At Last, Okemah: Director's Statement

In making At Last, Okemah!, I was primarily interested in exploring the concept of a self-created identity. My co-writer Adam Selzer and I borrowed this concept from Cervantes but, by setting our story in the modern day world of American folk and blues music, attempted to give it a uniquely American spin. The notion that it doesn't matter what name you're born with or where you come from, that you can create a new identity and become who you want to be, is a notion that resonates through American life, from John Ford to Bob Dylan to Barack Obama to Winston Thomas.

       There is, I believe, a danger inherent in immersing oneself completely in traditional folk music: the tendency to romanticize the past as being somehow more "authentic" than the present. In At Last, Okemah!, Harvey Grossman becomes WInston Thomas, a socially conscious troubadour in the mold of Woody Guthrie. Much of the satire in the film stems from the fact that the social issues Winston addresses in his music are the exact same social issues addressed by folk musicians in the early to mid-twentieth century (Sacco and Vanzetti, HUAC, etc.). This satire is never designed to cut too deep however, as we feel a tremendous amount of affection for both Winston Thomas and the style of music he represents.

       I hope you come away from our film with a smile on your face and a song in your heart.

                            - Michael Smith, June 2009