Director Joseph Aguirre

In Next Year Country, three Montana farming families who have struggled to keep afloat through years of drought, take their chances on hiring a rainmaker. Director Joseph Aguirre shares the genesis of the story and why it was so hard to stay dry while shooting a film about drought. Look for Next Year Country on public television this July (check local listings).

I originally heard about rainmaker Matt Ryan and the work he was doing with drought-stricken farmers in Montana from an article that ran in the Los Angeles Times in February of 2003.

On first read, the story seemed to me to have a lot of cinematic potential. I liked the folkloric Americana aspect of the rainmaker story, and the story of drought and hardship in the American West made me think of Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” and the seminal work of the depression-era FSA photographers like Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange.

When I traveled to Montana and met the families who would later become the primary focus of the film—the Gollehons, the Fuhrmans, and the Hills—I knew I would have to try to make a film about their lives.

The great irony for me about making this film about drought was that every time I traveled to Montana it rained. There was a running joke between me and a couple of the film’s lead characters that I was the “real” rainmaker, and that if I printed up some business cards I could do a brisk business. Looking back on it now it’s really comical, but at the time the rain presented a lot of challenges for us.

On the one hand, the farmers desperately needed the rain, so I—like everybody else—was very happy whenever it rained. On the other hand, the rain created very real problems for me and my editor, Yaffa Lerea, in post-production. How could we make the audience really feel the drought and the hardships it presented to these people’s lives and livelihoods if there were always rainclouds in the sky, or puddles on the ground, or rain falling from the sky while I was shooting?

I ended up having to travel back to Montana a couple of times after principal photography to do pick ups and reshoots, and ultimately I think we managed to string together enough dry looking imagery to convey a convincing sense of how dry it actually was at the time in the film.

I recently flew back to Montana to attend a screening of the film, and as my plane approached the airport in Great Falls the pilot came over the radio to announce that we would be encountering some unexpected bad weather on our descent.  Could it be that I have missed my true calling?

You see the world differently when you work underground. That made Butte, Montana different right from the start as immigrants came from around the world to work the mines. But what they blasted out of the 10,000 miles of tunnels was more than just copper. It was the rise of unions and multinational corporations, and the seeds of the current debate over the environment.

Check out this behind-the-scenes video of Butte, America where the filmmakers talk about how they used recreations and interviews to evoke the most immediate emotional response from the audience.

Butte, America airs tonight, March 16, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).

In this video extra, teenager Jesse Desrosier gives an intimate look into daily life on the Blackfeet reservation and attending the Nizipuhwahsin School. DesRosier captures the challenges he faces as a young American Indian living in two worlds: modern mid-America and that of his traditional heritage.

SUMMER SUN WINTER MOON airs this November on public television (check local listings).

Learn more about SUMMER SUN WINTER MOON from filmmaker Hugo Perez >>

Stanley and Livingston. Holmes and Watson. Calvin and Hobbes. Who can forget the first time they encountered these dynamic duos? As the director of SUMMER SUN WINTER MOON, I had the fortune to be present for the first fateful meeting of Rob Kapilow and Darrell Kipp––the subjects of my documentary.

I had begun my film journey following the story of maverick (have we rehabilitated that term yet?) composer Rob Kapilow on his quest to compose a symphony inspired by the Lewis and Clark expedition. Where else could this lead us but to the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission Convention in Great Falls, Montana where a certain Blackfeet writer and educator named Darrell Kipp was the keynote speaker? I have to admit that the groggy encounter between Darrell and Rob by the indoor pool at the Best Western––where we were all staying––lacked a certain electricity. However, it ended with an invitation from Darrell to come and visit him on the Blackfeet reservation. And we did come back to Montana and had a wonderful visit with Darrell at the Nizipuhwasin Blackfeet Language Immersion School.

