When Robert Redford stood up to introduce Drunktown’s Finest at Sundance 2014, it was clear this project was close to his heart. More than seven years in the making, the project and its writer/director, Sydney Freeland, had been through the Sundance Institute’s 2009 Native Lab, 2010 Screenwriter’s Lab, and 2010 Director’s Lab. It should be noted that taking part in the Sundance Labs is no guarantee that a film will make it to the actual festival, but this film did. Freeland definitely knows a thing or two about tenacity.
On the film’s Kickstarter page, Freeland explains how a news segment she saw on ABC’s 20/20 that described her hometown as “Drunktown, U.S.A.,” inspired her to make this film: “This film is my effort to defy that judgment of my community. With your support, my film will show the world that label was wrong, and that my community has complexity, dimension and hope.”
Freeland set out to tell stories about the places and people familiar to her, and the result is honest and authentic. Drunktown’s Finest features a Native American cast, and is set on a Navajo reservation in Gallup, N.M.
The film follows three young Navajo characters as they struggle to find their way, on and off the reservation. There’s SickBoy, a young father-to-be (Jeremiah Bitsui), who struggles with impulse control, particularly around alcohol and violence, and as we meet him, he’s just trying to make it through the weekend without getting into trouble. Then there’s Nizhoni (Morning Star Wilson), a college-bound Christian who was adopted off the reservation and is now searching for her biological family. And finally, there’s Felixia (portrayed by first-time actress Carmen Moore), a transgender prostitute who is dying to be a model in the “Women of the Navajo” calendar. She just needs to get through the audition without anybody realizing that she wasn’t born with a woman's body. She lives with her traditional grandparents, who are accepting of her gender identity, as their worldview holds a place for this: In the Navajo culture, there is a “third gender,” something Freeland herself discovered only after leaving the reservation.
Lead actor Jeremiah Bitsui may not yet be a household name, but he’s no newcomer, either. His first acting credit came 20 years ago, when he played “Young Indian Boy” in Natural Born Killers. More recently, he had an eight-episode stint on Breaking Bad as “Victor.”
Lead actor Jeremiah Bitsui may not yet be a household name, but he’s no newcomer, either. His first acting credit came 20 years ago, when he played “Young Indian Boy” in Natural Born Killers. More recently, he had an eight-episode stint on Breaking Bad as “Victor.”
Lamenting the lack of multifaceted Native American characters in film, Freeland sought to portray a richer reality. Her characters are honest and multidimensional, transcending stereotypes — flawed as they may be, we come to genuinely care about them. Their stories intertwine as the film focuses on life in a community, and through their interactions, we are exposed to an incredible spectrum of emotion. Ultimately, each of the characters simply seeks comfort in their own skin, though they take very different routes in trying to reach that end.
There is no happy ending — Freeland explains that she does not believe in such things — but the film does end on a hopeful note. The issues are heavy indeed, but it’s not a heavy-handed film. It feels real, gritty, and ultimately, like a new beginning.
The photo of Jeremiah Bitsui in this article is by Jeremy Valdez.
