LIFE ON THE REZ GETS EXTRA BOOST FROM SUNDANCE

On Halloween Day, Blake More opened her mail box to an extra special treat from the Sundance Institute: The PAHS Peer Helping filmmakers were accepted in Sundance's 2003 Reel Studio Young Filmmakers Program. One of 14 youth groups selected nationwide, the creators of LIFE ON THE REZ: Coast Pomo Youth Speak Out will have the opportunity to be involved in a very special program which includes numerous film screenings and receptions, question and answer sessions with filmmakers, a digital center tour, and workshops led by professional filmmakers (topics include cinematography, editing with a point of view, screenplay writing and short filmmaking). "I knew when we made this video that something good was going to come out of it, I just had no idea that it was going to take us this far," says Darrel "Hishim" Bechtol, the director of last year's video. "I can't wait to meet Robert Redford. I have something to tell him," added Brandon Wilder, the composer of two of the video's original songs. Scheduled to leave town on January 17th, five PAHS youth¾ Darrell Bechtol, Melanie Ilar, Vincent Murrufo, Brandi Robinson, Brandon Wilder¾will fly (all for the first time ever) to Park City, Utah for a week of inspiration and recognition for their hard earned efforts. Halfway to their funding goal of $8,000, they really hope they can make it all the way. "Unfortunately, housing in Park City is extremely expensive this time of year due to the international reputation of the Sundance Film Festival. $8,000 is a lot of money, and, believe it or not, it's the low end of a possible budget. Southwest Airlines gave us a travel discount, and we are planning to share a condominium with another Reel Studio youth group, which will allow us to economize on space and meals," says Blake More, one of the video project's creative mentors.

On Monday, November 4th, the group showed their video to a captive Gualala Arts audience in the Gualala Arts sponsored Lecture Series. After the showing, Wilder and Bechtol fielded questions from the rapt crowd, many of whom praised the youth and their "raw and real" efforts at preserving their unique cultural heritage.

Of course, the PAHS peer helping youth aren't just riding on last year's successes, this year's video project, titled "Who I Am", is already fully underway. As Bechtol told the audience, "We plan to go deeper into the topics we brought up in the last video and clear up some of the negative attitudes we presented. Racism, alcoholism, domestic violence, politics, sexism, as well as some of the good things we do as Indians will be in this video." "We also plan to include some important cultural information, short fictional pieces, some humor, and more original music. We want to tell more of our story. Who I Am answers a question we all want to know," says Wilder.

If anyone would like to make a donation to the PAHS Peer Helping Sundance Fund, please send a check to Mendocino County Youth Project (MCYP), PO Box 286, Point Arena, CA 95468.