''Black Cloud'' is a 2004 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

which was directed and written by

Rick Schroder Richard Bartlett Schroder (born April 13, 1970) is an American actor and filmmaker. As a child actor billed as Ricky Schroder he debuted in the film '' The Champ'' (1979), for which he became the youngest Golden Globe award recipient, and went o ...

and starred

Eddie Spears Edward Spears (born November 29, 1982) is an American actor. He is a member of the Kul Wicasa Oyate Lakota (often called "Sioux") Lower Brulé Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Early life Spears was born in Chamberlain, South Dakota on the Lower Br ...

Russel Means Russell Charles Means (November 10, 1939 – October 22, 2012) was an Oglala Lakota activist for the rights of Native Americans, Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian political activist, actor, musician, and writer. He became a pr ...

Julia Jones Julia Jones (born January 23, 1981) is an American actress, known for playing Leah Clearwater in '' The Twilight Saga'' films and Kohana in the HBO series ''Westworld''. She also co-stars on '' Dexter: New Blood''. Early life and education Jul ...

, Schroder and

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

, in his film acting debut.

Plot

Black Cloud, a young Navajo man, must take a journey of personal growth to prepare himself for a chance at boxing in the Olympics. When Eddie returns to town with the rodeo and wants to rekindle his relationship with Black Cloud's girlfriend Sammi. Black Cloud confronts him and runs into trouble with Sheriff Cliff Powers after beating up Eddie who is Sammi's ex boyfriend and the father of her child, as well as Cliff's nephew. After seeing Black Cloud in a boxing match an Olympic Scout named Norm Olsen offers him a try out for the team of the U.S. Olympics. Black Cloud rejects the offer initially believing that it would be unjust to "fight for the White Man". In trying to apply for Indian housing he and Sammi find out that his great grandfather was from Germany; believing he is cursed by his diluted bloodline, Black Cloud has a falling out with Sammi. He goes to see his grandfather who takes him into the canyons and tells him about his family and the German man who helped his great grandmother after she was raped by several white men, and went by the name White Wolf. Realizing that his bloodline is pure, he decides to come back to Sammi and proposes to her. He gets back into training for the tournament of the Golden Gloves which is coming up, and decides to take up the scout's offer if he wins. The day before the tournament, his best friend is seriously injured in a fight with Eddie and a set of other cowboys which Cliff refuses to arrest. On the day of the tournament, Black Cloud goes through it to the finals where he meets Rocket Ray Tracy, the number one ranked light heavyweight fighter who is hoping to go pro after the tournament.

Cast

as Black Cloud *

as Bud *

as Sammi *

as Eddie *

as Sheriff Cliff Powers * Marion "Pooch" Hall as Rocket Ray Tracey *

Peter Greene Peter Greene (born Peter Green; October 8, 1965) is an American actor. A character actor, he is generally known for portraying villains. He is best known for the roles in the 1994 films ''The Mask'', where he plays the films antagonist, Dorian ...

as Norm Olsen *

Wayne Knight Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played Newman on '' Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996–2001). He also voiced Igor on ''Toonsylvania'' (199 ...

as Mr. Tipping *

Nathaniel Arcand Nathaniel Arcand (born November 13, 1971) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his first major role in the Canadian drama series ''North of 60'', in which for three seasons he played William MacNeil, smart-mouthed and cocky, a troubled, misunders ...

as Jimmy *

Branscombe Richmond Branscombe Richmond is an American character actor and stuntman. He is known for his starring role of Bobby Sixkiller on the American syndicated drama series, ''Renegade'' (1992–1997), and for his starring roles on the television series, ''Ha ...

as Peter *

Alimi Ballard Alimi Ballard (born October 17, 1977) is an American television actor. He is best known for his role as FBI agent David Sinclair on the CBS police procedural ''Numb3rs'' (2005–2010). Early life Ballard was born in The Bronx, New York and beg ...

as Dusty

Release

The film was not picked up for wide release but premiered at the

Phoenix Film Festival Phoenix Film Festival is a festival that celebrates feature films and their creators. Started in 2000, the annual celebration takes place in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The festival is a showcase for feature and short films from all over the wo ...

in April 2004, and was seen at several small festivals including the April 2005 ''Haskell Indian Nations Film Festival'' in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

; it marked Schroder's directing debut.

Accolades

The film won the "Best Director Award" at the

San Diego Film Festival The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) is an independent film festival in San Diego, California produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the ...

in October 2004.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0363475 2004 films 2004 drama films American drama films American independent films Films about Native Americans Navajo-language films Films scored by Chad Fischer Films about Olympic boxing 2004 directorial debut films 2004 independent films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films