Followup to Turquoise Rose

‘Blue Gap Boy’z’ film opens todayIt took Travis Hamilton more than six years to find the money and film his first feature, “Turquoise Rose.”

His second feature, which will premier in Gallup, Farmington, Kayenta and Tempe on Friday, was financed and made in a short 10 months.

And “Blue Gap Boy’z” has another major difference from his first movie—it’s a comedy.

“Turquoise Rose” had several funny moments but it was basically a drama, and Hamilton said in a phone interview Wednesday that he felt with the times being the way they are, it was time for people to laugh.

“There have been a lot of serious dramas come out to the reservations over the last few years,” he said. “A lot of them seemed to make the audiences leave the theater feeling more depressed and discouraged with life then when they went in.”And:The premise of the movie is simple. A European entertainment producer comes to America in search of a Native American band he can take back with him to entertain the folks back home, and the film centers around three bands, including the one in the title, that compete for the spot.

It stars three Navajo actors—Ernest David Tsosie III, who is part of the James and Ernie comedy duo—Beau Benally and Vincent Craig, Navajo comedian and creator of the “Muttonman” comic strip.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.