“Award-Winning Filmmaker on Susan Harmon Show

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:

Donald L. Vasicek
Olympus Films+, LLC/The Zen of Writing
303-903-2103
dvasicek@earthlink.net
http://michaelc.nextmp.net/wordpress
http://www.sandcreekmassacre.nett

AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER TO APPEAR ON THE SUSAN HARMON HOUR

Centennial, CO, October 26, 2017 – Donald L. Vasicek, award-winning filmmaker, will appear on The Susan Harmon Hour on Alternative News, 1150 AM KKNW, Seattle, on November 10, 2017 from 1-2p.m. MST. You can download KKNW’s application on your phone to catch the show. Vasicek, winner of the prestigious Golden Drover Award for Best Native American Film, Best Native American Film at the Indie West Film Festival, the American Indian Film Festival and the Trail Dance Film Festival, for his compelling documentary film, “The Sand Creek Massacre”, will answer questions from Ms. Harmon as well as telephone calls into the program regarding the film and racism.

Vasicek stated, “Betrayal by white American males has devastated America’s Indian people. The taking of their land via brute force, murder and genocide has propelled racism and hate into the present day where it continues to be perpetuated by Donald Trump and his administration. All Americans today stand on the precipice as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, ‘We must live together as brothers and sisters or perish together as fools’.”

Author and Life Consultant, Ms. Harmon deals with “something unique in the New Age…where metaphysics is grounded.” She is a practical visionary. Her healing skills have addressed spirituality and social justice issues that impact all of our lives. Her show has been on KKNW for the past 4 years.

Vasicek’s company, Olympus Films+, LLC/The Zen of Writing, began in 1993 with the making of “Faces”, a documentary film about who gays and lesbians really are. Since then, Olympus Films+, LLC has produced “Oh, The Places You Can Go…”, a short film on special needs kids. Vasicek was a screenwriter/consultant on MGM’s “Warriors of Virtue”, screenwriter/consultant on Incline Productions, Inc.’s “Born to Win” and American Pictures’s “The Lost Heart” and “Born to Kill”, 2 feature movies by Korea’s Charles Bronson, Bobby Kim. Vasicek was an Executive Producer for screenwriter/director/producer Pamela Cuming’s award-winning short film, ‘The Road Home.” He has also written, ghostwritten and published more than 500 books and articles.

For more information, contact: Donald L. Vasicek at dvasicek@earthlink.net.

SC POSTER WEB SITE ADDRESS

Sand Creek Massacre Golden Drover Winner to Direct Silas Soule Film

Olympus Films+, LLC ("The Sand Creek Massacre", "Faces") has been a global filmmaking, writing and consulting company for the past 40 years.
Olympus Films+, LLC (“The Sand Creek Massacre”, “Faces”) has been a global filmmaking, writing and consulting company for the past 40 years.

For Immediate Release

Centennial, CO, United States of America March 11, 2014
GOLDEN DROVER WINNER TO SHOOT NEW FILM
March 11, 2014 (Centennial, CO) – Donald L. Vasicek, who won the Golden Drover Award for Best Film (Native American) (“The Sand Creek Massacre”) at the Trail Dance Film Festival and also winner at The IndieFest Film Festival and The American Indian Film Festival, has signed a LOI with Iron Violet Films (I.V.F.), a division of the parent company: Iron Violet Productions, to write, direct and produce a feature film along with his film company, Olympus Films+, LLC.

Titled, “The Captain”, it is a story about Captain Silas Soule who risked his own life in his quest to save African­Americans from slavery, and the Cheyenne tribe from annihilation, during the Sand Creek Massacre. I. V. F. is headquartered in Shreveport, Louisiana, also known as “Hollywood South”, where nearly 220 major motion pictures and shows have been shot. It boasts three motion picture studios and sound stages in the region. Broadway producer, Marcinho Savant, is executive producing “The Captain.” I.V.F.’s anticipated film releases include, “The Tracks”, “Birthday Pie”, and “Brookwater’s Curse” with Mr. Savant (CEO) serving as Creative Consultant and Executive Producer.

Savant said, “One of America’s greatest, muted, stains. Some would have it swept away, like so many grains of blood­soaked sand. I’m honored and grateful to be collaborating with Donald on this important film. His passion, has become my own. I’m honored to play some, small, role in telling the truth, for the benefit of the Cheyenne, and Arapaho victims of this horrendous slaughter. Captain Soule was a pioneering Abolitionist who befriended the indigenous people. I suspect he’d be thrilled to know that the truth will, finally, be told.”

