A Navajo boy stoically endures hardship, hunger and the death of his family.

A Navajo boy stoically endures hardship, hunger and the death of his family. He is taken away to attend a white man boarding school and escapes but is pursued to ancient Navajo caves. Magnificently filmed at majestic Canyon de Chelly and nominated for two Academy Awards®.

In the title role, a seven-year-old Navajo boy, Francis Kee Teller, received a Golden Globe special award even though he had never seen a movie until viewing his own performance.

Cinematographer Virgil Miller started out in silent pictures and became known primarily for filming travelogues. He had a reputation for keeping cameras rolling in remote locations under adverse weather conditions. The producers needed a cameraman with those qualities, and tracked him down at a camera shop where he repaired photographic equipment. At age 64, Miller took on the challenge of working in freezing cold, with only one camera, a tripod and four reflectors, and came away with an Academy Award® nomination, and a full spread in the prestigious American Cinematographer.

The working title was 'The Voice of the Wind,' and despite a shoestring $30,000 production budget, a threatened ban by the Indian Service, harsh weather and terrain, infighting between the co-producers, the picture went on to earn universal critical acclaim.

Media

Watch trailer »

Bonus Materials

• Commentary by Francis Kee Teller
• 'Canyon de Chelly' Photo-essay by Deborah Lem, Diné
• 'The Canyon Matters” by Genny Yazzie, Diné
• 1952 National Publicity Tour with Mr. Teller (age 8)
• 'Our Navajo Neighbors' 1952 documentary
• 2K scan from the Academy Film Archive preservation negative

Cast & Crew

•       Francis Kee Teller as Son of the Hunter
•       John Mitchell as Grey Singer
•       Mrs. Kee Teller as Good Weaver
•       Sammy Ogg as Narrator
•       William Draper as Billy - Ute Guide
•       Hall Bartlett as School Counselor

Director: Norman Foster

Producer: Hall Bartlett

Producer: Norman Foster

Additional Details

Label: Kit Parker Films

Genre: Drama

Language: English

Run Time: 72 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 10/13/20

UPC: 760137404194