Get a sneak peek at Kevin Willmott’s ‘Indian’
By ROBERT W. BUTLER
The Kansas City Star
Scenes from area filmmaker Kevin Willmott’s latest feature, “The Only Good Indian,” will be screened Sept. 12 in Lawrence as part of a symposium on diplomatic relations between the U.S. government and American Indian tribes.
Attending will be director Willmott (“Ninth Street,” “CSA” and the upcoming “Bunker Hill”), who teaches film at the University of Kansas, and actor Wes Studi (“The Last of the Mohicans,” “Geronimo”), the star of the film.
The event — scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics on KU’s West Campus — is the final stop in a three-year, 11-state series of meetings in which speakers examine the 200 years of history between American Indians and the federal government, beginning with Lewis and Clark’s famed expedition.
Some of the topics to be covered include the preservation of indigenous Indian languages and the history of Indian boarding schools.
“The Only Good Indian,” which is now in post-production, employs the form of a Western chase film to examine questions of identity. It’s the story of an Indian boy (newcomer Winterfox Frank, a member of Kansas’ Kickapoo tribe), who at the turn of the last century is taken from his parents and forcibly sent to a government-run boarding school to be “civilized.” When he escapes and makes a desperate run for home, an Indian tracker and bounty hunter (Studi) is assigned to bring him back.
For more information on the symposium contact Scott Richardson at ScottRichardson@Sunflower.com or Greg Hurd at GregHurd@Sunflower.com.
Seeking justice
Colorblind, a free film series about racial and social justice, will be screened this month in the Black Box Theatre at the YWCA of Greater Kansas City, 1017 N. Sixth St., Kansas City, Kan.
•“Considering Democracy: 8 Things to Ask Your Representative” (7:30 p.m. Sept. 12): Keya Leas Horiuchi’s documentary examines the image of the U.S. in the world and asks viewers to examine their expectations about foreign policy, health care and other issues.
•“Maid in America” (6:30 p.m. Sept. 18): Anayansi Prado’s documentary is an intimate look at the lives of three Latina immigrants working as nannies and housekeepers in Los Angeles.
•“God Sleeps in Rwanda” (11:30 a.m. Sept. 23): Kimberlee Acquaro’s Oscar-nominated film looks at how the Rwandan genocide left that country 70 percent female and how those survivors are moving on.
• “Standing on My Sister’s Shoulders” (7:30 p.m. Sept. 26): This documentary looks at the civil rights movement in Mississippi from the viewpoint of the courageous women who lived through it.
•“Sisters in Law” (6:30 p.m. Sept. 30): Two women in Cameroon — a lawyer and judge — take on a male-dominated culture where abuse of women has been institutionalized.
‘Watch Out’
Kansas filmmaker Steve Balderson’s new film “Watch Out” will premiere at London’s Raindance Film Festival in early October. The film is an offbeat study of a young egoist only interested in having sex with himself.
Brit film critic M.J. Simpson, whose Web site ( www.mjsimpson.co.uk) is devoted to the international cult movie scene, called it “one of the great cult films of all time.”
“ ‘Watch Out’ sits somewhere between intense character study and black comedy,” Simpson writes. “There are some laugh-out-loud moments, but really it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen.”
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To reach Robert Butler, call 816-234-4760 or send e-mail to bbutler@kcstar.com.
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