OklaFilm & OklaMusic
Wednesday November 4, 2009

Sterlin Harjo’s Barking Water Continues Successful Year

It has almost been a year since the premiere of Barking Water at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival,marking the beginning of a busy and successful year for the film by Oklahoma Writer/Director Sterlin Harjo.

So far in 2009, the Oklahoma feature has been named an Official Selection for the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah; the New Directors/New Films at Museum of Modern Art in New York City; the Native American Film + Video Festival at Smithsonian in New York City; the WorldFest-Houston Independent International Film Festival; the Athens International Film and Video Festival in Athens, Ohio; the Breckenridge Festival of Film; the Provincetown International Film Festival; and the Connecticut Film Festival. It was also a Bronze Remi Award Winner for Creative Excellence from WorldFest-Houston and First Prize in the Feature Narrative Category at the Athens International Film and Video Festival. In September, Barking Water had its international premiere at Venice Days as part of the prestigious 66^thAnnual Venice International Film Festival held in Italy, where it was met with a standing ovation.

Harjo’s Barking Water follows Irene and Frankie through the land of red dirt as they drive to reunite Frankie with his daughter and granddaughter in order to make amends. Irene and Frankie have had a difficult past as well. After falling in and out of love with each other until they parted ways for good, Irene agrees to help Frankie with his journey to make up for their tumultuous past.

“The script was a blueprint, but I didn’t allow it to limit us in anyway. If an actor wanted to change a line it was encouraged, and if I wanted to make up an unscripted new scene, I did it. I wanted to try and capture the spontaneity of the road trip that the characters in the story are actually taking,” said Harjo. “Physically, it was a tough shoot. Everyone on the crew was wearing multiple hats and moving constantly to meet the needs of story as it evolved.”

Barking Water was filmed in Ponca City, White Eagle, Holdenville, Wewoka and Pawhuska, Oklahoma in early 2008. Harjo is Creek and Seminole and hails from Holdenville, Oklahoma. Producer Chad Burris, Executive Producers Joel Hulett and Jack Clark, Actors Casey Camp-Horinek as Irene, Richard Ray Whitman as Frankie, Laura Spencer and Erin Riggs all hail from Oklahoma. Indion Entertainment Group and Dolphin Bay Films are both Tulsa based production companies.

In addition to the success of the film, the film has also brought recognition to its actors. Richard Ray Whitman was recently nominated for Best Actor at the 34^th Annual American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco, which takes place November 6-14. Both Whitman and Casey Camp-Horinek and will attend the festival.  The pair will also speak at the Q&A after the screening of Barking Water at the closing screening on November 13.

“We are very proud of both Sterlin Harjo and his latest film, Barking Water,” said Jill Simpson, Director of the Oklahoma Film & Music Office. “Time and again, Sterlin demonstrates his talent for storytelling and bringing a unique voice to cinema. The film represents Oklahoma and its people very well. The positive response it has received from audiences is well-deserved.” 

For those who have not seen Barking Water, the film will screen November 5-7 for the Native Cinema Showcase at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. The screenings will take place on Thursday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m., and Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. The Saturday screening includes a special appearance by Sterlin Harjo and lead actors Richard Ray Whitman, and Casey Camp-Horinek. The showcase, which also includes screenings of Oklahoma produced Pearl, and Emerging Native Stories featuring short works by filmmakers with Oklahoma ties, is presented by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and the American Indian Cultural Center & Museum in celebration of American Indian Heritage Month. Pearl can be seen Friday at 5:30 p.m., and Sunday, November 8 at 2 p.m. Emerging Native Stories will screen on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

Barking Water recently acquired domestic theatrical distribution through Lorber HT for select North American markets beginning fall 2009.

The Oklahoma Film & Music Office, a division of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, works to attract film, television, video, and music industries to Oklahoma through an effort to promote and expand these values and interests within the state. The Film & Music Office is committed to providing critical support to filmmakers by assisting them with their production concerns. Additional information can be found at www.oklahomafilm.org.