Director / Producer
Albert Chacon
Albert Chacon is a Native filmmaker, photographer and cultural educator with deep roots in Southern California. He is of Cupeño, Cahuilla and Apache descent, with family origins at Kupa — Warner Springs — the Cupeño homeland from which the people were forcibly removed in 1903.
He founded NativeImages Production Group in 2003 and has served as its lead photographer, videographer and editor since. He directed, produced and edited We Are Birds: A California Indian Story, which received the Summerhawk Award at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema, was an official selection at the Red Nation International Film Festival and at Agua Caliente's Festival of Native Film and Culture, and opened the Wild Beast Concert Series at the Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts.
His work extends into cultural consulting for tribal communities, historic preservation, and curriculum development with public colleges. He served as Native American Advisor on the USC School of Cinematic Arts production Off Track.
While getting the story, Albert had a chance to immerse himself into the culture when a respected elder Bird Singer invited him to join his culture by participating in it. The "ONLINE" documentary took its first turn when Albert decided to pick up a rattle and join in. What better way to get the story out to the world than by becoming part of it?!
Dr. Larisa Broyles, PhD —anthropologist, co-producer
Dr. Larisa Broyles holds a PhD in anthropology and is a professor at Moreno Valley College.
She co-produced We Are Birds and holds equal standing in the project: research design, ethnographic method, interview practice and the Viewer's Guide are hers.
She is co-author of the companion book, and served as co-advisor on the USC School of Cinematic Arts production Off Track.
Why one person behind the camera — Why the film "Vibes" the way it does...
A documentary of this kind usually takes a director, a cinematographer, a stills photographer, an editor, a field researcher and an archivist. On this project, that was one person.
That was not a budget decision. It was what the material required. A community that has been recorded badly before does not open up to a full crew on a schedule. It opens up to someone it already knows, who can hold a camera and a rattle in the same week, and who will still be there in five years.
The elders controlled when and where the cameras came. They were the first interviews, out of protocol. In that sense they helped produce the project alongside us.
"It was a dream of my own to participate in the culture my family left, and it was another to have a chance to record it ... a couple of years into learning Bird Singing with the Elders, my much improved Documentarian skills allow me to tell the story properly. This in turn allowed us (the "We Are Birds" team) to show you better video of our experiences as they happen, by sharing"
Thank you for watching and following!
We Are Birds