The Stain Oklahoma Doesn't Want to Talk About...but Val Kilmer Does
Shelli Carlisle and Dawn Bonner
Val Kilmer lends his voice to the multi-award winning documentary Unconquered: Alan Houser and the Legacy of One Apache Family. 
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Val and Bryan Beasley photos courtesy Bryan Beasley |
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Bryan Beasley, the award winning writer/director of Unconquered, sat down and talked with us about this eye-opening documentary.
"This film was one piece of a bigger exhibit of Allan Houser's work at the Oklahoma History Center. I'm from Oklahoma and was a big fan of his [Houser] work. I applied to direct the film and was lucky enough to be chosen. I was completely unaware that such a horrible event had taken place in my own home state. Every high school in the state has one classroom devoted to Oklahoma history, but this past stain is rarely discussed. That reason alone merited the making of a film, but then I found the true humanity in this story."
"This is my first documentary. It took two years from start to finish. Most of that was research. One month of shooting and another eight months of editing!"
"We found out through the museum that Val was also a big fan of Allan Houser's work. We got a hold of him through his manager, who said he wouldn't do it, but one he saw the rough cut, he was very enthusiastic to be a part of it."
Unconquered is about an Apache family who survived 27 years of unjust incarceration, then triumphed by turning their experience into a multi-generational explosion of world renowned art.
This film is wonderful. I encourage everyone to see it. Beasley does a bang-up job bringing the Houser family's story to life. And of course there is the added bonus of Kilmer's narration.
You can purchase the Unconquered DVD through Six 14 Productions.