Documentary reveals relevance of 1680 today

Veiled Lightning, a documentary that’s been on the film festival circuit of late, inspiring social change and receiving national acclaim, is also playing on the Gallup Film Festival big screen.

The film “weaves archival footage, informant interviews, original art and exclusive news coverage” to explore the way “protest movements unfurling across the Southwest and the nation provide for social and environmental justice and fight genocide, oppression, exploitation and appropriation to save Indigenous culture while simultaneously creating a way for us to all heal from our national history,” according to its website.

The woman behind the feature is producer Jaima Chevalier, who recently corresponded with the Sun over email.

Chevalier, whose godparents were Cochiti and whose mother taught at the Santa Fe Indian School, grew up on a ranch on the outskirts of the City Different.

“I am fixated by NM history,” the filmmaker, who learned her craft from Silver Horn Media President Tony Martinez, said in a Sept. 11 email. “It is the driving force behind all of my work in written and cinematic form.”

Veiled Lightning, she said, is the result of “an amazing group of collaborators: Ashley Browning (Sundance Full Circle Fellow in 2017), Gomeo Bobelu from Zuni, Natachee Momaday Gray, Tazbah Gaussoin and many others.”

According to Chevalier, one of the main themes of the film is the way the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 continues to echo in contemporary society.

“New Mexico is a well-spring for many extremely talented Native artists who focus on the theme of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, a.k.a. The First American Revolution,” she said. “One example is Virgil Ortiz; another is Cliff Fragua,” whose Po’Pay sculpture “stands in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., one of New Mexico’s two official state sculptures.”

Po’Pay was a Tewa medicine man who sought to restore Pueblo customs and freedom to his people after his imprisonment by the Spanish. On Aug. 10, 1680, he led an organized revolt in which most Pueblos participated, ultimately forcing the Spanish to flee, and which left 400 dead, including 21 Catholic priests.

The Pueblo people remained free until 1692, when New Mexico was conquered again, this time by Gov. Pedro de Vargas.

Chevalier said people like “Joe Sando and Herman Agoyo — both now deceased — spent decades trying to get the state to recognize Po’Pay. Veiled Lightning began as an exploration of this ‘revolt’ art, if you will, but it grew organically to encompass an echo of the revolt that began as soon as we started shooting. That echo is the protests of the Santa Fe Fiesta Entrada.”

The film has contributed to what Chevalier called “a monumental change in Santa Fe that eliminated the Fiesta Council’s annual depiction of armed conquistadors re-taking the city from the Natives after the Pueblo Revolt,” also known as the Entrada.

In 2015, the crew shot footage of a small group of protesters who rekindled “the long-simmering feud over the Fiesta Council’s Entrada,” Chevalier said, but they didn’t anticipate anything coming of the protest. “After all, the Entrada has been protested for many decades without success.”

In 2016, though, two primarily female-led protest groups “burst onto the scene,” according to Chevalier. These were Red Nation and In the Spirit of Po’Pay. A large protest began against the reenactment of the 1962 Spanish re-occupation of Santa Fe that occurred 12 years after the Pueblo Revolt.

The Veiled Lightning team shot the event with nine cameras, coming out with shots that formed a 360-degree radius.

“Interviews with the protest leaders showed how this event was poised to make history, and sure enough, the following year an even larger protest led by the same women resulted in eight arrests and massive turmoil,” Chevalier said. “Over 80 police officers, with 100 more in reserve, made for a powder keg situation. The specter of SWAT officers looming ominously over the plaza where women and children protested was enough to convince civic, religious and pueblo leaders that the Entrada had to go.”

And indeed the Entrada did go. This year, a decision was reached to end the dramatization during the Fiesta.

Leading up to the decision to remove the Entrada, Veiled Lightning was screened at various venues to raise awareness on the matter. The New Mexico History Museum screened the film twice.

In making the documentary, filmmakers shot 300 hours of footage across the state and in six Pueblos, and interviewed more than 90 individuals. One such figure was Jennifer Marley  —  a lead organizer of the Red Nation, a coalition dedicated to Native liberation  — at her home in San Ildefonso Pueblo.

Marley was arrested along with seven other protestors in September 2017 for pushing her way through a line of police officers during the Entrada. All eight protestors’ cases were dismissed.

More than 100 people protested the reenactment in Santa Fe during last year’s Fiesta event.

Chevalier said Veiled Lightning has “enjoyed an amazing tour of the film festival circuit, with new developments poised to bring New Mexico even greater coverage for its role in this important social justice issue. Our team worked extensively with people from Acoma, Gallup, Zuni Pueblo, Quemado and Hopi lands.”

