Friday, July 13, 2007

Poison Wind update!

Hi to everyone and I have some news that about the film. We are coming back to the Gallup/Grants area on July 22nd and will be there until the 25/26. I have some interviews scheduled and we'll also be focusing on shooting some exterior footage & b-roll for the film. After that the picture will be "locked" and we'll be concentrating on getting it ready for submission to the Sundance Film Festival. A cut will have to be in their office in LA by Sept 14 and my friend, Damon Watahomigie (Supai Waters), from the village of Supai, will be traveling to LA for this. He will physically hand the submission over to them. For me this will be symbolic of how the film began and Damon's part in all of this.
I had lunch with Clan/Destine 2 weeks ago and we talked about their music possibly being involved with the film. They have some wonderful CD's out, which are available for download on iTunes. One song in particular I like VERY much and think would work for the documentary is 'Inner Soul." Dave Montour called me today to say they are still interested in talking more about the project. He & Cano are headed back into the studio soon to work on a new CD for Clan 2 Destine.
Check them out at: http://www.canyonrecords.com/cr7037.htm
This week I will be getting ready for our trip to NM and also meeting with a designer about a website for POISON WIND. My editor, Keegan Ead, will be busy going through some more of the 52 hours of film we have in the can. He has put together a teaser, which runs 6 minutes or so...with a great POISON WIND effect at the end. Mitch Abbott put that together using Adobe After Effects. This clip is NOT a movie trailer in the true sense but it is meant to let people know where we are headed with this documentary. http://www.poisonwindmovie.com/
The teaser plays off of Keegan's website for now and that process will change once we have a site built for it. So bear with it as it may take a minute to begin playing depending on what browser you're using and also if you have Quicktime installed. I will be bringing some DVD's with me next week and if anyone would like me to mail them one I can do that. Just email me with your address at: jennypond@poisonwindmovie.com

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Introduction

My name is Jenny Pond and, along with Norman Patrick Brown, I am producing a documentary about uranium mining and the devastating effect that it has on the people, livestock, water and agriculture in New Mexico and Arizona. This film has been in production since late January and will be filming through July of this year. It came about through a chance meeting, which took place in November of 2006, some 5,000+ feet down in the Grand Canyon when I first met one of the principals in our film...Damon Watahomigie. He approached me with information concerning uranium mining on the Kaibab Plateau and the current onslaught of interest by mining companies seeking to drill for ore on the Havasuapi's scared sites...as well as in the canyon itself. Pre-production for the film began soon after we first spoke and since then we have interviewed members of the Navajo Nation (Diné), Shoshone of Nevada, Acoma Pueblo and Laguna Pueblo. The impact of this holocaust can be felt throughout the Indigenous lands here and reverberates in countries such as Brazil, India and in places such as the Amazon. These concerns were addressed last year at the Indigenous World Uranium Summit at Window Rock, Navajo Nation (Arizona), USA (see links) when activists from all over the world came to express their concerns over the dangers of uranium mining.
Our goal is bring this film to the public by submitting it to film festivals throughout the country and abroad. We hope to raise the level of awareness concerning the hideous tactics used by mining companies in relationship to the actual mining of this monster and the lack of compenstation. Please feel free to contact us at any time with information or interview requests. Thank you.