April 07, 2014 6:30 am • Meredith Colias Journal Staff(1) Comments
Related Galleries

Production company looking for Native American actors

For a woman who had never given a passing thought to being in a movie, the wait Sunday to audition was both nerve-wracking and thrilling.

“I’m actually kind of giddy,” Wynona Traversie, 63, of Rapid City said. “My armpits are sweaty, and I never sweat.”

She and nearly 50 other aspiring actors stopped by for a Sunday afternoon casting call at the downtown Rapid City library. Upon their arrival, the aspiring actors filled out a short form and then had to memorize one passage of their choice from movies like “Legends of the Fall” for their brief on-camera audition.

First-time filmmaker Mollianne Cameron was directing the show on Sunday. Her production company, Chocolate Eyes Productions, is here to find actors for a film about two girls roughly between 8 and 10-years-old — one white, one native — who form a lasting friendship after an unforeseen tragedy brings them together.

The auditions continue Monday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Hoyt conference room. Cameron is hoping to cast Native American actors to play a grandmother, three fathers, two mothers, a teenaged son, a daughter between 8 and 10 years old and two children at least three years old.

Traversie said she was grateful for the chance to be part of a project showing Native American culture in a more positive light. “I really hope the film is a success,” she said. “The more we get away from the stereotypical Native characters, it’s better for them to see. We don’t all live in poverty.”

Cameron and her husband live most of the year with their children near Indianapolis, but they also own a horse ranch seven miles west of Custer and close to where he grew up. They will begin filming there in late June.

She said the beauty of the Black Hills provides a perfect backdrop for their story. “It’s a way different life out here,” Cameron said. “It’s a place everyone should see.”

The location, she said, will allow them to set the production’s pace without feeling rushed. “It really fits the story the way she wants to tell it,” said her husband, Russell Cameron.

He said she wanted to make the film from a child’s perspective to avoid stereotypes that have plagued other films about Native Americans.

“We won’t have substance-abuse issues and a lot of swear words. It’s going to be a family friendly film,” he said.

Their plan is to produce the film first, then show it at festivals while they hope to find a distributor. They have managed to secure funding from a number of sources and are spending some of their own money on the project.

The undertaking is a big risk. Russell Cameron said production costs alone might range from $50,000 to $100,000 but with technology driving down some of the costs of film-making, his wife said the time was right to pursue a passion she had since she used to visit a theater blocks away from her home as a child.

She is just as excited as some of the prospective actors and said they will iron out the details with actors of lesser experience if they have to once filming begins. “It’s really about how they come across on camera,” she said.

Contact Meredith Colias as 394-8417 or meredith.colias@rapidcityjournal.com

Filmmakers search the Black Hills for Native American actors
Posted: Apr 07, 2014 12:25 AM EDT
By Alexa Block, News Reporter – email
A Native American casting call is taking place for an Independent Film to be shot in the Black Hills. The Rapid City Public Library played host to the Chocolate Eyes Production Company’s actor search. The filmmakers are looking for Native American actors to fill a number of roles.

Molli Cameron, the film’s producer, says the untitled film is about a Native American girl and a white girl finding a friendship amidst their differences. “I want them to see a positive story, a nice family story from the Black Hills,” said Cameron. “I think a lot of times we see documentaries and we see the negative side of what it can be like growing up and I think that there’s a lot of positive.”

The open casting call for Native American actors will continue Monday at the Rapid City Public Library, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. All levels of acting experience are accepted.

Filming is expected to begin this June and go through August.

News Release

March 17, 2014

Feature Film to Shoot in the Blacks Hills of South Dakota the Summer of 2014.  

Chocolate Eyes Productions, LLC is holding an open casting call for Native American actors at the Rapid City Public Library downtown at 610 Quincy Street. The casting call will be on Sunday, April 6 from 1 PM to 5 PM and Monday, April 7 from 11 AM to 3 PM.

Actors are needed to play a grandmother, three fathers, two mothers, a teen son, an eight-year old daughter (actor may be older), and two children at least three-years old. Minors through the age of fifteen must be accompanied at all times by a parent or guardian.

Synopsis: Two young girls, one native and one white, are forced together after a tragedy occurs. They come from different worlds, but have more in common than either could imagine. Will their lives be changed forever?

Production company representative may be reached at chocolateeyesproductions@gmail.com