At Last Okemah: Production Stills

Authentic Period Documents From the Archives of the Old Town School of Folk Music (photos by Elisabeth Smith).

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Harvey (Kevin Viol) and Bonnie (Robyn Penacchia) rehearse.

Harvey and Bonnie's relationship got combative at times

Harvey emerges from exile reborn as Winston Thomas, the greatest, most authentic folksinger of all time.

Winston's music attracted people of all ages.

The crowd (except for Bonnie) in rapture over Winston's preformance.

Winston Thomas (Kevin Viol) performs at The Hungry Brain.

Winston caught breaking into the archives of the Old Town School of Folk Music by a police officer (Duane Sharp) who is also "a bit of a fusion artist."

Jon Langford discusses Winston's place in the pantheon of great folk singers.

Winston and Miguel on the road.

The fateful first meeting between Winston (Kevin Viol) and Miguel (Hector Reyes). Miguel, a headbanger, was awed by the graphic imagery and surrealism of the ancient murder ballad "Love Henry."

Bonnie and Harry chase after Winston, Miguel and Jesse after the concert.

Winston and Miguel prepare for the epic journey to Okemah, Oklahoma.

Suzy Brack as herself.

Miguel (Hector Reyes) and Jerry (Jesse Wheeler) inform Winston that he needs to leave NOW!

Mia Park as Harvey's boss.

Jerry, Winston and Miguel on the highways and by-ways of the American Midwest.

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

At Last, Okemah! Synopsis

AT LAST, OKEMAH! by Adam Selzer and Michael G. Smith
From a concept by Adam Selzer (that he borrowed from Cervantes)



      Harvey Grossman is the quintessential Chicago hipster. Like all good hipsters, Harvey works in a record store by day, and hangs out in other record stores by night. He listens to Danish prog rock and Australian emo. He drinks sake and occasionally wears ironic clothing. He plays in a band called Rock-Maninoff, which takes their listeners on journeys through lush, exotic soundscapes (and also happens to suck). But everything changes the day the record store where Harvey works closes, for this is also the day he finds a vinyl copy of Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music. Those songs get into Harvey's head the same way that stories of chivalry turned mild-mannered Alfonse Quijana into Don Quixote, the Knight of the Woeful Countenance. After a self-imposed exile during which he listens obsessively to 'ancient ballads about roses growing out of people's brains,' Harvey is reborn as Winston Thomas, the self-styled 'greatest, and most authentic, folk singer of all time'.



      After self-releasing such timeless classic albums as King of the Midwestern Blues, Authentic Ethnic Work Songs and Field Hollers, Live Where The Earl of Old Town Folk Club Used to Be and Sacco and Vanzetti Must Not Die, Winston develops a cult following around Chicago. Goths and metal enthusiasts admire him for playing the English version of 'Twa Sisters' (the really gory one), sociologists are fascinated by him, economists are inspired to forsake their riches, and the folkies are awed by his...well, his commitment, maybe.



      But Winston dreams of more. After breaking into the archives of the Old Town School of Folk Music and feeling a presence in the room 'that could only have been Woody', Winston announces that he is embarking on a holy quest to Okemah, Oklahoma, birthplace of Woody Guthrie, to become mystically anointed, the way Bob Dylan was anointed when he visited Woody in the hospital in 1961. He will be accompanied by his roadie, friend and confidante Miguel Sanchez (who Winston insists is an immigrant worker, though Miguel claims his name is MICHAEL Sanchez, and that he was born in Cleveland), and his trusty guitar and Stetson hat. Along the way, Winston fully intends to right every manner of wrong, giving himself the opportunity to experience every sort of oppression, so that, surmounting them all, he will cover himself with fame and glory....



      However, Winston first insists on waiting for an ethnomusicologist to arrive to document the journey before taking off, so the ever-resourceful Miguel hires a videographer to pose as one. But there will be no ceremony to mark the beginning of Winston's quest: during a show at Chicago's famed Hungry Brain club, Miguel is approached by one Harry Mutosaw, an IRS agent who Winston believes is from the House Unamerican Activities Committee and who, with the aid of Bonnie, Winston's irate ex-girlfriend, intends to bring him down. Winston, Miguel and Jerry narrowly escape from the Hungry Brain like thieves in the night, and the epic journey begins....

At Last, Okemah: Behind the Scenes

BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTOS!

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The cast and crew watch the playback of a street scene

The cast and crew prepare for an all-day shoot at the Hungry Brain - and obey their thirst!

Director of Photography Jonathan Cohon films Harvey's concert scene.

Sound ninja Trey Johnson

Great care was taken to make Robyn (Bonnie) look like she had just stepped out of one of the albums on the wall.

Onward to Glory! Jonathan rides the dolly

Pimps up, hos down! The crew clowns around between takes.

Preparing for an enormously complicated steadicam shot.

Author Adam Selzer gets roped into odd jobs on the set.

Script supervisor Jillian McKeown supervises the script.

Constructing the "magic closet..."

...that no one could resist trying out!

The crew marvels at how well Suzy Brack's scene turned out.

Suzy Brack and director Michael G. Smith. Can this guy dress or WHAT?

Lunch break at the Hungry Brain

"Rock-Maninoff"

setting up Jon Langford's shot.

Jon Langford with the crew.

The co-authors act out a scene.

Last day of filming - a long way from Chicago!

Having sent the actors on a LONG walk down the long lonesome road, "CUT" is called for the last shot.

These guys just made a movie!

Director Michael G. Smith and author Adam Selzer discuss minor script changes.

At Last, Okemah: Contribute!

It Ain't a Recession Without Folk Music... OR independant films!




Want to contribute? Find out how you can help the movie by emailing the director: mikeygsmith@gmail.com

Doorbell Ditching at the Pearl by Adam Selzer

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