Film professor returns from Sundance

By Jennifer Torline

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Kevin Willmott describes “The Only Good Indian,” his film that made it to the Sundance Film Festival, a “mini-epic” because it was a big film made on a small budget.

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By Jerry Wang

KU professors Bob Hurst, supervising sound editor, Kevin Willmott, director and producer, and Matt Jacobson, cinematographer, just returned from the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Willmott was showing his new independent film, "The Only Good Indian."

Willmott, associate professor of theatre and film, and a group of students and professors returned last week from Sundance, one of the world’s largest independent film festivals. At the festival, they promoted the “mini-epic” and networked with distributors.

“All of our screenings were sold out before we got there,” Willmott said. “I think we were one of the buzz movies of the festival.”

More than 9,000 films were entered in the festival. “The Only Good Indian” was chosen as one of 118 films screened at the festival, which took place from Jan. 15 to 25. The crew is now trying to distribute and sell the film.

“We got some nibbles at Sundance,” said Matt Jacobson, the film’s director of photography and associate professor of theatre and film. “There has been some initial work toward international and national sales, and we’ll have to see how everything works out in the next couple of weeks.”

Robert Hurst, assistant professor of theatre and film, was the supervising sound editor for the film. Hurst, Willmott and Jacobson used “The Only Good Indian” as a way to teach their students. More than 30 of their former and current students helped in the production and editing of the film at Oldfather Studios, 1621 W. Ninth St.

“The only way to really become a filmmaker is you have to go and make films,” Willmott said. “It’s a nice experience for them to see a real movie being made.”

To support the film and their professors, 12 students piled into a van and drove 20 hours to Park City, Utah for Sundance. They met up with other students and spent a week helping the crew of “The Only Good Indian.”

Jessica Richardson, Independence, Mo., junior, organized the students’ trip.

“We decided that if they were going, we were going to take a group of students because it’s nice to have a school showing that teachers can be academic and still be in the film world,” Richardson said.

The students also watched other independent films and spotted celebrities such as Robin Williams, Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor.

“It was pretty amazing to be able to go there with a film as a student,” Jon Tenholder, Topeka senior, said. “It was a really valuable experience, and it helped my knowledge with the industry.”

But before reaching the Sundance Festival, the crew of “The Only Good Indian” spent more than a year on the film from start to finish.

It all began when Thomas Carmody, a Lawrence resident and KU graduate, wrote the script and asked Willmott in 2007 to direct the film.

“The Only Good Indian” is based on the history of Haskell Indian Nations University. It follows a Native American teenager who is taken from his home and placed in a boarding school during the early 1900s. Willmott said the people who ran such boarding schools forced Native Americans to assimilate into white culture.

“These were people who thought they were doing the right thing,” Willmott said. “Unfortunately they did not understand that trying to turn someone into someone else is always a bad thing.”

More than 100 students, professors and working professionals helped in the filming process.

“It’s such a collaborative experience,” Hurst said. “It’s really interesting because everyone has an opinion and the more ideas you have, the better the film gets.”

Jacobson said the crew shot the film in many different areas of Kansas — from town scenes in Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita to the Watkins Community Museum of History on Massachusetts Street to a ranch outside of Cottonwood Falls. Jacobson said some challenges during the filming included extreme heat and late summer rains.

Muriel Green, Pittsburg senior, was a second unit camera operator for the movie. She said the professors made it a priority to let students help with the movie because they could learn more on a set than in the classroom.

“It might have been more efficient for them to hire professionals, but they wanted students to have the opportunity to work on the set,’ Green said.

Willmott and Jacobson had previously worked together on “C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America,” which made it to the 2004 Sundance Festival.

Willmott said he was proud of the crew’s work on “The Only Good Indian” not only because of the film’s success, but because the crew made what he called a “bold move” in producing the film.

“You have to believe in who you are and what you’re doing,” Willmott said. “There are no guarantees, but not doing it is always worse than doing it and failing.”

To promote the movie locally, Willmott said he was planning a hometown screening with the University and Haskell sometime during the coming months so that students could see the movie.

— Edited by Carly Halvorson

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