“Legends from the Sky,” a new Native American sci-fi film, opens at Hollis Cinemas today, with more showtimes scheduled through March 12 (see movie trailer below).
The majority of the film was shot throughout Arizona – including Tsaile in the Navajo Nation and Phoenix – last June by Flagstaff-based writer/director Travis Holt Hamilton.
“Our movie is one of the first, if not the first, Native American sci-fi films,” the independent filmmaker told GMT over the phone.
“Legends from the Sky” follows the quest of a Native American veteran searching for his missing grandfather after returning home from war to find that his ancestral homeland has been taken over by an unknown federal organization.
This is Hamilton’s fifth feature film, and it will be the first of his films to play at Hollis Cinemas. He said he is hopeful that the film will attract both Native American and non-Native American audiences in Globe.
Consistently focusing on Native American culture, Hamilton has made several comedies, a drama, a documentary, and most recently the mockumentary “More Than Frybread,” which was released in 2012 and starred San Carlos Apache Mary Kim Titla.
The first 15 minutes of “Legends from the Sky” is spoken in Navajo. The film features Edsel Pete from
the Navajo Nation and Mia Sable, Choctaw actress and award-winning singer/songwriter, as well as other Native American actors from Canada, New Mexico and Arizona.
Hamilton told GMT that after “More Than Frybread,” he wanted to make a sort of Jason Bourne action thriller next, but that plan evolved into creating a sci-fi film, and “Legends from the Sky” was born.
“I’ve tried to play around with different genres,” he added.
He says that once he has made dozen films spanning different genres, he can truly consider himself a filmmaker.
To learn more about “Legends from the Sky” and Hamilton’s other films, click here.
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Jenn Walker began writing for Globe Miami Times in 2012 and has been a contributor ever since. Her work has also appeared in Submerge Magazine, Sacramento Press, Sacramento News & Review and California Health Report. She currently teaches Honors English at High Desert Middle School and mentors Globe School District’s robotics team.