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Are there sports films you looked to for inspiration in making this film?
That’s a great question. Friday Night Lights was a big one. Hoosiers is the gold standard. I remember looking at that after we had shot the film, and my editor and I would look at how they opened up all these movies and we realized like, ‘Oh, wow, there are certain things that are just in the DNA of a sports movie.’ And instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, it was like, ‘Oh, yeah, why not lean into it? It’s a sports movie. Let’s embrace it.’ Varsity Blues, I remember that being a big movie for me in high school, and then now watching it in 2024, I was like, ‘Oof, that does not hold up well.’ But that was another fun walk down memory lane. Those are the ones that come to mind.
I’ve followed your career for many, many years. I actually saw Drunktown’s Finest at a film festival in Denver, Colorado, with an urban Navajo audience. It was amazing.
Wow, that’s a deep cut!
Drunktown’s Finest is one of my top Indigenous films of all time. With Rez Ball, your third feature, you’ve returned to the reservation and to your tribe. How did it feel bringing it back home?
It was a special experience, but I really had to be intentional about it, because when you’re shooting and you’re on set, it doesn’t matter if you’re in your backyard or if you’re in Paris or if you’re in downtown Los Angeles. The job is still a job. The process is still a process, so you don’t really have the time or luxury to appreciate where you are. It’s all about getting the film made.
I had to make conscious efforts while we’re shooting this to carve out those times when I could stop and reflect and try to acknowledge like, ‘Wow, this is actually a homecoming and I’m able to come back and shoot this on my home reservation on the level of… Netflix.’