That second trip to Montana resulted in a murky understanding that Darrell would collaborate with Rob on a libretto for his symphony and another invitation for us to visit him at his cabin in St. Mary’s, Montana on the Blackfeet Reservation. Darrell was expecting us but had neglected to email his exact address in St. Mary’s. Although, he kept saying that anyone we asked would be able to point us in the right direction. Rob and I flew back to Great Falls, and made the scenic drive up to the edge of Glacier National Park to the village of St.Mary’s and proceeded to ask anyone we could pull over where Darrell Kipp lived. No one seemed to know, and everyone refused to acknowledge that anyone named Darrell Kipp even existed. Eventually we stopped in at a diner, and one of the waitresses took pity on us and revealed how to find Darrell’s cabin just a half-mile down the road. We rolled into the driveway of the cabin, walked up to the porch and knocked on the front door. A loud groaning sound could be heard inside, and few moments later Darrell Kipp opened the door in his boxers. That moment was truly where it all began, the beginning of a great collaboration and a great friendship which plays out in SUMMER SUN WINTER MOON. Darrell told us later that he had been alerted to our presence earlier by neighbors concerned that some men who looked like federal agents were asking how to find him.

On that trip we spent four days sitting with Darrell on his porch and visiting with his friends and learning about his family history and Blackfeet history. Rob and I, neophytes from the East Coast, realized how little we knew or understood about American Indian culture, and the seeds for what would become the libretto for Rob’s symphony were planted.

I guess the lesson to be learned is that sometimes you have to make the extra effort to find who you are looking for even when people think you are federal agents and won’t tell you how to find the person you are looking for.

- Hugo Perez
Filmmaker, SUMMER SUN WINTER MOON

HERB & DOROTHY

“What an inspiring film! If the Vogels are ‘greedy,’ it is yet a selfless compulsion–the best kind–that recognizes beauty and the persons that grow with the art. And thanks to the filmmaker who persevered to tell this intimate, quirky story.”
Posted by: Cynthia Pon on October 15, 2009

“Congratulations to all: Herb and Dorothy for your beautiful collections and sharing your love of each other and your wonderful collections. PBS you did your viewers a great service by bringing us this magnificent presentation… It touched my heart as I am sure it did others. Thank you very much.”
Posted by: Nancy on October 14, 2009

“What an informative film, captivating. Thank you to the Vogels for sharing their story with all of us and especially for supporting artists for so many years. And thank you for the gift to the National Gallery of Art.”
Posted by: Patricia Macklin on October 14, 2009

View more Talkback and submit your own for HERB & DOROTHY >>

BUTTE, AMERICA

“My great grandfather lived in Cleveland, OH but he moved out to Anaconda in 1897-1900 to work in the copper mines. While I wish this film had more information about the years before 1900 I did enjoy learning so much about Butte and the mining, the sights, smells, sounds, dangers, fears and people… I’m so pleased I had the opportunity to view this film!”
Posted by: MT Roots on October 23, 2009

“I’ve always been proud to be from Butte, America. Thanks PBS for doing a story on such an important part of our American West history. My Dad worked in the Mountain Con Mine. He was in charge of setting the dynamite blasts. He would have loved watching this…”
Posted by: Lois Paige Simenson on October 23, 2009

“BUTTE, AMERICA was a gut wrenching story. I had no idea such conflicts and devastation had occurred in that town. Thank you for the education.”
Posted by: Bob McAvoy on October 21, 2009

View more Talkback and submit your own for BUTTE, AMERICA >>

JOURNALS OF A WILY SCHOOL

“JOURNALS OF A WILY SCHOOL is one of the best films I have seen recently. Having grown up in India I could relate to the crowds, the tiny kitchen under the stairs, the police brutality, the loss of self to the bullying people in power and the disparity between the haves and have nots.”
Posted by: Tenzing Thinley on October 28, 2009

“I saw your wonderful documentary on our local PBS last night. Quite amazing job you did––reminds us of Slumdog Millionaire although I know there is no comparison to it. Good job and thank you for bringing its light to us in the States.”
Posted by: Sao on October 28, 2009

View more Talkback and submit your own for JOURNALS OF A WILY SCHOOL >>

You see the world differently when you work underground. That made Butte, Montana different right from the start as immigrants came from around the world to work the mines. But what they blasted out of the 10,000 miles of tunnels was more than just copper. It was the rise of unions and multinational corporations, and the seeds of the current debate over the environment.

BUTTE, AMERICA premieres tonight, Oct. 20, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).