From Wounded Knee to Standing Rock: A Reporter's Journey |
2019 Documentary - 89 Minutes - Color - USA |
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At times poignant and educational, Kevin McKiernan's documentary offers a meditative look into
the complexities of revolution. Tracing the history of Native American activism from the 1970s
to the present day, McKiernan repurposes archival footage to chronicle the longtime search for
lost identity and reparations.
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"A humane but unflinching look at one of the most famous indigenous resistance groups in modern history."- The New Republic
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Bringing King to China |
2008 Documentary - 85 Minutes - Color - USA |
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Bringing King to China is a documentary film about culture, race
and human rights. The film brings Martin Luther King's dream of equality and peace to China—and
then brings it back to the U.S. The filmmakers are Kevin McKiernan and Oscar-winning cinematographer
Haskell Wexler. The film premiered in 2011 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
More about the film >>
"Riveting cultural exchange (set) against a father-daughter love story"- Documentary Magazine
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Good Kurds, Bad Kurds |
2001 Documentary - 81 Minutes - Color - USA |
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A war of national liberation or war against terrorism?
Filmmaker and acclaimed freelance journalist Kevin
McKiernan poses this question at the outset of this
stirring, provocative film shot in part by legendary
cinematographer Haskell Wexler. It's all in how you
define "good"and "bad". "Good
Kurds" are
those in Iraq: they are Saddam Hussein's victims,
whom we want to help. "Bad Kurds" are those
waging an armed insurrection against Turkey, an American
ally: they are the receiving end of US weaponry.
During the first Gulf War, McKiernan went to northern
Iraq
to cover the uprising against Saddam Hussein. Just a few
miles away no one was covering the hidden war in
Turkey. McKiernan determined he would report the
story independently.
Good Kurds, Bad Kurds -- nine years in the
making -- delves deeply into the U.S.'s complicity in this
human
rights disaster, indicting the mainstream news outlets
that, by staying quiet, help perpetuate the violence. Shot
in
part by three-time Academy Award winner Haskell Wexler,
Good Kurds, Bad Kurds travels from Santa Barbara, California,
home to a
small Kurdish refugee community, to Washington, D.C,
where an activist struggles to gain the attention of lawmakers
and the media and fight his deportation, and to Turkey,
where the anti-Kurd campaign continues. Good
Kurds, Bad Kurds brings sharp clarity
to a complicated history, while providing disturbing insight
into immigration practices and US foreign policy.
Director/Producer: Kevin McKiernan
Cinematographers:: Haskell Wexler, Kevin McKiernan
Editor: Thomas G. Miller
Music: Bronwen Jones
Reviews >>
Awards >>
Screenings >>
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The Spirit of Crazy Horse |
1990 Documentary - 60 Minutes - Color - USA |
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"The heart of everything that is." These are the words that the Lakota Indians use to describe
their ancestral homeland, the Black Hills of South Dakota. Those million acres form the spiritual
core of the Lakota culture, and it's a land they have struggled to reclaim for a century.
"The Spirit of Crazy Horse" is an eye-opening vision of their quest, which has shaped the
lives and destiny of the Lakota for six generations. It is a tale recounted by Milo Yellow Hair,
a full blood Lakota, whose great-grandfather fought General Custer at the Little Big Horn. While
the story echoes with famous names like Wounded Knee - the last major Indian slaughter a century
ago - this is more than a tale of long lost wars. The Spirit of Crazy Horse reveals the modern Lakota
struggle to regain their heritage, and how places like Wounded Knee became sites for a fight that continues
still. The program carries us through the militant confrontations of the early 1960s and 1970s, the
explosive results of 100 years of confinement on Indian reservations. The Spirit of Crazy Horse takes
us past the clichés about the problems of life on the reservation, and puts the issues in a meaningful
context of Indian culture. By investigating the simmering conflict of recent decades, The Spirit of
Crazy Horse also offers a clear perspective on the crucial choices that lie ahead. While the U.S.
Supreme Court has ruled that the Black Hills were stolen from the Lakota, the fight for the return
of the land rages on. In the shadow of Mount Rushmore, the Lakota version of their sacred homeland
still thrives, and The Spirit of Crazy Horse is a moving portrait of those hopes and aspirations.
In the face of hard choices, the descendants of the famous warrior Crazy Horse carry his spirit on.
Producers: Michel Dubois, Kevin McKiernan
Narrator: Milo Yellow Hair
Director and Photographer: James Locker
Editor: Nathaniel Dorsky
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