Director
Two young Lakota sisters, refugees of the Wounded Knee Massacre, fight to survive against a relentless enemy.
Screenings:
NativeFlix Film Festival
In coordination with the 36th Annual Gathering of Nations PowWow
Albuquerque, NM
April 25 - 27, 2019
In coordination with the 36th Annual Gathering of Nations PowWow
Albuquerque, NM
April 25 - 27, 2019
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On December 29, 1890, 10-year-old Chuweku and her 6-year-old sister, Thanjkaku, are thrown into the heart of the Wounded Knee Massacre.
As the United States Army's 7th Cavalry viciously slaughters 350 Lakota people, the sisters narrowly escape with their lives but run in different directions. Chuweku makes her way through the frozen Black Hills while younger Thanjkaku escapes into the Dakota Bad Lands. Each uses her survival wit and knowledge of the land to outsmart the U.S. Cavalry. The relentless Army is too much for Thanjkaku, who is mortally wounded. The frozen mountain passes prove insurmountable for Chuweku and she gives up her fight for life. The next morning, U.S. Cavalry gravediggers unceremoniously toss tiny Thanjkaku's body into a mass grave. One day later, as dawn breaks, the gravedigger's stumble upon Chuweku's body. The soldiers dump Chuweku on the stone steps of the Carlisle Indian School and leave her to an uncertain fate. |
Our [Historic] Political Leadership
Las Vegas was not this nation's largest mass shootings. The Wounded Knee Massacre murder more than 350 Lakota people - babies, children, elderly men and women.
"SOLDIER" opens with famous quotations by Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Army Lt. Richard Henry Pratt, Michael Bloomberg, and Donald Trump - this nation's leaders who tried to eradicate American Indians - and how these historic proclamations impact two young sisters, innocent children of war.
"SOLDIER" opens with famous quotations by Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Army Lt. Richard Henry Pratt, Michael Bloomberg, and Donald Trump - this nation's leaders who tried to eradicate American Indians - and how these historic proclamations impact two young sisters, innocent children of war.
The Syrian Refugee Crisis
The stark visuals of "SOLDIER" reference the Syrian refugee crisis. From the heart-wrenching photograph of innocent 3-year-old Alan Kurdi's drowned body (2015) to the video of Omran Daqneesh sitting in the back of an ambulance covered in dust and blood (2016), "SOLDIER" confronts the forgotten humanity of two young Lakota Indian sisters caught up in military conflict. The film wades unflinchingly into these sensitive narrative waters.
That's Not Us ...
It cannot be overstated - this is not a stereotypical Indian film. We leaned on real photographs of the Wounded Knee Massacre to create our sibling narrative. Our epic tale across the Dakota Badlands and through the frozen Black Hills is told through the imperfect relationship of pre-teen sisters fighting to survive, fighting their urge to give up, and embracing the call to protect each other to the very end.
-Guest contributor Kassandra Fuentes
-Guest contributor Kassandra Fuentes
Filming On Tribal Lands
"SOLDIER" was filmed on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation. In today's media landscape, it is vital to include the necessary participation of enrolled tribal members. As genuine business partners and creative colleagues, citizens of these untouched reservation lands serve as invaluable contributors and their homes as backdrops for our remote locales. These lands were a touchstone linking our story to Wovoka - the real-life Paiute prophet whom the Lakota Indians made a pilgrimage to see in an effort to save their lives.
Action/Adventure Stunts with Children
This action/adventure film follows the journey of two sisters. The stunts were a concern for the safety of the girls, crew, and horse. The eldest sister dodges bullets and climbs an ice wall. The little sister, while riding a horse bareback, faced many challenges. Our camera operators ran alongside the sisters - splitting their awareness between safety and storytelling. Safety was always a priority when filming these complex shots.
-Guest contributor Kassandra Fuentes
-Guest contributor Kassandra Fuentes
Student Interns
This is not a student film; however, student interns did help with editing (picture, sound, color-correction). They taught themselves the technical and aesthetic aspects of storytelling. The digital artists created time-lapse sequences of remote locations and sound designers crafted sound bytes and shaped music to push the story forward. "Good enough" did not make the cut. This film, executive produced by Academy Award nominated Director Terrence Malick, brought real-life experience to these young aspiring filmmakers.
-Guest contributor: Kassandra Fuentes
-Guest contributor: Kassandra Fuentes
Big Bugs, Skittles, and SlimJims
We kept our cameras rolling on our 6 and 10-year-old lead actors to capture their budding relationship; a close friendship that mirrored sisterhood. Serendipitously, Chuwaku (Serenadee Rose) couldn't resist our camera-crew's Skittles candies, so our sound design team stepped in and, using SlimJim snacks, replaced the actor's candy chewing with sounds of branch breaking/eating. As younger sister Thanjkaku (Jenna Covers Up) waited for the next camera set-up, a huge bug flew by her head. From this, like a scene from a large-scale Hollywood war film, her death became one of "SOLDIER'S" most compelling visual moments.
An Entertaining Documentary-Drama
The challenge was making our story not about "Indians." Mainstream depictions of Native Americans fixate on cultural preservation, history and/or victimization. We recognize the importance of these imperatives, but our story engages audiences by making our characters human beings. "SOLDIER" makes a real-life massacre something non-Native audiences want to know more about.
Our Tri-lingual Challenge
This film has three distinct and dynamic languages - 1) The Paiute Indian messiah Wovoka recounts his journey to Heaven in his native language; 2) The sisters and their father speak Lakota; 3) Following her forced assimilation at the Carlisle Indian School, older sister Chuweku speaks broken English. Our researchers worked with Lakota and Paiute language experts to compose dialogue that creates a tight sisterly bond between Chuweku and Thanjkaku.
