Loading the player...
Return to Main Page

Synopsis: Horses brought me to this story. All the horses I had loved, and all the things I had studied, came together. The learning curve about Native American society and sensibilities has been a steep one for me. The more I learn, the more I realize I do not know. We’d set out to portray a society flourishing in the company of horses, and ancient equestrian culture adapting to modern purpose. We bore witness to a saga of vision and grit, a community in conflict, a man in crisis, and a beloved herd at risk.

Genre

Horse

Rated

n/r

Language

english

Run Time

57 min minutes

Director's Statement

A note from the director and producer – Janet Kern

Horses brought me to this story. As 8-year-olds living in Yonkers, NY, my best friend, Susan, and I watched Gene Autry on …and Roy Rogers on Trigger, as they rode to the rescue over and over.

I eagerly took riding lessons every summer vacation in the Pennsylvania Poconos, but reluctantly continued as a teenager from a blue collar family faced with exclusion from the clique of wealthy girls wearing expensive boots and jodphurs.

In college I took riding lessons to fulfill the phys ed requirement, and rode for hours after classes on the unfinished, still-dirt Ohio interstate, sweet relief from the rigors of a double major in political science and philosophy.

After college, I saved my wages as a NYC film technician and bought my first horse — a chestnut and white “blanket” Appaloosa named Gorgeous Georgie O’Keefe, who lived in a corral behind my mother’s forest cabin.

With him, I came to know the mountain in all seasons.

When I finished my first documentary (“Begin With Me,” about the Cold War) and was seeking the next project, I saw an article in The New York Times titled “Tribe Known for Horses Sees Future in Them.”

All the horses I had loved, and all the things I

had studied, came together.

The learning curve about Native American society and sensibilities has been a steep one for me. The more I learn, the more I realize I do not know.

We began work on “Horse Tribe” in 1998, expecting to finish in 5 years.

Although it sure didn’t feel that way at the time, funding difficulties delayed editorial completion — and coincided with a radical change in the storyline.

I kept shooting.

We’d set out to portray children and society flourishing in the company of horses, and ancient equestrian culture adapting to modern purpose. We bore witness to a saga of vision and grit, a community in conflict, a man in crisis, and a beloved herd at risk.

Every documentary producer finishes a project with at least three films: the one envisioned, the one completed, and the one that got away. I miss what we couldn’t include: storylines that diffused the narrative, moments unrecorded because of equipment failure or arriving too late. Audiences viewing “Horse Tribe” cannot, of course, miss the absent things. But they are always in my head. As are exquisite personal revelations: that simply holding the halter of a skittish horse on a windy hillside so that the rider could saddle up would lead to a critical endorsement of character, and that sitting fully clothed in a cool river on a sweltering day with a silent elder would lead to friendship. That the horses, no lie, know the songs.

The inexplicably generous instincts of a people who have experienced incomprehensible loss is a lesson, a mystery, and a gift to me.

I am privileged to have been among the Nez Perce.

Country of Origin

USA

Production Year

2014

Official Website

Facebook

Please don't close or refresh the page while we are processing your submission
Please be patient, this could take a few minutes.

Choose the plan that’s right for you!

Change or cancel anytime

Single Channel
Click to subscribe
Multiple Channels
Click to subscribe
All Access
Click to subscribe
Subscription Price From: $4.99 / month $9.99 / month $14.99 / month
Free Trial Period
Automatic with subscription
Yes Yes Yes
Watch on your laptop, TV, phone, or tablet Yes Yes Yes
Single Festival Access Yes Yes Yes
Multiple Festival Access No Yes Yes
Unlimited Films On Demand
VOD Library
No No Yes

Request A Screening

Oops! We could not locate your form.

Search

Create an Account

You will create your account during the first purchase on Film Festival Flix. To create an account now, select the Channel that's right for you? Subscribe or select the ticketing page. If you're not ready to purchase at this time, you can create your account at any time in the future.
close