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Adrenaline Junkies in a Mañana Town
Review of Taos Mountain Film Festival and Guide to Visiting Taos
For Film Festival Channel TV
Review of Taos Mountain Film Festival and Guide to Visiting Taos
For Film Festival Channel TV
There comes a moment at the Taos Mountain Film Festival when you start feeling like a wimp if you haven’t hurled yourself over a
cliff recently, kayaked the Orinoco, or out-skied an avalanche.
The festival focuses on films with a wilderness theme – mountains, rivers, deserts, and rainforests - and the many ways in which
humans challenge themselves in the most daunting environments on earth, whether for sport, exploration, or the preservation of
the natural world. This leads to much awe-inspiring footage from remote locations most of us will never see, and edge-of-the-
seat moments as you wonder how the devil they’ll get out of this one. (You can rest assured that the cameraman survived – he’s
doing a Q&A session later.) Click HERE to read
cliff recently, kayaked the Orinoco, or out-skied an avalanche.
The festival focuses on films with a wilderness theme – mountains, rivers, deserts, and rainforests - and the many ways in which
humans challenge themselves in the most daunting environments on earth, whether for sport, exploration, or the preservation of
the natural world. This leads to much awe-inspiring footage from remote locations most of us will never see, and edge-of-the-
seat moments as you wonder how the devil they’ll get out of this one. (You can rest assured that the cameraman survived – he’s
doing a Q&A session later.) Click HERE to read
"Those teepees need Viagra.” Chris Eyre and Sherman Alexie at the Taos film festival
Images of Indians in film: The Good, The Bad, and The Stereotype.
Full story in PDF
Images of Indians in film: The Good, The Bad, and The Stereotype.
Full story in PDF
The Show Must Go On Lake Constance is not just a backdrop to the Bregenzer
Festspiele’s Floating Stage. Directors use the lake for deliberate impact – in
Carmen’s first act the brawling girls tumble into the water, and Fidelio’s Don
Fernando zooms to the stage by speedboat.
There are accidental effects too - one tenor fell in while playing a ‘dying’ scene. In
any event, Opera Director Eva Kleinitz says security divers pull performers out so fast
they barely register the dunking.
Whatever the weather, outdoor venues are special enough to attract big audiences
and big name performers. Tania Casselle looks at the unique potential and
challenges of leading open-air venues in the US and Europe, including Sweden’s
Dalhalla, Austria’s Bregenzer Festspiele, London’s Kenwood, The Greek Hellenic
Festival, and America’s Filene Center/Wolf Trap, Red Rocks, and Santa Fe Opera.
Festspiele’s Floating Stage. Directors use the lake for deliberate impact – in
Carmen’s first act the brawling girls tumble into the water, and Fidelio’s Don
Fernando zooms to the stage by speedboat.
There are accidental effects too - one tenor fell in while playing a ‘dying’ scene. In
any event, Opera Director Eva Kleinitz says security divers pull performers out so fast
they barely register the dunking.
Whatever the weather, outdoor venues are special enough to attract big audiences
and big name performers. Tania Casselle looks at the unique potential and
challenges of leading open-air venues in the US and Europe, including Sweden’s
Dalhalla, Austria’s Bregenzer Festspiele, London’s Kenwood, The Greek Hellenic
Festival, and America’s Filene Center/Wolf Trap, Red Rocks, and Santa Fe Opera.
| Tania Casselle Freelance Writer |
Teens Take Taos “So, what do you want to film today?” asked video maker David Wilson to a quartet of
teenagers, laden with cameras and mikes. The group gazed around in silence, squinting in the bright
New Mexico sun, then erupted in a torrent of ideas.
How students from Massachusetts, California, and all points between went hands-on with indie film gurus
Miranda July, Art Jones, and Mindy Faber in the Taos Teen Media Conference.
Release Print is the magazine of the Film Arts Foundation.
teenagers, laden with cameras and mikes. The group gazed around in silence, squinting in the bright
New Mexico sun, then erupted in a torrent of ideas.
How students from Massachusetts, California, and all points between went hands-on with indie film gurus
Miranda July, Art Jones, and Mindy Faber in the Taos Teen Media Conference.
Release Print is the magazine of the Film Arts Foundation.
