Here's a selection of some of the documentaries and TV shows I've produced over the years.
Taming New Mexico
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Peering through the lens of the federal court system, its judges and institutions, "Taming New Mexico" canvasses centuries of New Mexico history, documenting how the state transitioned from the Spanish-Mexican rule of law to today’s American legal system. Taming New Mexico chronicles the pivotal cases, significant issues, and powerful personalities that shaped and transformed New Mexico’s legal and cultural landscape. Through this unique history, viewers get a glimpse of what it means to administer justice in the 21st century. View it here.
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I produced "Painting Albuquerque" with Michael Kamins for KNME-TV, the PBS affiliate in Albuquerque. This groundbreaking documentary celebrates the culturally diverse painters and institutions that have contributed to Albuquerque’s cultural identity and artistic legacy. Some of the painters in "Painting Albuquerque" are well-known, others are almost lost to time. In addition to its great artists, it was also vitally important for Albuquerque to have a venue for its artists — a way for the community to see the great work being done and help determine Albuquerque’s artistic identity. Click here to watch.
Painting Santa Fe
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We take for granted today that Santa Fe is an arts capital and an international destination. But in the early 1900s, the dusty adobe village was on the ropes and its survival was not guaranteed. Under the guidance of visionary Edgar Lee Hewett, founder of the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the determination and talent of a variety of visual artists who sought a change of scenery, Santa Fe turned its focus to arts and culture and instigated one of the most dramatic turnarounds in history. I served as associate producer on the KNME-TV project, shaping the story as one of the writers and conducting a majority of the interviews. See the trailer here. Email KNME's Membership Services or call (505) 277-2922 or 1-800 328-5663 to purchase a copy. |
High Strange New Mexico
Winner 17th Annual UFO Congress EBE Film Festival Award
Best Feature Film - UFO Related Theme
New Mexico holds a unique place in the annals of UFO history, and this movie takes you to the heart of that rich history. The Roswell Incident, centuries-old Native American mythology, government conspiracy theories and the search for spiritual meaning all take root in a subculture populated by enthusiasts, skeptics, investigators, abductees, and entrepreneurs. Join me and director James Lujan as we delve into the state’s treasure trove of flying saucer lore, featuring alien abduction stories, cattle mutilation incidents, mass UFO flyovers, crash landings, UFO sightings and much more. Click here to see the trailer for this acclaimed cult classic. To learn more about the movie and to order it, visit here , or get the deluxe 3-DVD set or stream it.
The Language of Spirituality Official Selection of the 2005 Santa Fe Film Festival
Do the languages and cosmologies of Native Americans hold the keys to the mysteries of quantum physics and the nature of reality? That is the intriguing premise of "The Language of Spirituality," a documentary film about the intersection of spirituality, modern science and language. Inspired by a series of dialogues between western physicists, Native scholars and elders and linguists, the documentary begins by exploring how language and worldview influence each other. From this starting point, the late Dan “Moonhawk” Alford traces the evolution of Einstein’s theory of relativity from its beginnings as a linguistic principle and its connection to the groundbreaking work of scholar Benjamin Whorf, whose study of Hopi and other Native languages in the early 20th century revealed a language structure quite dissimilar from Indo-European languages, but strikingly capable of describing the dynamic world of quantum physics, at a time when physicists were lamenting their inability to describe the subatomic realm in conventional language. Click here to see the trailer and go here to visit our website and find out how to order the DVD.
Flight Path: The Flyway Project
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Marking Time: The Center of the City Project
Albuquerque was once a collection of sleepy little villages, until the railroad came in 1880. Over time, it grew into the metropolis it is today, thanks mainly to the five "Ts" -- transportation, technology, (Mayor Clyde) Tingley, tourism and tuberculosis. The Public Art program honored the growth of the city and the state's Centennial, by commemorating the center of Albuquerque in 1912 and 2012. Click here for your history lesson.
Breaking Bad: A Duke City Farewell
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The legendary television show about a high school chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin left an indelible mark on Albuquerque. This tribute contains interviews with fans from the public screening of the final episode of the series at Hotel Albuquerque, plus interviews with Fran Padilla, owner of the the "Walter White" home, tourists from around the world and employees at other now famous Albuquerque landmarks. Click here to watch.
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Vanishing Species, Vanishing Art
Ceramic artist Niya Lee is featured in this piece on the public art program's first temporary art installation, In-Sight. As an homage to endangered species, and a comment on the effects of human encroachment into the habitats of these species, Lee crafted unfired clay replicas of the animals and set them at various public places to see how long they would last. The results may surprise you. Click here to view the move.
Sleeping Monsters, Sacred Fires: Volcanoes of New Mexico
Nominated by KNME-TV for a 2007 Rocky Mountain Emmy Award
I produced "Sleeping Monsters" for KNME-TV's award-winning "Colores!" series. See some amazing cinematography from John Golden Britt and learn about the volcanoes that decorate New Mexico's landscape. The film features breathtaking examples of volcanism that span the state. But volcanoes have created more than stunning terrain. Over time, they planted the seeds of civilization and shaped the identity of New Mexico and its people. Click here to watch the film.
Feat of Clay
Ever notice the beautiful mural that wraps around the Albuquerque Convention Center? Artist Cassandra Reid talks about the challenges of public art, how the program came to be, the significance of each section of the mural, and introduces us to some of the many students who have benefited from this long-running public art program. Click here to watch the film.
Cesar Chavez Tribute
New Mexico artist Paula Castillo talks about the inspiration for this monumental work honoring civil rights activist Cesar Chavez and the significance of locating it in the historic South Broadway neighborhood. Click here to watch.
Memorial Mania: An Interview with Erika Doss
Doing my best Christiane Amanpour imitation, I interview art historian Erika Doss about the history of public memorials in the United States. The premise of her book is that emotional attachments inform almost all public memorials. She explains how memorials have changed over the decades. She also talks about some of the more controversial public art pieces, including Albuquerque's own take on the Spanish colonizer of New Mexico, Don Juan de Onate. Click here to watch.
Making History: Public Art in Albuquerque
This video captures the rich history of Albuquerque's pioneering public art program. Started in 1978, the program has matured and survived for more than three decades, celebrating successes, weathering controversies and collecting or commissioning more than 800 works of art. The piece includes excerpts from an interview with the late Gordon Church, the longtime head of the program. Click on this link to view the movie.
The Church of Beethoven
Up for some classical music, a little poetry and lots of caffeine? You've come to the right place. This piece tells the history of The Church of Beethoven, a unique Sunday "service" started by the late Felix Wurman and continued in a converted warehouse on the outskirts of downtown Albuquerque. It includes exclusive interviews with Wurman, who died in 2009, and a number of the musicians and poets who put on the event every Sunday, now under the name "Sunday Chatter." It also includes the entire performance of Antonin Dvorak's Serenade for Winds, Cello and Bass. Brad Stoddard and I produced this piece for our company, Music From the Q. Click here to watch the video.
Rain to River: The Hahn Arroyo Project
The Hahn Arroyo public art project was groundbreaking in a number of ways. It was the first in New Mexico to use the litho-mosaic mural process, pioneered by artist Robin Brailsford, the first to actively engage dozens of citizens in the artistic process, and it became the standard for future projects by the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority. Click here to watch the movie.
Gordon Church: A Life in Art
During his tenure as head of the Albuquerque Public Art Program, the late Gordon Church turned the city's fledgling public art program into an example for the rest of the country. In this exclusive interview from 2004, Church explains his philosophy of public art and discusses several of the most controversial projects he shepherded through the process. Click here to watch the video.
