About this project
Cowboy Christmas is a labor of love for me. Somewhere, deep inside me, there is a need for me to make this documentary. A few years ago, I tried to ignore this piece, to put it aside and work on other projects . . . but I couldn't forget about the rodeo, I couldn't get this project out of my head. I realized that just as the cowboys have a passion for the sport that keeps them going, I have a passion for this work about rodeo that keeps me going. So, here I am, so close to finishing it. And I'm asking for your help to get it done and on down the road.
Cowboy Christmas follows four professional cowboys as they travel from rodeo to rodeo for the two weeks that lead up to the Fourth of July. There are so many rodeos during these two weeks, with so many opportunities to win lots of money, that this time period has been dubbed Cowboy Christmas. The documentary chronicles this two-week journey, from the heart of Texas to a small town in Nebraska (with quite a few stops in between) as we meet the cowboys--steer wrestlers (aka bulldoggers)--driving from town to town, arena to arena. As they tell their stories, it's clear that a yearning in their soul that compels them forward . . . as they drive, ride and wrestle, trying to catch their American dream.
I was lucky enough to receive a grant to produce the show--to go out West and find the cowboys to follow, and to video them on the road and competing in rodeos. I interviewed cowboys and their families, rodeo officials in small towns and in cities, and support staff for the rodeos. My crew and I traveled with the cowboys for three weeks, as they went on the road, traveling from one rodeo to the next, sometimes overnight, sometimes for twelve hours or more, all the time pulling trailers with their horses. The grant I received covered the production end of the show, and while I have been slowly editing, I need to pick up the pace to get this project done and out into the world.
I've applied for grants for finishing funds, but haven't been successful in getting any. It's been a long process but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. With your help, I can finish this project of passion.
I plan to use the money raised here to complete post-production and the first steps of distribution. Post-production is the whole editing process, including music, graphics, and titles. I need to do color correction and audio work, so there are rental fee on studios. I'm acquiring archival photographs and footage, images that will help me tell the story of why rodeo is so important to these cowboys and such a big part of the fabric of the American West. Once that is all done, there are duplication costs to get the show into festivals, and exhibitions. It's a labor of love, yes, that costs a bit of money . . . thank you so much for any support that you can give.
FAQ
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Summer of 2011. I have to have it done before classes start again in the fall, which is really August.
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There are a few rodeo cowboys in this show, there are four that featured and others that have smaller roles.
The big four are Matt Reeves, Stephenville TX, Darrell Petry, Beaumont TX,Sam Koenig, Cross Plains TX, and Jule Hazen, Protection KS.
Other cowboys include Britt Walters, Huntsville TX, Chad VanCampen, Granada CO, Brady Hageman, McCook, NE, Sean Mulligan, Coleman OK, Wade Sumpter, Fowler CO, Jon Ragatz Cassville WI, Garrett Nokes, McCook NE.
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We followed the main cowboys (3 of whom are from Texas) through 5 Texas rodeos: Parker County Sheriff's Posse Rodeo in Weatherford, Johnson County Sheriff's Posse Rodeo in Cleburne, Coleman Rodeo, Mesquite Rodeo, and West of the Pecos Rodeo in Pecos. Outside of Texas, we shot at Rodeo de Santa Fe (NM), Greeley (CO) Stampede, Buffalo Bill Cody Stampede Rodeo in (Cody WY), Oakley (UT) Rodeo, and Old West Trail Rodeo (Crawford, NE).
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We're looking for the documentary to be around 80-90 minutes long, right now.
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To answer this question, you first have to understand a little about professional rodeo. The ultimate goal of pro rodeo cowboys is to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR). To qualify, a cowboy has to be one of the top 15 moneymakers in a particular event. The top 15 are determined at the end of the season, usually at the end of October. So, the point is for the cowboys to make enough money over the course of the season to get into the top 15.
Cowboy Christmas is an informal name for the two-week period before the 4th of July during which there are a lot of rodeos, about 30, scattered around the Western states, each awarding a lot of money. So, a cowboy, if he hits enough rodeos, and wins at some of those, can make a lot of money . . . which would help him to achieve his goal of getting into the top 15 at the end of the season, and qualify for the NFR.
Lots of money in a short amount of time? Kind of like Christmas, right? Add the rodeo, and you've got Cowboy Christmas.
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
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Funding Unsuccessful
This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on July 22, 2011.
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"Associate Producer" credit in the finished video. A DVD of the finished video, a CD of the video's original music, and two original art photographs (app.16x20) of your choice (from a selection of at least ten), shot by the filmmaker while on the road producing the documentary.
Project By
Connected as HD Motyl (593 friends)
H.D. Motyl is an Assistant Professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, moving to SIU in 2007 from Chicago, where he worked in the film and video community for twenty years, creating documentaries and personal films.
He has produced, directed and written episodes for non-fiction series on The History Channel (Conspiracy?), National Geographic Channel (The Final Report) and A&E (American Justice.) For the home video and educational markets, he produced, wrote and directed such diverse work as the best-selling Image of an Assassination: A New Look at the Zapruder Film, The Journey of Amistad, John Glenn: An American Legend and the award-winning Show & Tell series of children’s videos.
One of Motyl’s short films, Token of Love, has the dubious distinction of being banned in Japan, but outside of Japan, the film has had numerous domestic and international screenings. Other award-winning work, including Memorial and Messages from Jeanne, has been screened in festivals worldwide. Recent videos, Oh Michael/Oh Jesus and Nudes Descending a Staircase #2 are currently on the festival circuit.
Besides trying to finish a feature-length documentary about professional rodeo cowboys called Cowboy Christmas, Motyl is also developing versions #1 and #3 of Nudes Descending a Staircase as well as writing a script for a short narrative film, The Secret Ingredients of Pancakes. Originally from Pittsburgh, Motyl was graduated from Penn State University with a B.A. in English and holds an M.F.A from Northwestern University in Film/Video Production and Screenwriting.
