Acclaim for Raccoon & Crawfish

Raccoon & Crawfish Wins Moondance Sandcastle Award for AnimationRACCOON & CRAWFISH, the first 3D-animated short film created by the Oneida Nation's Four Direction Prods., won first place in the animation category at the 2007 Moondance International Film Festival. Moondance is a major venue for the exhibition and promotion of feature and short films in the U.S. and one of the leading indie film festivals in the world.

"This is just an exceptional accomplishment for us," said Ray Halbritter, exec producer and Nation Representative. "For our first effort to receive critical recognition, and especially to win at Moondance, is a testament to the talent of our creative team at Four Directions and to the Nation's commitment to excel in all its endeavors."Oneida Nation Conjures Up Spirit of Animation

Centuries after “He Who Takes Up the Snow Shoe” became an Oneida legend of the Revolutionary War, the New York tribe is basking in the glow of those who have taken up CGI.The tale at the center of the Oneida Indian Nation’s animated offering Raccoon & Crawfish has been around a lot longer than even the earliest narratives put forth by Walt Disney Studios. But now, thanks to its production as a high-def 3D short through the New York tribe’s production house Four Directions Media, it is connecting with a whole new audience. A winner at the Telly Awards, North Carolina’s Real to Reel Festival and now Hollywood’s Moondance Film Festival, the short is based on a long-held Oneida oral legend about a confrontation between a raccoon and a crawfish, and the lessons learned from the encounter.