NATIVE
Since I was a child, I remember being fascinated by the Native American people for reasons that I could never explain. Later, as a student, I would read almost anything that had to do with their culture and civilization. The more I read, the more I realized the hardships they went through as people, trying to keep their cultures from extinction.
As a grown up filmmaker, I had made it my priority to, one day work on a documentary about them. It took many years, but in 1988, after serious research and development, I got introduced to the Apache Tribe in the Saint Carlos Reservation, in Arizona, and was eventually allowed to live with them for almost a year, for the purposes of the documentary.
As a grown up filmmaker, I had made it my priority to, one day work on a documentary about them. It took many years, but in 1988, after serious research and development, I got introduced to the Apache Tribe in the Saint Carlos Reservation, in Arizona, and was eventually allowed to live with them for almost a year, for the purposes of the documentary.
Nevertheless, the project took a personal dimension, as I became very close with many of the people in the reservation, and made friendships which last until today.
The documentary, "Geronimo Must Hang" was completed two years later and was broadcasted around the country with great success. The title was inspired by a newspaper clipping in 1888, referring to Geronimo, the last man to give up his tribe's land to the "white" people and who was held hostage far from his home in Arizona, until his death in 1909.
The woman in the photograph above, Isla, is the granddaughter of Geronimo. She was rarely photographed, and I had the great honor and privilege to take this picture, only six months before she died in 1989.
Children of any tribe and any kind have always been an inspiration for me. The Apache kids were no exception, and I found that they were even more innocent and authentic growing up in the rural reservations, among nature.
The documentary, "Geronimo Must Hang" was completed two years later and was broadcasted around the country with great success. The title was inspired by a newspaper clipping in 1888, referring to Geronimo, the last man to give up his tribe's land to the "white" people and who was held hostage far from his home in Arizona, until his death in 1909.
The woman in the photograph above, Isla, is the granddaughter of Geronimo. She was rarely photographed, and I had the great honor and privilege to take this picture, only six months before she died in 1989.
Children of any tribe and any kind have always been an inspiration for me. The Apache kids were no exception, and I found that they were even more innocent and authentic growing up in the rural reservations, among nature.