Upturn Downtown – The Lensic Performing Arts Center, Santa Fe
The reinvention of a former vaudeville theater in one of America’s ‘Wild West’
cities gives a shot in the arm to Santa Fe’s arts and culture.
The reinvention of a former vaudeville theater in one of America’s ‘Wild West’
cities gives a shot in the arm to Santa Fe’s arts and culture.
| Miranda July and Student Photo: Tania Casselle |
Writers on Radio I’m the host for Writers on Radio, a literary chat show sponsored by SOMOS
for stations in New Mexico/ Colorado, including NPR-affiliate KRZA, and KTAO, KVOT, etc.
I've interviewed authors and poets including Pam Houston, Natalie Goldberg, John Nichols,
Antonya Nelson, John DuFresne, Tara Ison, Lisa Tucker, Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, Levi Romero,
Robert Westbrook, Miriam Sagan, Dana Levin, Don Waters, Robin Romm, Matt Donovan,
Rick Collignon, Mirabai Starr, Judith Arcana, Eliezer Sobel, Judyth Hill, Heather King,
Barbara Waters, Mark Scott, Anya Achtenberg, Katie Kingston, Lara Santoro, and many others.
Interviews are archived on the web by producers Cultural Energy for listeners all over the world.
for stations in New Mexico/ Colorado, including NPR-affiliate KRZA, and KTAO, KVOT, etc.
I've interviewed authors and poets including Pam Houston, Natalie Goldberg, John Nichols,
Antonya Nelson, John DuFresne, Tara Ison, Lisa Tucker, Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, Levi Romero,
Robert Westbrook, Miriam Sagan, Dana Levin, Don Waters, Robin Romm, Matt Donovan,
Rick Collignon, Mirabai Starr, Judith Arcana, Eliezer Sobel, Judyth Hill, Heather King,
Barbara Waters, Mark Scott, Anya Achtenberg, Katie Kingston, Lara Santoro, and many others.
Interviews are archived on the web by producers Cultural Energy for listeners all over the world.
Tania Casselle & poet Sam Taylor.
Photo: Robin Collier/Cultural Energy
Photo: Robin Collier/Cultural Energy
| | | | | | | | |
From Monkey Mind to Wild Mind Just as a writer must sit down and face a white page, so the Zen
master must sit on a meditation cushion and face a white wall - hour after hour, day after day. Both
are tormented by the chatter of Monkey Mind. For writers, there’s a lesson to be learned from the
Zen way of taming the monkey… Author Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones) tells us how.
“In our society we all have this great need to be productive," says Goldberg. "Writing practice can be
very frightening because I’m asking people to step into the emptiness of their own mind, with no
project. That’s the landscape of the writer, understanding the mind.”
master must sit on a meditation cushion and face a white wall - hour after hour, day after day. Both
are tormented by the chatter of Monkey Mind. For writers, there’s a lesson to be learned from the
Zen way of taming the monkey… Author Natalie Goldberg (Writing Down the Bones) tells us how.
“In our society we all have this great need to be productive," says Goldberg. "Writing practice can be
very frightening because I’m asking people to step into the emptiness of their own mind, with no
project. That’s the landscape of the writer, understanding the mind.”
Eyre exposes the heart and muscle beneath 'Skins' Movie fans awaiting the follow-up to director Chris
Eyre's hit feature Smoke Signals will not be disappointed by Skins.
Filmed on location at the Pine Ridge Reservation, Skins tells the story of Rudy Yellow Lodge (Eric Schweig), a
reservation cop whose job includes regular encounters with his unruly but endearing brother Mogie (Graham
Greene). Haunted by memories of Vietnam, the alcoholic Mogie is a source of constant challenge for Rudy,
while Rudy also finds himself stepping outside the law in his determination to ensure justice on the
reservation. The tragedy that unfolds leads Mogie and Rudy into deep and dark waters, where they are finally
able to start healing their relationship, and the legacy of their pasts.
The climax of Skins presents a breathtaking moment of defiance at Mount Rushmore, involving a one-on-one
showdown between Rudy Yellow Lodge and George Washington.
"Skins is a very patriotic movie,” says Chris Eyre. “Rudy as a trickster is making a statement. He's counting
coup. Patriotism isn't about waving a flag. It's about exercising your right to challenge, to question and improve
and to open up dialogues about ways to make this country better.”