Vasicek said, “It is past due time to make a feature film about Silas Soule, let alone the Sand Creek Massacre. Mr. Soule’s bravery and courage to face and elevate himself about the racism and hate that drove people to brutalize, murder, rape, mutilate and terrorize slaves and America’s indigenous people reigns as a shining example of heroism for all Americans and the world. I am honored and blessed to have become part of this film with Iron Violet Films and the talented Mr. Savant.”

Vasicek said an upcoming press release will give an update for the production schedule. The pre­production website address is “The Captain” Movie. Please contact Vasicek via e­Mail, 303­903­2103 or Mr. Savant via e­Mail , 318­402­4697 x 705 for more information.

###
CONTACTS:
Donald L. Vasicek
Olympus Films+, LLC
dvasicek@earthlink.net
303­903­2103

Marcinho Savant
Iron Violet Films e­Mail 318­402­4697, x 705



“Sand Creek Massacre” Film Wins Golden Drover Award”

Derrick Miller/ The Duncan Banner

January 13, 2008
Festival is a success
Nearly 500 people attend Trail Dance Film Festival in the first day

By John Walker

DUNCAN — With nearly 500 people attending in the first day and a half alone, the Trail Dance Film Festival is shaping up to be a success this year.

“We estimate that when we counted the sales between the heritage center and the Simmons Center, volunteers, sponsors and filmmakers, we’ve had nearly 500 people attend so far,” Duncan Convention and Visitors Center Director Jessika McDonnell said.

Many of the filmmakers are from out of state, some from New York, some from Los Angeles. All of them are here to network with others and promote their films.

One filmmaker, whose regular job is a reporter for ABC News in Los Angeles, came here for only the second time in his life and really enjoyed the atmosphere, he said.

“I came out to cover the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995,” Doug Lantz said. “I haven’t been back since, but the people are so welcoming and kind here.”

Lantz said as he was driving from Oklahoma City to Duncan this week, he had a good heart-warming conversation with the person at the toll booth for about 10 minutes.

“That was surprising,” he said. “People are really pleasant here.”

Many of the volunteers have also enjoyed themselves at the festival this weekend. As volunteers, they also get free passes to all of the shows over the three-day period.

“I’ve enjoyed it a lot so far,” volunteer Cecil Brewer said. “My wife and I watched a couple of shows Friday night and really liked the movie about the Sand Creek Massacre.”

According to the preview summary of the movie, “Sand Creek Massacre” portrays the horrific event from the Cheyenne and Arapahos’ perspective when more than 400 women, children and elderly were slaughtered by military troops in 1864.

“I had never heard about this event before,” Brewer said.

While he enjoyed watching the movie, Brewer said that there seemed to be no motive for the event, just cold-blooded murder.

“Sand Creek Massacre” is only one of approximately two dozen documentaries being shown over the course of this weekend-long event at the Simmons Center and Chisholm Trail Heritage Center.

In fact, one of the better-known producers of historical documentaries held a well-attended seminar on Saturday in the big auditorium.

“I started working for CBS News almost 30 years ago,” Bill Kurtis said. “In 1990, I sold my first documentary to A&E.;”

Since then, he has produced more than 300 different documentaries on a variety of topics. One of his favorite subjects is historical documentaries, but he soon realized that he walked a thin line between telling history in an interesting way and changing the historical facts.

“We wanted to make good entertainment, but still be accurate to what occurred,” Kurtis said.

Though makers of documentaries need to simplify certain elements of the story each time, they also try to be true and fair to the events portrayed, which Kurtis said he felt he was able to reach most of the time.

His crew also came up with a new way to film the re-enactments so as to give the viewer the feeling that it is a re-enactment and not Hollywood.

“We slowed the shutter speed down on the cameras to about 15 frames per second,” he said. This caused a blurred appearance that is unique to Kurtis’ documentaries.

“I fell in love with that method,” he said.

He also fell in love with recreating history and seeing it re-enacted before his eyes. Kurtis in many ways feels like a guide for his viewers. He tries to capture all sides of the story and present to an audience something that is both entertaining and educational at the same time, he said.

One of the reasons he feels so passionate about historical documentaries is his perceived lack of good historical education these days.

“We are in danger of losing history,” Kurtis said. “We don’t teach it very well in our schools anymore.”

When asked whether his team would ever run out of ideas for historical documentaries, Kurtis replied that one of the things he looks for is a story with a different element than previously known.

There are plenty of stories that meet his criteria when one peruses history, so he doesn’t think he is in danger of running out of ideas.

“History is being made all the time,” Kurtis said.