Locally written, produced film headed to Sundance
12:58 p.m. Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Three University of Kansas professors will show their film this month to influential audiences at the Sundance Film Festival, one of the world’s pre-eminent celebrations of independent film. The Only Good Indian is one of only 118 movies chosen from more than 9,000 submitted for the festival.
Kevin Willmott, associate professor of theatre and film, produced and directed the film. Matt Jacobson, associate professor of theatre and film, was director of photography, and Bob Hurst, assistant professor of theatre and film, was supervising sound editor. All three will travel to the festival in Park City, Utah, along with a host of KU students and cast and crew from the movie. It will screen Jan. 16, 17, 18, 24 and 25 in the noncompetitive category.
The professors will not only show the film to a select audience, they’ll be working to sell it for distribution. Sundance is one of the best chances for independent filmmakers to sell their work.
“Everyone’s there,” Willmott said of the Sundance crowd. “Your film is being seen by everyone in the business that matters.”
The Only Good Indian, written by Lawrence resident and KU alumnus Thomas L. Carmody, tells the story of a Native American boy taken from his home and forced to attend a boarding school. Veteran character actor Wes Studi, who has starred in Dances With Wolves, Last of the Mohicans and Geronimo: An American Legend, plays a bounty hunter hired to bring the boy back after he escapes from the school. Longtime actor J. Kenneth Campbell of Bulworth, Yulee’s Gold and Mars Attacks also stars, and newcomer Winter Fox Frank plays the lead.
Kip Haaheim, associate professor of music and dance, wrote and produced the film’s score. Tami Hughes, assistant professor of music and dance; Hung Choo Peter Chun, assistant professor of music and dance; and several KU graduate students were performers on the score.
Filmed primarily in Kansas, The Only Good Indian alludes to Haskell Indian Nations University, which was originally founded as an Indian boarding school. The lead character is captured and brought to the school for what was considered in the 19th century as a “proper, white” education.
“There are Kansas stories that have national and international ramifications,” Willmott said. “This is one of them. Hollywood isn’t going to tell this story, and a lot of people don’t even know about this part of our nation’s history. That’s like not knowing Auschwitz was down the street from your house.”
Willmott and Jacobson are making their second appearance together at Sundance, which they refer to as “the Final Four of films.” The duo worked together on 2004’s CSA: Confederate States of America, which took a look at what the United States might be like today if the South had won the Civil War. The movie, which also screened in the noncompetitive category, was sold at the festival to IFC Films for distribution. Several of the films that were in the competitive category failed to find buyers. Jacobson also took part in the festival in 2003 for his involvement in Bukowski: Born Into This, a documentary about writer Charles Bukowski. This is Hurst’s first time with a project in the festival.
Although Sundance offers an opportunity for filmmakers and actors to shine, it’s also an invaluable learning opportunity for the students who will be going along.
“The students get the opportunity to participate from the inside,” Jacobson said. “They’re not just there to watch films, they’re learning what it takes to make films and to be successful in this business.”
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