SILVER BULLET PRODUCTIONS’ MISSION
Silver Bullet Productions’ mission is to encourage educational achievement through a hands-on approach to film making projects that empower students, enhance academic and economic opportunities, and preserve community culture and heritage.
Non-profit
Silver Bullet Productions is a 501(c)(3) educational film production company, incorporated in New Mexico.
NEWS AT SILVER BULLET PRODUCTIONS
CANES OF POWER – Unlocking the Mystery of the Lincoln Canes – Symbols of Pueblo Sovereignty
In Development
In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln recognized Pueblo independence by bestowing an ornamental, silver tipped cane to each Pueblo Nation. From more than 500 Indian nations in the United States, only New Mexico’s 19 Pueblos received these symbolic gifts of sovereign status.
What was the motivation of this American President, fighting a War between States, a stranger to the Southwest and its people?
The Lincoln Canes documentary – CANES OF POWER – and the related educational program will provide the vehicle for Pueblo people to tell the story of the Canes, and the struggle for Sovereignty, upon which cultural survival depends. The story will be told through historical narrative, interviews, video images of Pueblo communities, and photographic or oral histories of cultural and political events. Pueblo Students will participate in a workshop to enhance writing, encourage research, interview tribal leaders, and develop introductory filmmaking skills. The student filming, interviews and research will be incorporated into the final Canes of Power documentary.
Help support the production of this important documentary by making a donation via our Donations page, or by sending a check to Silver Bullet Productions, 38 Calle Ventoso West, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87506.
Click here to view Silver Bullet’s advertisement in Western Art & Architecture Magazine’s Spring 2011 Issue.
Inn and Spa at Loretto’s “Biggest Loser” Competition Ends with Silver Bullet Productions as the “Biggest Winner”
After three months of “Biggest Loser” rivalry at the Inn and Spa at Loretto, Joe Bravo, the hotel’s human resources coordinator, emerges victorious. Losing 16 lbs. through diet, exercise and employee support, he ‘out sweated’ nine other employee competitors with a final weigh in of 201 lbs. As the “Biggest Loser,” Bravo donated his $170 prize to help Silver Bullet Productions purchase an additional high-definition camera pack to replace outdated film equipment at the Native American Community Academy in Albuquerque. On January 25, Silver Bullet Productions will host a free film workshop on ‘Pueblo Sovereignty’ at the school and will present students with five new camera packs, including the pack Bravo’s donation helped make possible.
See the full press release on Joe here.
Save the date of May 12, 2012!!!
Silver Bullet Productions biannual fundraiser will be held at the beautiful Inn and Spa at Loretto in Santa Fe. The banter of Award winning Author Michael McGarrity and Actor, Director, and activist, Wes Studi, moderated by Kirk Ellis, will engage you in the evening's theme, “Myths and Stereotypes of Native Americans in Literature and Film.”
The evening will begin with a silent auction and cocktails and appetizers while you are being mesmerized by McGarrity, Studi, and Ellis. Seated dinner, a live auction, and dessert are a part of the event. If you have followed the rave revues of the Luminaria Restaurant, you know the quality of the food and atmosphere to expect from the Inn and Spa at Loretta. Those attending will receive either a gift certificate for Michael McGarrity’s newest book Hard Country to be released in June 2012, or a Wes Studi film DVD.
Tickets are $150 per person. Click here to purchase tickets. More information can be found on the Event flyer. Money raised by this event will go to projects that fulfill the goal of engaging rural and Pueblo students in hands on filmmaking which empowers them, enhances their academic and economic opportunities, and preserves community, culture and heritage. Such projects include suicide prevention workshops in Pueblo communities as well as the development of documentaries such as CANES OF POWER.
Lead Sponsor – Inn and Spa at Loretto – Offers Benefits to Friends of Silver Bullet Productions!
Anyone who mentions Silver Bullet Productions will receive a 20% discount off all food and non alcoholic beverages at the Luminaria Restaurant and the Living Room, as well as on Spa treatments. The Inn is also offering a discounted room rate for those wanting to stay at the Inn for the May 12, 2012, fund raising event. This discounted room rate expires April 12, so please make your reservations soon!
More information about the Inn and Spa at Loretto and can be found at www.innatloretto.com.
See the July 8 Albuquerque Journal article on Luminaria here.
ANCIENT PATHWAYS - MODERN LEADERS: Voices of Pueblo Leadership, a documentary film from Silver Bullet Productions – now available on DVD
There is significance to the role of pueblo “heroes” in community life that is greater than self; leadership, an expression of Pueblo values, is service to the greater community. In pueblos, spirituality and service are the basic qualities against which leaders are judged. Leaders are chosen for character, knowledge, and commitment to cultural survival. Individuals do not seek power or control, nor do they demand fame or authority. Leaders are not self-selected, but nourished, encouraged and chosen based on the commitment and skills needed by a community at a given time (American Indian Research and Policy Institute, 1999).
This 45-minute documentary film is a profound and stimulating glimpse into this model of leadership that has sustained a culture for more than a thousand years.
To purchase a DVD, please click here.
If you would like to view a trailer of the film, please click here.
Zuni High School Suicide Prevention Workshop
Suicide rates of New Mexican youth is of epidemic proportions, with suicides among Native American youth the highest of all racial and ethnic groups. The Zuni Pueblo community suffered the loss of 10 adolescents in a one-year span. With the support and underwriting of the Center for Lifelong Education, Silver Bullet Productions will conduct a suicide prevention workshop at Zuni High School in late April 2011. Applying an academic and creative approach effective in the Laguna and Acoma student communities, the workshop will focus on educating students about suicide warning signs so that they have tools to help prevent a death in their school community. Wes Studi and Maura Studi will lead students through the process of screenwriting and acting an original play. Students will learn introductory film skills from Silver Bullet’s professional crew, and will receive a completed DVD of their workshop experience. Computers and cameras will remain with Zuni high school to foster continued hopeful and academic projects.
BOARD AND MANAGEMENT
Silver Bullet Productions has thirteen volunteer members of the Board of Directors and two day-to-day managers with expertise in education, film, community awareness and relationships, government agencies, marketing and development, law, and long term planning. Silver Bullet Productions also has the guidance of fourteen Advisors and Honorary Board members.