Full interview with Chris Eyre for Indian Country Today.
Eyre's hit feature Smoke Signals will not be disappointed by Skins.
Filmed on location at the Pine Ridge Reservation, Skins tells the story of Rudy Yellow Lodge (Eric Schweig), a
reservation cop whose job includes regular encounters with his unruly but endearing brother Mogie (Graham
Greene). Haunted by memories of Vietnam, the alcoholic Mogie is a source of constant challenge for Rudy,
while Rudy also finds himself stepping outside the law in his determination to ensure justice on the
reservation. The tragedy that unfolds leads Mogie and Rudy into deep and dark waters, where they are finally
able to start healing their relationship, and the legacy of their pasts.
The climax of Skins presents a breathtaking moment of defiance at Mount Rushmore, involving a one-on-one
showdown between Rudy Yellow Lodge and George Washington.
"Skins is a very patriotic movie,” says Chris Eyre. “Rudy as a trickster is making a statement. He's counting
coup. Patriotism isn't about waving a flag. It's about exercising your right to challenge, to question and improve
and to open up dialogues about ways to make this country better.”
Full interview with Chris Eyre for Indian Country Today.
Contact me HERE
Actors Eric Schweig
& Graham Greene
& Graham Greene
Copyright © 2010 · All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2010 · All Rights Reserved
A Western State of Mind
Book review of Best of the West 2009: New Stories from the Wide Side of the Missouri
(edited by James Thomas and D. Seth Horton). Full review at High Country News.
The Stories We Believe
Book Review of Madewell Brown by Rick Collignon, the fourth in his "Guadalupe" series.
Full review at High Country News.
Book review of Best of the West 2009: New Stories from the Wide Side of the Missouri
(edited by James Thomas and D. Seth Horton). Full review at High Country News.
The Stories We Believe
Book Review of Madewell Brown by Rick Collignon, the fourth in his "Guadalupe" series.
Full review at High Country News.
Reading with a Writer's Eye: Clues on Craft
Chapter in Novel & Short Story Writer's Market 2010 (Writers Digest Books, Aug 2009)
"What's your best tip for new writers?" That’s a question I’ve asked more than 50 authors in radio interviews,
and they’re often quick to reply: "Read! Read a lot. Read with a writer's eye."
It's advice that newer writers sometimes take with a grain of salt, perhaps suspecting that those already on the
publishing ladder are just trying to sell more books. And even if we do take their advice, what does it mean to
read with a writer's eye? We don't want to sound like someone else, we have our own voice and style. So how
can reading other people's work practically help with our own writing?
Chapter includes advice from authors Pam Houston, Lisa Tucker, John Dufresne, John Nichols, Robin Romm,
Tara Ison, Don Waters, etc.
Chapter in Novel & Short Story Writer's Market 2010 (Writers Digest Books, Aug 2009)
"What's your best tip for new writers?" That’s a question I’ve asked more than 50 authors in radio interviews,
and they’re often quick to reply: "Read! Read a lot. Read with a writer's eye."
It's advice that newer writers sometimes take with a grain of salt, perhaps suspecting that those already on the
publishing ladder are just trying to sell more books. And even if we do take their advice, what does it mean to
read with a writer's eye? We don't want to sound like someone else, we have our own voice and style. So how
can reading other people's work practically help with our own writing?
Chapter includes advice from authors Pam Houston, Lisa Tucker, John Dufresne, John Nichols, Robin Romm,
Tara Ison, Don Waters, etc.
Winner for Radio Interview: National Federation of Press Women Communications Awards 2010
For an interview with author Alisa Valdes- Rodriguez on KRZA & KTAO
Winner and 2nd Place for Radio Interviews: New Mexico Press Women's Communications
Awards 2009 For interviews with bilingual poet Levi Romero; and novelist Frances Washburn
discussing readers' expectations of Native writers, on KRZA, KTAO, and KLDK.
For an interview with author Alisa Valdes- Rodriguez on KRZA & KTAO
Winner and 2nd Place for Radio Interviews: New Mexico Press Women's Communications
Awards 2009 For interviews with bilingual poet Levi Romero; and novelist Frances Washburn
discussing readers' expectations of Native writers, on KRZA, KTAO, and KLDK.