documentary will be released Online by the end of August. Stay tuned.
___________________ZACK’S PROJECT___________________
This film is just about to hit the airwaves. When I first made a list of people I wanted to offer my services to back in April, my good friend Zack Weinstein was one of the first names on the list. 2 years ago Zack broke his neck while playing around on the Saco River in Maine. Zack is now a quadriplegic and paralyzed from the chest down. Over parts of May and June I spent time with Zack up at Skidmore where he is now back at school. We are currently polishing a final cut of the film and we have an orginal score from Smooth Feather composer powerhouse Jay Mckay. :) Get ready folks. It should be available online within the next two weeks.
Here's a film still from an interview with Zack.
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