Copyright © 2007 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Just a reminder to mark your calendar for the 7:30 pm ICFF Awards Reception on Saturday, Oct. 13 at the Cherokee Casino Resort Grand Ballroom in Tulsa. Filmmakers Chris Eyre, Tonantzin Carmelo, Michael Spears and others will be there. Following the ICFF Awards Reception is a special screening of award winning director/producer Chris Eyre's new film IMPRINT that features Tonantzin and Michael Spears. Among other films to be screened on Oct. 12 -13, there two international entries this year... one from Australia and the other was filmed in India. The ICFF Program of Events will be available this coming week. The poster (ICFF 2007 Banner) presents a few details for this year's ICFF. Hope to see you there! IMPRINT...Chris Eyre and Linn Productions film IMPRINT, is a contemporary Native American dramatic supernatural thriller that tells the story of Shayla Stonefeather (Tonantzin Carmelo), a prominent Native American attorney who has turned away from her people and the dreams of her youth. When she returns to the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in the Badlands of South Dakota, her ancestral home, to visit her dying father, apparitions begin to haunt her with a frightening vision she does not want to believe ABOUT IMPRINT PRODUCER CHRIS EYRE: People Magazine called Chris Eyre "...the preeminent Native American filmmaker of his time". Geoff Gilmore, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, has simply called him "...a great American filmmaker." Chris Eyre is Cheyenne and Arapaho. His first feature, Smoke Signals won numerous awards worldwide and made him a unique figure; becoming the first Native American director to ever make a movie that received national theatrical release. Before that, Eyre attended the prestigious Graduate Film program at New York University, and in 1995, his short film Tenacity won best film. Other films directed by Mr. Eyre have screened at the Sundance Film Festival seven times. Some of his other films include: Smoke Signals (1998) with Adam Beach and Gary Farmer; Skins (2002) Graham Green and Eric Schweig; Skinwalkers (2002) with executive producer, Robert Redford, with Adam Beach and Wes Studi; A Thief in Time (2003), executive producer Robert Redford, based on the Tony Hillerman novel; Edge of America (2004) , for which Mr. Eyre won a Directors Guild of America Award, with James McDaniel and Tim Daly; A Thousand Roads (2005) executive producers, Peter Guber and Richard West, Jr., made for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian where it plays an exclusive and unlimited engagement in Washington, D.C. Awards include: NHK/Sundance Cinema 100 Award - $300,000; Taos Land Grant Award - 5 acres; Rockefeller Film Fellowship; Director Guild Award; Hatch Festival's Native Spirit Award; Sundance Film Festival's Filmmaker's Trophy and the Audience Award. Chris Eyre's vision as a filmmaker continues in the vein of Native America and when asked if he'll make a movie with no Indian characters Eyre response is a quick, "Of course, but I'm also interested in the lack of Native representation on screen. The cultural aspects of my films mean nothing if I am not personally and emotionally engaged in the characters you're watching and I'm interested in the people I'm portraying. People Magazine called Chris Eyre "...the preeminent Native American filmmaker of his time". Geoff Gilmore, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, has simply called him "...a great American filmmaker". Chris Eyre has served on numerous film festival juries including the Sundance Film Festival and the Tribecca Film Festival. Mr. Eyre is represented by Craig Gering at CAA in Los Angeles. TONANTZIN CARMELO (below) plays the lead role in IMPRINT. She garnered critical acclaim for her stage roles in world premier plays such as Malinche, Exmagare, and the Equity productions of Jump Kiss and Please Do Not Touch the Indians. She was the lead actress in the film Street Kings, and 187 Shadow Lane; Unearthed, a sci-fi thriller. She guest starred in the prime time television show Dragnet and for her lead role of Thunder Heart Woman in the Steven Spielberg mini-series Into the West she received a prestigious nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Leading Actress in a TV Movie, a category that included distinguished actresses Joanne Woodward, Robin Wright Penn, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Cynthia Nixon. Tonantzin is also a technically trained dancer who has toured with the Modern Dance Company Daystar, and has been featured in three CDs from Canyon Records, on which she performed as a vocalist and percussionist. In her spare time Tonantzin still enjoys performing with both her parents as a dancer and a singer. Carmelo is a descendant of the original people of the Los Angeles Basin (the Tongva). She currently resides on her ancestral land where she enjoys hiking, bike riding, and the multicultural California cuisine. MICHAEL SPEARS (below) plays a featured role in IMPRINT . Michael played the lead role in the TNT/DreamWorks series Into the West, Dances with Wolves, ABC's production of the Broken Chord, Lakota Women, and SKINS and received an APA Award for best subject matter in a film. Michael has worked with many great actors such as, Jimmy Smitts and Kim Delaney. When Michael is not filming, he travels as a Guest Speaker covering topics that inspire and educate. He would like to see restoration of traditional values among the youth. His personal belief is, "Live each day well. Always remember who you are, and where you came from. Know where you want go and acknowledge those that help get you there along the way. Respect your family and yourself." For more information contact Linda Turnbull- Lewis!