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The
Filmmakers
Director's
Biography
Rustin Thompson is a Seattle-based filmmaker and co-owner
(along with his wife, producer and writer, Ann Hedreen) of
White Noise Productions, a documentary and video production
company specializing in feature-length films and short videos
for non-profits and environmental groups.
His
most recent work, the feature length documentary, 30 Frames
A Second: The WTO in Seattle, was named Best Documentary at
the Chicago and Seattle Underground film festivals, the Portland
Festival of World Cinema, and winner of a Chris Award at the
Columbus Film Festival. It was picked up by Bullfrog Films,
a veteran educational distribution company.
Thompson
began his career in broadcast television as a reporter, photographer,
and editor for several network affiliates, and spent 10 years
as a freelance cameraman for CBS News, ABC, NBC, ESPN, The
Learning Channel, and other programs. His television work
has earned 9 regional and national Emmys, as well as other
awards.
White
Noise Productions is currently in production on a documentary
about microlending programs in Central America. Thompson and
Hedreen live in Seattle with their two children, Claire and
Nick.
Director's
statement:
False Promises: The Lost Land of the Wenatchi
As
a filmmaker and storyteller, I'm intrigued by the opportunity
to gain access to worlds, cultures, and events that most of
us never get to experience. Whether it is the chaos of an
anti-globalization protest, the streets of a Central American
village, or the home of an American Indian, I'm first drawn
to a potential project by the characters involved and the
visual possibilities. This was the case with the Wenatchi
Indians and their 150 year old tale of betrayal at the hands
of the US government.
I've
driven through the Eastern Washington town of Wenatchee countless
times and never realized there was a Native American tribe
of the same name. Nor that their original homeland lay in
what is now Leavenworth, WA, a la-la land of Bavarian knick-knacks
and hand-carved "Wilkommen" signs. When I learned that the
Wenatchis were re-igniting their struggle to have their aboriginal
fishing, hunting, and gathering rights recognized, and that
they had two federally ratified treaties to prove their claim,
I decided to make this documentary. With the assistance of
the tribe and their research historian, we set out to tell
the story of the broken treaties and the present day fight
for recognition.
Using
the words and songs of the Wenatchi people; the rich trove
of historical documents and photos; the dry but picturesqe
plains of the Colville Indian Reservation (where the Wenatchis
now live), and the wild forests and rivers of the Cascade
mountains, the resulting film, False Promises, weaves a tale
of a lost land, a proud people, and a hopeful quest for justice.
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