Brainstorming in Baghdad…The Story Behind the Story of “Turquoise Rose”
December 12th, 2006 by Carole LevineSweating in your bunk south of Baghdad is hardly the place you’d expect to develop a coming of age story about a Navajo girl from Arizona. But it was.
Travis Hamilton was cutting his teeth as a young filmmaker when his National Guard unit was called up several years ago to be sent to the Mideast combat zone. While waiting at Ft. Bliss to be deployed to Kuwait and Iraq, he befriended a fellow soldier, a Navajo woman with whom he brainstormed ideas for a movie far far removed from the reality of their situation. Saddam or no Saddam, the seed was planted. 
Turquoise Rose is the flower that blossomed from that seed; the story of a Phoenix college student planning to study in Rome when called back home to the reservation to care for her ailing grandmother. And in early ’07, this Iraq war veteran will premiere his film that is, without a doubt, Navajo in feel and spirit; Navajo even though this Iraq war veteran isn’t Native himself.
This fact is something Hamilton is sensitive to; which is why he has worked all the more vigorously to recruit Navajo story advisors, cast and crew. He didn’t want to fall prey to what happened in Rick Schroder's Black Cloud, the Navajo-themed film that had marginal involvement from the people portrayed.
“It’s natural that Navajo people are going to ask, ‘what’s with this white guy trying to tell our story?’” Hamilton says, “I understand and accept that. So to make it authentic, I surrounded myself with the people who experience the language, the culture. I immersed myself and listened and changed the script dialogue when it needed to be changed. That’s why more than 90 percent of our crew and all Navajo parts are played by Navajo.”
Keeping to his commitment, Hamilton auditioned for undiscovered talent on the reservation, with lead roles going to Natasha Kaye Johnson and Deshava Apachee, and went about filming Rose with the few funds he had available by “maxing out my credit cards.”
Admittedly, it’s been a challenge, but all in all a challenge that’s been worth it. “I want people to see the reservation the way I see it. It’s a beautiful place full of friendly, great people,” he says, “I’ve gotten more support than I thought I would have, even though I lived on the reservation myself for two years. There is no doubt that this film would not have happened without them.”
The result? Hamilton’s first feature film, a contemporary coming-of-age story that sowed its seeds far far away in a war torn region. Saddam or no Saddam.
“My goal is to have people see Turquoise Rose and say, “Wow. What Navajo made that movie?’”
We’ll have our chance to do just that. Soon…:)
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Turquoise Rose will be premiering in early 2007 at select locations. DVDs will be available later in the spring. For more information, please visit the official website: www.turquoiserosethemovie.com
