GRAND FALLS, Ariz. — Filming for the fictitious short film, Liberty of Jewels, recently wrapped and is now transitioning to post-production, according to the film’s writer and director.
Keanu Jones, who graduated from the Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy is from Grand Falls, Arizona. He holds a bachelor of arts from Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint, New Mexico.
Jones, 25, is a former fellow at the 2020 Native Filmmakers Lab of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. He said the film, which was filmed around downtown Gallup, is in the editing phase.
“I’m the main editor, but I plan to collaborate with other folks on the music, sound design and everything else to polish up the final film,” Jones said. “We have plans to submit the film to as many festivals as we can — such as the Sundance Film Festival, the South by Southwest Film Festival, the Gallup Film Festival, the Santa Fe Film Festival and international film festivals.”
The Fort Defiance-born actor and comedian Ernest Tsosie is the lead actor in the film. Jones estimated that up to 90 percent of the 10-minute production is of Navajo affiliation.
Liberty of Jewels is the story of Gilbert Etsitty, a financially strained Navajo father who works in Gallup as a clerk for Jeff’s Trading Post. He is tested by his employer, Jeff, who is a manipulative boss that forces Gilbert to gain autonomy for the survival of his daughter’s relationship.
“I always envisioned the story taking place in Gallup early in the writing process. There’s something about the city that encompasses the Native American jewelry market in the southwest,” Jones said. “In the downtown area, there are tons of trading posts, so this was the world I wanted to explore. A lot of the context stems from the idea of Native Americans’ participation and ownership in border towns. As Native people, we have a huge influence in the development of these border towns.”
The New Mexico Film Office lauded production of the film, which is produced by Ashley Browning, Joelle Luman, Lauren Begay and Shaandiin Tome. The production employs approximately 14 New Mexico crew members and four New Mexico principal actors, Dodson said.
Jones said he learned quite a bit from the Sundance Native Filmmaker Lab.
“We had access to a lot of mentors and peers to bounce ideas off of,” he said. “There was a lot of development for me as a filmmaker and as a person.”
According to Jones, the goal for the fellowship is for emerging filmmakers to make a transition to a more professional approach in video production by assigning producers and everyone else to make the film.
“This helped me to grow my confidence as a person and a filmmaker to create my own stories in collaboration with other talented people,” he said.
GRAND FALLS, Ariz. — Filming for the fictitious short film, Liberty of Jewels, recently wrapped and is now transitioning to post-production, according to the film’s writer and director.
Keanu Jones, who graduated from the Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy is from Grand Falls, Arizona. He holds a bachelor of arts from Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint, New Mexico.
Jones, 25, is a former fellow at the 2020 Native Filmmakers Lab of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. He said the film, which was filmed around downtown Gallup, is in the editing phase.
“I’m the main editor, but I plan to collaborate with other folks on the music, sound design and everything else to polish up the final film,” Jones said. “We have plans to submit the film to as many festivals as we can — such as the Sundance Film Festival, the South by Southwest Film Festival, the Gallup Film Festival, the Santa Fe Film Festival and international film festivals.”
The Fort Defiance-born actor and comedian Ernest Tsosie is the lead actor in the film. Jones estimated that up to 90 percent of the 10-minute production is of Navajo affiliation.
Liberty of Jewels is the story of Gilbert Etsitty, a financially strained Navajo father who works in Gallup as a clerk for Jeff’s Trading Post. He is tested by his employer, Jeff, who is a manipulative boss that forces Gilbert to gain autonomy for the survival of his daughter’s relationship.
“I always envisioned the story taking place in Gallup early in the writing process. There’s something about the city that encompasses the Native American jewelry market in the southwest,” Jones said. “In the downtown area, there are tons of trading posts, so this was the world I wanted to explore. A lot of the context stems from the idea of Native Americans’ participation and ownership in border towns. As Native people, we have a huge influence in the development of these border towns.”
The New Mexico Film Office lauded production of the film, which is produced by Ashley Browning, Joelle Luman, Lauren Begay and Shaandiin Tome. The production employs approximately 14 New Mexico crew members and four New Mexico principal actors, Dodson said.
Jones said he learned quite a bit from the Sundance Native Filmmaker Lab.
“We had access to a lot of mentors and peers to bounce ideas off of,” he said. “There was a lot of development for me as a filmmaker and as a person.”
According to Jones, the goal for the fellowship is for emerging filmmakers to make a transition to a more professional approach in video production by assigning producers and everyone else to make the film.
“This helped me to grow my confidence as a person and a filmmaker to create my own stories in collaboration with other talented people,” he said.