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Bulletin
NOVEMBER 2002

Chiefs

CC alumni score with basketball documentary

By Jennifer Kulier

Henry Ansbacher '92 of Denver received his B.A. in English from Colorado College and his M.S. in psychology from Denver University. His film, Witness: From a Deep Place, screened in the Denver and Vienna Film Festivals. Ansbacher is executive director of Just Media, a non-profit production company and media foundation. Less than a year ago, Daniel Junge '92 and Henry Ansbacher '92 were questioning their careers as filmmakers after their new film was rejected for screening at the Sundance Film Festival and for a national showing on PBS.

Then something amazing happened.

Junge and Ansbacher's first feature-length documentary, "Chiefs," won the award for best feature documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival in May 2002. The young filmmakers suddenly found themselves in a sea of celebrities, international media, world leaders, and film icons, buoyed by praise for their creative work. Heavy-hitters like Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese attended the first-ever Tribeca festival, which was co-founded by Robert DeNiro in part to re-energize lower Manhattan following the destruction of 9/11.

"It was incredible - very unexpected," said Junge. "Ours was the second award announced and it was a unanimous decision by the judges. We competed against 11 very good documentaries - an excellent field. We had been hearing great feedback about our film, and there was definitely a buzz about it during the festival, but to win the award was a shock."

All of a sudden, director Junge and producer Ansbacher were landing meetings with people who'd been putting them off for months.

"We'd hoped to use the festival to launch our film and pitch our next projects and it was a huge success. Since the award, we've been very successful in finding funding for our films," Ansbacher said.

"Chiefs" presents two years in the lives of high school-age Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone boys on and off the basketball court. Using basketball as a vehicle, the film explores what it means to grow up Native American at the turn of the 21st century.



Growing up without a father, C'Bearing turned to his friends and to basketball. Once his career as a Chief ends, though, C'Bearing finds himself rudderless - caught in the quandary of his friends and so many young Native Americans of whether to stay on the reservation where opportunities are few or leave it behind. Meanwhile, Tim Robinson and a new class of Chiefs vow to dedicate themselves, both on the court and off, to making their tribe, their families, and themselves proud.

The filmmakers took three years to produce "Chiefs," with Junge spending most of his workdays behind the camera and Ansbacher coordinating logistics and funding and participating in the editing process. Veteran filmmaker Donna Dewey, of Denver, also served as producer on the film.

"The film was a collaborative effort, but it's Dan's story, his vision. He's the creative force behind the film," Ansbacher said.

Junge said growing up in Wyoming gave him an advantage when filming the daily lives of Beaver C'Bearing, his friends, and the people of the Wind River Reservation. "I worried at first about how I would be received as a non-Indian," Junge said. "But I found it greatly in my favor that I am a Wyomingite. I know the area, I can identify with them to some degree, plus I share their love of basketball."

But spending so much time with the people of the reservation (10-12 hours a day of filming for nearly two years) presented another challenge: how to keep the individuals he lived and worked with at arm's length emotionally.

"The cardinal rule of documentary filmmaking is don't get too chummy with your subjects. That's difficult to do, especially on the rez," said Junge. "Those places you see tears in the film - both of joy and sadness - I was welling up behind the camera."

Junge and Ansbacher met at Colorado College during their senior year and worked together on Junge's thesis project, a 38-minute film called "Road Movie."

"Henry shot it beautifully," Junge said, "and we formed a friendship which exists to this day."

After graduating from CC, Junge and Ansbacher formed a partnership with the intent of making an independent feature, but were unable to finance the venture. The two moved on, with Ansbacher obtaining his master's in psychology and Junge working in the film business. When Junge had the idea of shooting "Chiefs" himself, on a shoestring, Ansbacher jumped on board, helping to make the film a reality.

Both say they have been well served by their CC education. The liberal arts background provided them with critical thinking, communication, and writing skills that have helped them excel at moviemaking. And the intensity of the Block Plan, they say, is akin to film projects.

Junge's most influential experience at CC was a film class when he was a second-year student taught by director Sidney Pollack. "It made filmmaking tangible to me. He broke it down, step-by-step, and demystified the process," Junge said.

"I couldn't be happier right now," said Ansbacher. "I enjoy my work. I'm doing exactly what I want. I'm married to my best friend (Karma Stryker '92) and our twins, Max and Alexandra, will be two years old in January. I've had to pinch myself a lot lately."

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