As for Chevalier, while her film makes the festival rounds to broad acclaim, she’s “currently assisting flamenco legend Maria Benitez with her memoirs, and working on a television script about the Pueblo Revolt with a fantasy vibe,” she said.

Chevalier will be in Gallup for the GFF screening.

The documentary will be screened at 10 am on Sept. 15. Visit www.gallupfilmfestival.com for screening and ticket information, and www.veiledlightning.com to learn more about the film.

Mia Rose Poris
Sun Assistant Editor

Rating: «« out of ««««

Running Time: 86 minutes

As animated films go, there are some releases that are made squarely for the youngest of viewers, a smaller number that cater exclusively to adults, and finally those that aspire to bridge the gap, entertaining young and old alike. The latest feature to hit cinemas is Wonder Park, about a magical theme park called, oddly enough, Wonderland. For those curious, it most definitely fits into the first animated film delineation. It’s certainly polished looking enough to be appealing to young children, but many parents attending with them will be looking at their watches.

June (Brianna Denski) is an imaginative, thrill-seeking child who spends free time with her mom (Jennifer Garner) designing and creating an amusement park with exaggerated attractions and a crew of animal caretakers. When her ill mother is forced to leave home for an extended hospital stay, an upset June removes her designs and takes on a somber and serious approach to life. When June’s dad (Matthew Broderick) sends her to math camp, the girl escapes into the woods where she finds the ruins of Wonderland. She also meets her animal pals (voiced by Mila Kunis, John Oliver, Kenan Thompson, Ken Jeong, Ken Hudson Campbell and Norbert Leo Butz), who urge her to reunite them and revitalize the park before it is torn apart by rampaging stuffed animals called Chimpanzombies.

As mentioned, the visuals are skillfully put together and there are some impressive long shots and a zippy energy during a couple of sequences, including a bit with June on a makeshift rollercoaster that careens off its tracks and into the neighborhood and even some nicely animated bits involving the camera following the lead as she moves around and sits on a school bus. The park lends itself to some nice imagery, although for the majority of the running time the location is in shambles and overgrown with weeds.

The idea of stuffed animals turning bad and leading a charge against the park is amusing...at least in concept. Unfortunately, the Chimpanzombie antagonists don’t have any discernable personality. Of course, that may inform viewers as to why they have been given that moniker, but beyond the initial gag of cute little animals carrying weapons, these bad guys fail to make a lasting impression and there ultimately isn’t much of interest about them.

And the heroic animals are simply drawn, from a narcoleptic bear, to a monkey lacking creative inspiration, as well as a nervous porcupine with a crush on his wild boar co-worker. Much of the humor is broad and aimed specifically at children. As an adult, if you were hoping for some subtle or amusing comment on what part of the girl’s psyche each unusual character might represent, you won’t find any jokes of the sort in this production. The talented voice cast do their best, but most of the time are forced into delivering a series of sweet but straight-forward and obvious gags.

Of course, the point of the movie is to inspire children to never give up on their dreams or stop using their imagination. Unfortunately, this theme is repeatedly stated, as character after character utters to Jane that, “You are the wonder in Wonderland.” Once is quite enough for a comment like that, but here it’s hammered into viewers as often and about as bluntly as a sledgehammer over the head. Ultimately, kids won’t mind and will enjoy seeing a wild and embellished theme park come to life onscreen. But instead of thrills, adults may be rolling their eyes at much of Wonder Park.

Visit: www.CinemaStance.com

By Glenn Kay
For the Sun

UNM-Gallup now offers students interested in the field of nursing the option of receiving a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

The addition of the bachelor’s degree is the result of collaborative statewide partnerships that allows institutions of higher education to share a common curriculum and grant students access to a broader number of program options.

UNM-Gallup previously offered only an on-site Associate Degree in Nursing, but now allows students to fulfill additional requirements for the BSN without having to leave the UNM-Gallup campus. BSN students who complete the program will receive their Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of New Mexico main campus in Albuquerque, and their Associate of Science in Nursing from UNM-Gallup.

Students seeking the BSN will have to complete nursing program admission requirements from a range of prerequisites including science, English, math and humanities before they are eligible to enter into nursing coursework. Once the prerequisites are finished, however, completion of the BSN only requires one more semester than the ADN.

The UNM-Gallup nursing program has 24 spaces available each semester – eight for the BSN and 16 for the ADN. The BSN entrants must have all prerequisites completed with a 2.75 grade point average and pass an admissions exam.

Nursing Program Director Sabrina Ezzell explained several advantages to completion of the bachelor’s program.

“Graduates have a higher earning potential with the BSN. Additionally, many federal facilities, such as the Veterans Affairs Department, are now requiring a BSN," Ezzell said.

She went on to recognize the high placement rate of UNM-G nursing graduates.

“UNM-Gallup has a 100-percent hiring rate with many students offered jobs even before they have taken the state boards. Most graduates stay within an hour of the area accepting employment in Gallup, Grants and Ft. Defiance.” she said.

This BSN partnership with the UNM main campus is the result of the New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium’s common statewide nursing curriculum. This shared curriculum was designed and is shared by 15 programs throughout the state.

Students can seamlessly transfer between institutions that have adopted the NMNEC curriculum for both ADN and BSN programs. All NMNEC schools have the same admission requirements, program policies and course requirements.

The process undertaken by UNM-G to integrate the BSN included faculty adoption of the curriculum and assignment of a mentoring school, which was San Juan College in Farmington.  Administrators from the San Juan College nursing program presented to the UNM-Gallup nursing faculty to share information and make recommendations in areas where additional coursework was needed especially in prerequisite areas such as neurobiology.

The first group of BSN students started this fall and participated in an orientation with UNM-Gallup faculty as well as Judy Liesveld, education team chair and Susan Koronkiewicz, undergraduate program director from the UNM College of Nursing.

Liesveld remarked, “This program provides an opportunity for students to remain in their home community and get their BSN without having to leave. I am thrilled for these students.”

Koronkiewicz added, “Hopefully this keeps graduates in the community to live and work. These are great partnerships that are really rich and allow students to participate in the main campus BSN program”

For more information, please contact the UNM-Gallup Nursing Department at (505) 863-7599 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Rating: «« out of ««««

Running Time: 124 minutes

This week marks the first of three Marvel Cinematic Universe movies arriving in theaters this year. Set well before the events of the previous Avengers movie, Captain Marvel isn’t a familiar superhero for the average moviegoer, and in some respects feels like a film that has been wedged into the franchise. It certainly isn’t one of the best entries in the lengthy series, but does improve as it progresses and will provide enough fun to earn it a pass from comic book cinephiles.

The story introduces viewers to Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), a Kree warrior who possesses the ability to shoot a powerful energy beam out of her hands. After being sent on a secret mission with mentor Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) to fight their mortal enemies named the Skrull, she is separated from her group and finds herself stranded on Earth in the year 1995.

After Danvers discovers that a devastating power source is being developed nearby by a scientist (Annette Bening), she finds herself teaming up with a young Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to stop the Skrull from finding and stealing the weapon. Along the way, she begins to have visions of a past life on the planet.

Frankly, the concept itself is a bit silly and it’s remarkable that the filmmakers and cast get away with as much of this clunky story as they do. Larson makes for a likable lead, although the script saddles her with some creaky one-liners that miss the mark. At least the cinematography is striking. It’s a darker looking movie and early slow-motion shots featuring close-ups of explosions are impressive.

The film is also helped by the Skrulls themselves, an interesting alien race who possess the ability to shapeshift. This leads to a few tense moments as characters attempt to determine if the person they’re communicating with really is who they appear to be or an alien copy. In fact, Skrull mission leader Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) even manages to sell a humorous exchange or two later in the film.

However, there are several problems. As mentioned, a big portion of the movie is a superhero buddy picture featuring Danvers and a young, CGI-treated Jackson playing Nick Fury (which is a bit distracting) trading barbs. A couple of gags along the way do work, including a later scene involving the characters waiting to read information from a CD-ROM, and a few moments featuring a feline stowaway. However, far more of their material simply falls flat or is mistimed.

The script peppers the film with too many jokes and references to the ‘90s for its own good, going well out of its way to squeeze in references to bands and pop culture from the era. Additionally, while this won’t be as much of a problem for a casual viewer, the screenplay also bluntly states its themes, which include the typical trope of using one’s power wisely and not resorting to rash and overly aggressive decision-making. While certainly well-intentioned, it comes across as too obvious.

And there are certain exaggerated elements and questions that viewers will simply have to ignore. One of these is an elaborate battle featuring an enormous spaceship appearing in the lower Thermosphere that fires numerous missiles, resulting in massive explosions. The story may be set in 1995, but it’s hard to believe that this would go unnoticed below. And even though the intention is to tie one character’s actions with the film’s themes, it is kind of funny to watch a person accuse the villains of tearing them away from friends and family, and then almost immediately decide to take a 25-year leave of absence from the planet.

Naturally, fans will also be pleased to hear that the movie features a couple of extra scenes at the beginning and end of the credits tying events together and leading in to next month’s Avengers: Endgame.As it stands, Captain Marvel is a perfectly acceptable piece of superhero entertainment, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call the character’s first outing anything close to marvelous.

Visit: www.CinemaStance.com

By Glenn Kay
For the Sun