Final_National-Release_Return-to-Rainy-Mountain_-2017_

Please Note: Photos (High Res.), captions, credits, a promo/trailer (embedded and downloadable), and a full length, press-preview screener are all available in the pressroom of New Mexico PBS at: http://www.newmexicopbs.org/pressroom The producer is available for interviews FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (Date) (Station Logo) Presents Native Pulitzer Prize-Winner Dr N Scott Momaday Travels Back In Time in RETURN TO RAINY MOUNTAIN _ (Airdate/Time, Channel) (City, State) - Dr N Scott Momaday, recipient of the first Pulitzer Prize for Fiction awarded to a Native American writer, and his daughter, filmmaker Jill Momaday Gray, take viewers on a modern-day road trip loosely based on the Kiowa nation’s ancestral myths, legends and collective identity Based on Dr Momaday’s bestselling book, "The Way to Rainy Mountain," RETURN TO RAINY MOUNTAIN had its theatrical premiere at the 2017 Santa Fe Independent Film Festival (Station ) presents RETURN TO RAINY MOUNTAIN (note following copy is time specific, if airing in November) ,in conjunction with Native American Heritage Month, on ( Day / Date / Time ) on (Station / Channel) _ RETURN TO RAINY MOUNTAIN celebrates the life and legacy of Dr Momaday and the rich cultural history of the Kiowa people Producer/Director Jill Momaday Gray takes the viewers on a visual and poetic journey The film retraces the sacred journey of the Kiowa people to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, and Rainy Mountain in southwestern Oklahoma landmarks that inform the Kiowa oral traditions passed along for generations In 2014, director Jill Momaday Gray was inspired when her 95-year-old Kiowa aunt passed away Gray recognized the urgency and importance of capturing the Kiowa oral tradition on film Gray’s aunt had been a great-granddaughter of Sitting Bear, the keeper of stories and knowledge - a powerful and amazing woman “I realized with her passing, that many stories would be lost It made a profound impression of the importance of preserving them, as my father has also done with his writing,” said Gray Dr Momaday’s international reputation and legacy includes winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his 1969 novel, House Made of Dawn He earned a Masters and a Ph.D in English from Stanford University and has 20 honorary doctorates A 2005 award-winning PBS documentary REMEMBERED EARTH: NEW MEXICO’S HIGH DESERT featured Momaday He also narrated the 1978 documentary MORE THAN BOWS AND ARROWS, which aired on PBS and the Discovery Channel Momaday was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2007 by President George W Bush "for his writings and his work that celebrates and preserves Native American art and oral tradition." Among other notable honors Dr Momaday received are a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Oklahoma Centennial State Poet Laureate in 2007, and UNESCO's Artist for Peace Award As early as 1971, Dr Momaday was recognized as a pioneer of environmental education, authoring "The American Land Ethic" which noted the tradition of respect for nature practiced by many of America’s Native people Gray steps into the role of a modern spokesperson for this tradition of respect for nature The 2015 annual honoree for New Mexico Women in the Arts says, “In addition to sharing the Kiowa history and oral tradition, the film gave me time with my father and a chance to really know him He was absent much of my life as he carved out his brilliant career and legacy We’ve been fitting the pieces of a puzzle together to tell one big story, which is also the bigger story of Humanity: Man’s relationship to nature, animals, the universe, Creator and each other.” The film follows one story arc of the Kiowa legends, and another of the Momaday family reconciliation Production Team The visual/sound and editing team includes Director of Photography/Editor Doug Crawford, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Cinematographer of SURVIVING COLUMBUS: THE STORY OF THE PUEBLO PEOPLE (PBS, 1992), and Director of Photography for THE NATIVE AMERICANS (TBS, 1994); David Aubrey, nominated for the Best Edited Documentary (BARAKA, 1993) and Blackhorse Lowe, Cinematographer (AMONG RAVENS, 2014.) Major funding for RETURN TO RAINY MOUNTAIN was provided by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting Additional funding provided in part by Vision Maker Media, the Chickasaw Nation and the Frost Foundation TRAILER: WEBSITE: www.returntorainymountain.com For more information, distribution, photos, or interviews, please contact: Sheila Seclearr 505-629-4120 or ss@ravenkind.com (Insert Station Boilerplate) New Mexico PBS Celebrating over 55 years of service, New Mexico PBS (KNME & KNMD-TV) serving most of New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, broadcasts a wide array of nature, history, current affairs, health, performance, children's, educational and entertainment programs New Mexico PBS produces NEW MEXICO IN FOCUS, COLORES! and a variety of specials New Mexico PBS operates digital broadcast channels: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 9.1, and 9.2 New Mexico PBS is co-licensed to the University of New Mexico (UNM) and Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) www.newmexicopbs.org Press Contacts: (Insert Local Contact) Press / Station Relations contact: Evy Todd , Publicist / Station Relations New Mexico PBS (505) 277-1218; etodd@nmpbs.org ###