''Mekko'' is a 2015 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 ...

directed by

Sterlin Harjo Sterlin Harjo (born November 14, 1979)Sam Lewin ''Native Times News'', reprinted in ''Canku Ota'', May 24, 2004 (article gives his age as 24 in 2004). is an American filmmaker. He has directed three feature films, a feature documentary, and the F ...

. Harjo's third feature film, it is a thriller set among a community of homeless Native Americans in

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

Plot

Mekko leaves prison, having served a long sentence for having killed his cousin in a brawl. He reflects on his family's knowing and the path that he strayed from, where he was considered a see'r by the old people. He is haunted by visions of his own death and his ultimate fight with an evil spirit witch that takes the form of warriors or animal spirits. He knows he must confront it, but he fears his own weakness. Mekko meets a fellow native american who says he is a warrior, but who actually preys on the weak while demanding respect. Mekko looks into the man's heart and sees that it is the dwelling place of a witch who has killed many times. Inevitably, a confrontation arises. Mekko tries to avoid it, but he knows that the witch is hunting him. The title word 'mekko' means head person or ' town king' in the

Muskogee language The Muscogee language (Muskogee, ''Mvskoke'' in Muscogee), also known as Creek, is a Muskogean language spoken by Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole people, primarily in the US states of Oklahoma and Florida. Along with Mikasuki, when it is spoken by ...

, native to the independent tribal towns of 18th-century

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

area of the Southeast USA.

Cast

Rod Rondeaux Rod Rondeaux is a Native American actor and stuntman. As an actor his work includes the 2005 miniseries, '' Into the West'', ''Comanche Moon'' in 2008, The Cayuse in the 2010 film, '' Meek's Cutoff'' and the lead role in the 2015 film, '' Me ...

as Mekko * Jamie Loy as Rita * Scott Mason as Matt *

Zahn McClarnon Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon (born October 24, 1966) is an American actor known for his performances in the Western crime drama series '' Longmire'', the second season of '' Fargo'', and the second season of ''Westworld''. In 2022, he played the le ...

as Bill *

Sarah Podemski Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

as Tafv

Production

On this production, Harjo was inspired by

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...

's 1977 film ''

Stroszek ''Stroszek'' is a 1977 German tragicomedy film directed by Werner Herzog and starring Bruno S., Eva Mattes, and Clemens Scheitz. Written specifically for Bruno S., the film was shot in Plainfield, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. Most of the lead ...

'' to aim for a heightened degree of naturalism, using many real locations and real people, rather than professional actors. He found many of his cast members among people he met at the Iron Gate

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the Hunger, hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoo ...

downtown Tulsa Downtown Tulsa is an area of approximately surrounded by an inner-dispersal loop created by Interstate 244, US 64, and US 75. The area serves as Tulsa's financial and business district, and is the focus of a large initiative to draw tourism, which ...

, and he also hired locals for nearly all of his crew, saying that he wanted his crew to be familiar with Tulsa and with Native Americans.

Release

''Mekko'' premiered at the

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...

in June 2015. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the

2015 Toronto International Film Festival The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naom ...

; the

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world's largest Indigenous film and media arts festival, held annually in Toronto in the month of October. The festival focuses on the film, video, radio, and new media work of Indigenous, Abori ...

, where it was named best feature film; the

Santa Fe Independent Film Festival The Santa Fe International Film Festival (SFiFF), formerly known as the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, is an American film festival held annually in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, Violet Crown Cinema, Center for Co ...

, where it was named best narrative feature; and at the 2015

American Indian Film Festival The American Indian Film Festival is an annual non-profit film festival in San Francisco, California, United States. It is the world's oldest venue dedicated solely to Native American/First Nations films and prepared the way for the 1979 formati ...

, where it won the best film award as well as acting awards for stars

, and

Reviews

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' critic Dennis Harvey complimented Rod Rondeaux's "soulful performance" in the title role, and compared the film to two classic films set on

skid row A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

, ''

On the Bowery ''On the Bowery'' is a 1956 American docufiction film directed by Lionel Rogosin. The film, Rogosin's first feature was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. After the Second World War, Lionel Rogosin made a vow to f ...

'' (1956) and '' The Exiles'' (1961).Dennis Harvey
"Toronto Film Review: 'Mekko'
''

'', September 11, 2015.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mekko 2015 films 2015 drama films American drama films Films about Native Americans Films set in Tulsa, Oklahoma 2010s English-language films 2010s American films