Peoples’ struggles on celluloid

Two sets of Laguna Beach filmmakers are focusing on humanitarian concerns in documentaries set to debut at next week’s Newport Beach Film Festival.

“Lakota: Voices in the 21st Century” is a collection of interviews from Native Americans who tell their stories of life on a reservation.

“Tsunami Diaries” documents a group of surfers who in 2004 traveled to Indonesia to give aid to villagers whose homes were destroyed by the massive tsunami.

After 22 years of making commercials for major corporations, Robert Celecia and Amanda Strolin were inspired to make a documentary upon hearing a radio interview with Lakota Indian Basil Bravehart.

In the interview, Bravehart spoke of a cultural genocide of American Indians who were stripped of land and unable to effectively preserve their native language.

In October of 2004, Celecia, Strolin and a camera crew of four packed into an Airstream trailer and drove to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

The production crew was on a quest to learn more about the Lakotas.

“We had no pre-conceived notions of what would happen,” Celecia said. “I said let’s do it because we want to do it.”

The film crew was greeted warmly, Celecia said. “We weren’t big shots coming in with a huge crew. We ate what they ate.”

Throughout the course of the 30-minute film several Lakotans share their community’s problems, including higher than average rates of alcoholism, unemployment, cancer and infant mortality.

“Every day we cried,” Strolin said.

To present the interviews in their truest form, Celecia said little was done in the editing stage.

“It’s the people speaking about their lives, there’s no voice-over, we haven’t done much to it,” Celecia said.

“Tsunami Diaries” hits home for Lagunan Jeff Coffman, 24, who spent a large part of his childhood in Indonesia.

With fellow producers Timmy Turner, 25, and Kristian MyCue, 24, Coffman believes he has created something that will inspire audiences.

The “Tsunami Diaries” tells of the story of friends, Timmy Turner and Dustin Humphrey, as they head to Indonesia on a relief mission just six days after the 2004 tsunami devastated the country.

Turner, a pro surfer and filmmaker, initially went to join Surf Aid, a group of surfers giving aid, though was turned away due to an overcrowded boat.

Determined to help, Turner and friends rented their own boat, and traveled to an island in northern Sumatra neglected by other aid efforts.

They gathered a crew of 13, and 50 tons of supplies ? including four doctors and two goats ? to provide medical attention and emergency food for two weeks.

“It was gnarly with dead bodies floating everywhere, everything was wrecked like a war zone,” Turner said.

Turner and his crew were able to help thousands of people begin to put their lives back together, Turner said.

In the post-production work Coffman was able to incorporate video footage from tourists and an original music score from Mark Heyes.

“I know a lot of people see tragic events on their TV sets and want to help, but they have the thought, ‘What could I possibly do?’” Coffman said.

“A lot of lives were touched that would have gone unnoticed if Timmy would have just sent a check off to the Red Cross and gone back to the beach to go surfing in Huntington.”

“Not only is it inspiring, but the way the story unfolds is almost too good to write,” Coffman added.

Newport Beach Film Festival will run through April 30. Films will be shown at various locations throughout Newport Beach. Information: (866) 623-3849 or www.newportbeachfilmfestival.com

“Lakota: Voices in the 21st Century”, 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 25, Edwards Island Cox, $10.

“The Tsunami Diaries” 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, Regency Lido Theater, $10.cpt.21-newportfilms-1-CPhotoInfo3O1Q5IVP20060421ixzt6mnc(LA)’The Tsunami Diaries: A Voyage to the Epicenter’ will be playing at the Newport Beach Film Festival. cpt.21-newportfilms-2-CPhotoInfo3O1Q5IVS20060421ixzt6tnc(LA)’Lakota Voices in the 21st Century’ will be screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival.