KalaniBrian
ABOUT THE WRITER

Kalani Queypo (Blackfeet/Hawaiian) started out as a theater actor in New York City, originating roles onstage in over a dozen world premiere productions. Since moving to Hollywood, Kalani has appeared in Terence Malick's "The New World" and Steven Spielberg's "Into the West."

In an interview with journalist Robert Schmidt for Newspaper Rock, Kalani said of the "Ancestor Eyes" script: "I really wanted to do an homage to matriarchal power, to the love between a mother and daughter. An homage to the life-givers and caregivers."

On his role as writer/producer/director: "I felt like I was doing three jobs at once. And it's sort of like having too many children. You feel like you cant pay enough attention to each one."

Writer/Director Queypo (left) gets a helping hand from 1st Assistant Director Brian Wescott on location in Malibu, CA.
ANCESTOR EYES
(2007, 19 mins.)
Writer/Director: Kalani Queypo
Producers: Kalani Queypo, Angela Koenen
Mentors: David Lewis, John Blizek
Executive Producers: Paula Starr and James Lujan
Cast: Tantoo Cardinal, Rulan Tangen, Raoul Trujillo

Onscreen: A mother searches for answers within her Native teachings as she struggles to come to terms with her adult daughter's terminal illness.

Offscreen: "Ancestor Eyes" marked a turning point for the Creative Spirit program in particular and for InterTribal Entertainment overall, about whether or not this nonprofit organization's forays into film production were going to be taken seriously in terms of artistic and technical credibility. "I was very proud of our accomplishments the first year of Creative Spirit," said Exec Producer James Lujan, "but one bit of backhanded feedback that I got from someone in the industry about the films was that they were 'cute.' It was intended as a compliment, but I felt it was somewhat dismissive of what we had worked so hard to achieve with so little time and so little money. Because of that, for the second year, I wanted to make sure that we put a priority on pursuing scripts with a depth of complexity and maturity, and maybe even poetry, which would be capable of profoundly affecting an adult audience on an emotional level."

The Creative Spirit judging panel accomplished this with "Two Spirits, One Journey" and, in particular, with "Ancestor Eyes," in which they found a script that connected particularly with adult audiences. "After one of our screenings," recalls Lujan, "I saw an older man wiping tears from his eyes, who later told me that (the film) made him think of his relationship with his daughter." To date, "Ancestor
RulanTantoo
Eyes" has won the most awards and been in more festivals than any other Creative Spirit film. "All the credit goes to Kalani," says Lujan of the writer/director. "I saw how single-minded he was in his vision and I let him go for it.

"Doing so pushed the boundaries of the organization's already limited resources to be able to pull it off, but months later, after it started winning awards, it allowed us to believe that we could produce work that's as good as anything else out there, and that the sky's the limit."

Film Festivals: 2007 L.A. Skins Fest, 2008 Action on Film International Film Festival (Short Film - Best Drama), 2008 American Indian Film Festival, 2008 USA Film Festival (Short Film Finalist), 2008 Rhode Island International Film Festival (Directorial Discovery Award), 2008 Santa Fe Film Festival, 2008 Next Gen Film Festival (Audience Award - Best Short Narrative), 2008 Twin Rivers Media Festival (2nd Place, Experimental/Narrative Films), 2008 Talking Stick Film Festival, 2008-09 Connecticut Film Festival, 2008 Woods Hole Film Festival, 2008 Indie Fest USA (Best Music Score), 2008 Montana CINE International Film Festival (Honorable Mention for Storytelling), 2008 Port Townsend Film Festival, 2008 Landlocked Film Festival, 2008 Wild Rose Independent Film Festival, 2009 North American Indigenous Image Awards (Best Short Film), 2009 National 2009 Honolulu International Film Festival (Aloha Award), 2009 International Cherokee Film Festival (Spirit Award - Short Film), 2009 Mexico International Film Festival (Golden Palm Award), 2009 Indigenous World Film Festival, 2009 Smogdance Film Festival, 2009 Cowichan International Aborginal Film Festival, 2009 San Joaquin International Film Festival, 2010 Native Punx Short Films, 2010 Sedona Native American Film Festival
KalaniBrian
ABOUT THE WRITER

Kalani Queypo (Blackfeet/Hawaiian) started out as a theater actor in New York City, originating roles onstage in over a dozen world premiere productions. Since moving to Hollywood, Kalani has appeared in Terence Malick's "The New World" and Steven Spielberg's "Into the West."

In an interview with journalist Robert Schmidt for Newspaper Rock, Kalani said of the "Ancestor Eyes" script: "I really wanted to do an homage to matriarchal power, to the love between a mother and daughter. An homage to the life-givers and caregivers."

On his role as writer/producer/director: "I felt like I was doing three jobs at once. And it's sort of like having too many children. You feel like you cant pay enough attention to each one."

Writer/Director Queypo (left) gets a helping hand from 1st Assistant Director Brian Wescott on location in Malibu, CA.