"The film is as powerful and evocative in its own way
as the piece it reveres and celebrates."
— Broadway World
Nominated for four 2021 regional Emmy® Awards - Arts/Entertainment Program, Director, Editing, and Technical Achievement
HOW THE WEST WAS SUNGHow do artists create? The documentary film RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE: THE MAKING OF A WESTERN OPERA captures the process behind a new opera. We witness how a composer turns an idea into a score and then welcomes different artists, singers, and artisans to build a rich, multi-faceted story told through music, writing, visual arts, and the human voice. We meet cowboy scholars and film buffs to discover what made Grey’s novel so successful its themes influenced Westerns for years to come; and delve into the controversy around Zane Grey’s characterization of 19th century Mormons to discern the historical reality and true grit of those who settled the West.
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A film about Place, Process & Performance
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Production Team |
Kristin Atwell Ford pays homage to Zane Grey's character, the Masked Rider. Photo by Robert Pflumm.
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Kristin Atwell Ford
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As an Emmy® Award-Winning filmmaker, Kristin draws on her theater training and sensibilities as a wilderness guide to create documentaries that focus on the synthesis of people and place. From environmental issues like water sustainability and wildfire in the West, to social justice, literacy, and historical events that influence our lives today, Kristin’s films blend real life experiences with artful storytelling. She is the proud recipient of the 2021 Governor’s Arts Awards as Arizona’s Artist of the Year
Kristin's film & TV credits include: CASTLE HOT SPRINGS: Oasis of Time • 2020 Rocky Mountain Emmy® PROTECTING THE SOURCE • 2016 Rocky Mountain Emmy® THEODORE ROOSEVELT DAM: Arizona's Living Legacy • 2011 Rocky Mountain Emmy® FIRE & WATER QUARTZITE'S FALL: A Wilderness Tale THE CENTENNIAL SERIES with JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR |
Bill Davis on location in Navajo National Monument. Photo by Steven Snow.
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Bill Davis
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Bill mixes the latest technology with an elegant cutting sensibility to give RIDERS a classic film aesthetic. Bill started his career in production at PBS, New Mexico. He is an owner at Quantum Leap Productions and has dedicated over twenty-five years as an editor and motion graphics designer delivering commercials, marketing campaigns, and TV shows. Bill's industry awards are numerous.
Bill's film & TV credits include Producer & Director of Photography of the 2020 regional Emmy® Award winner for Historical Documentary, CASTLE HOT SPRINGS: Oasis of Time, and post on LIQUID EXTREMES, LEATHER and IRON, LOST WAX CASTING, ARIZONA ART & CULTURE SERIES |
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Production Team
Executive Producers • Billie Jo & Judd Herberger
Director/Producer • Kristin Atwell Ford
Produced by Quantum Leap Productions
in collaboration with Arizona Opera
Voice of Zane Grey • Peter Coyote
Executive Producer • J. Scott Hooker
Co-Executive Producers • Jennifer E. & Charles Sands • Arlyn & Rex Brewster
Co-Producer • Zachery Hayhurst
Editors • Bill Davis, Kristin Atwell, Misty Wilson
Motion Graphics • Misty Wilson
Camera • Bill Davis, Robert Pflumm, Greg Voigt, Steven Snow, Jacob Mroczek
Audio • James Baldwin, Paul Baldwin, Charlie Ethridge
Fiscal Sponsor • International Documentary Association
FILMED ON LOCATION
Arizona Opera Center
Desert Mountain Communities
Ed Mell Gallery
Mormon Lake Lodge
National Opera America Center
Navajo National Monument
The Navajo Nation
Phoenix Symphony Hall
Pipe Spring National Monument
Rim Country Museum & Zane Grey Cabin
Scottsdale's Museum of the West