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Behind
the SCENES |
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"Send
Word, Bear Mother" features awesome sequences depicting
the relationship between the Woman and the grizzly Bear Mother
spirit guide. The role of Bear Mother was played by two young
golden grizzlies who are beloved family members of Wasatch
Rocky Mountain Wildlife in Utah. Their names are Tank and
Bubba.
Producer-director Lynn Feinerman, co-producer-actor Helen
Stoltzfus, and their crew travelled to Utah to work with Wasatch
and the bears. You can preview one of the sequences with
the bears at this site, in a ten minute segment from the movie
itself. Just click here
and follow the instructions. |
Interwoven into the final credits of this movie is a mini
-documentary about how the work with the bears was
done. So, if you order the movie, you'll be able to see that.
The work with the grizzly bears was the most challenging part
of making "Send Word, Bear Mother". And the bears surprised
everyone working on the movie, even Wasatch Rocky Mountain
Wildlife's Doug and Lynne Seus --- with their genuine ability
to act! |
Most of the work that the bears had done previous to their
work with the Crown Sephira Productions crew for "Send Word,
Bear Mother" was "the usual" -growling, staring into the camera,
running. But for this movie the bears had to be able to wrestle,
dance, nurse --- and they were both males!
They also had to be able to respond with emotion to the Woman,
and when you see the movie you'll see they came through like
troupers!
The movie was produced and directed by Lynn Feinerman,
a San Francisco independent writer and film maker who's concentrated
on issue-driven movies about ecology and peacebuilding.
Her movies have won numerous awards, been featured on public
television and cable, and are in extensive educational distribution. Lynn
co-wrote the screenplay with Helen Stoltzfus, who created
the original play on which the movie is based. The movie
tells Helen's true story. Helen is an actor, writer, teacher,
and Co-Artistic Director of A Traveling Jewish Theatre. She
plays herself in the movie --- reliving her own harrowing
experience! |
The movie was filmed by two great directors of photography.
Robert Dalva was a cinematographer on the original "Black
Stallion" and directed "Black Stallion 2". Rick Fichter has
worked on special effects camera and cinematography for numerous
films for Lucasfilm, Ltd. Rick and his awesome camera assistant
Mike Bienstock are featured here in some of the production
stills from the shoot in Utah.
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Contact the Producer,
Crown Sephira Productions:
info@bearmother.com |
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