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| ABOUT THE MOVIE Based on writer/director Rodrick Pocowatchit's first short film, Sleepdancer follows Derek Smith (Mark Wells), a half-Native American coroner's investigator, as he stumbles upon the mysterious Tommy Jordan (Rodrick Pocowatchit), a Native man whose father has just passed away. Tommy is vulnerable, fragile, and doesn't speak. Through a series of letters, Derek unravels Tommy's story, and becomes infatuated with helping him while his own relationship crumbles. When Tommy's bitter, disillusioned brother, Ben (Guy Ray Pocowatchit), shows up unexpectedly, Derek finds himself in the middle of a family war with many casualties. But when Tommy seeks solace in his waking dreams, the unlikely friends Ben and Derek discover that a damaged soul finds a way of healing itself. But in order to forgive others, you must first forgive yourself. Sleepdancer is about love, loss and fractured family. It explores the painful yet sometimes honest truths we don’t want to face — but must in order to survive. The initial script for the Sleepdancer short was based on one of Rod's dreams. In his dream, Rod couldn't talk, and the only time he could speak was when he was dancing. The next day, he wrote the short script. A few weeks later, he and his friends shot it over a weekend. It went on to be a finalist at the KAN Film Festival in Lawrence, KS. The feature film was made in Wichita, KS, with a local cast and crew, and features music by popular recording artist GOODING. Also featured are traditional songs by the renowned Native American drum group Tha Tribe, based in Lawrence, KS. Rod wrote the script over the last few months of 2004. Shooting began in March 2005 and wrapped in September. Rod's first feature, Dancing on the Moon, screened at film festivals across the country and abroad in Canada, Italy and the Netherlands. It was his first attempt at writing a script, and was developed with the assistance of the Sundance Institute's prestigious screenwriting labs. Sleepdancer was awarded four nominations at the 2005 American Indian Motion Picture Awards in San Francisco, including Best Feature Film, Best Director (Rodrick Pocowatchit), Best Actor (Rodrick Pocowatchit) and Best Supporting Actor (Mark Wells). It also won three 2006 American Indian L.A. Film & TV Awards: Best Film, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. Sleepdancer has been featured in several online and print rags, including NativeVue, Scene4, Native Peoples, the Chicago Reader and SCREEN magazine. |
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| ABOUT THE CAST |
| Supporting cast TJ Williams Deanie Eaton Julie Ann Baker Misty Wells Wade Hampton Ashley Pocowatchit Allie Pocowatchit Nolan Dealy Jerod Cantu Written, Edited and Directed by Rodrick Pocowatchit Produced by Rodrick Pocowatchit and Deanie Eaton Director of Photography Shawn Cunningham Music by GOODING Production assistants Roger Strunk Jennifer Campbell Chris Dendurent Daniel Forshey OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2007 Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee 2006 First Nations Film & VIdeo Festival, Chicago 2006 Sami Intl. Film Festival, Norway 2006 Comanche Nation Film Festival, OK 2006 Native Voice Film Festival, Rapid City, S.D. 2005 American Indian Film Festival, San Francisco 2005 Red Fork Film Festival, Tulsa, OK 2005 AMERICAN INDIAN MOTION PICTURE AWARD NOMINATIONS (San Francisco) Best Feature Film Best Director (Rodrick Pocowatchit) Best Actor (Rodrick Pocowatchit) Best Supporting Actor (Mark Wells) |
| MARK WELLS (Derek Smith) This is Mark's second principal role in a feature film. His debut in Dancing on the Moon earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 2004 American Indian L.A. Film & TV Awards in Hollywood. In 2005, he received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco for Sleepdancer. |
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| GUY RAY POCOWATCHIT (Ben) This is also Guy Ray's second principal role in a feature film. His debut in Dancing on the Moon earned him a Best Actor award at the 2004 American Indian L.A. Film & TV Awards. |
| RODRICK POCOWATCHIT (Tommy / Writer, Producer, Director) Rod has made five short films and two features. In 2003, he received a special jury prize for most promising newcomer at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco (his performance in Dancing on the Moon also earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor). At the 2005 American Indian Film Festival, Rod received three award nominations: Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Actor. Rod works as a graphic designer in Wichita, and has won several international design awards. |
| Photo by Fernando Salazar |
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