Description
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
Bonus Materials
- Commentary by Francis Kee Teller
- 'Canyon de Chelly' Photo-essay by Deborah Lem, Diné
- 'The Canyon Mattersâ 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
Actors:- 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
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