Director Richard A. Pines grew up in Middletown, New York. His penchant for the Southwest and American History brought him to Arizona where “Apache Girl” was filmed. His acting experiences inspired him to work on the other side of the lens as a director. “Bequest” --- a dramatic short film, garnered multiple awards --18 wins; 10 nominations including---Culver City Film Festival 2018 Best First Short; Chandler International Film Festival 2019 Best Arizona Film; Golden State Film Festival 2019 Best Suspense Short & Silver State Film Festival 2019 Grand Prize Best Cinematography Narrative Short. After “Bequest”, he wrote “Purgatory Plains” and it was selected as Best Feature Original Screenplay. He also directed 34 episodes of “The M.E.L. Show”. Prior to directing, he worked on stage, television and films. Richard received the Aubrey Award Best Supporting Actor for his performance in “To Kill a Mockingbird” Theater Scripps Ranch, San Diego, California in 1998. He’s known for his roles in Renegade, In Plain Sight, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives and the Academy Award-winning film, “Gods and Monsters with Brendan Fraser. When he is not filming, he is helping hundreds of students graduate from high school as a Credit Recovery teacher. Having the Summer off allows him to work on his film projects. His aspiration? Work side by side with a “name director”.
Apache Girl
"Apache Girl" is a tribute to the valiant, indigenous Apache women enduring acts of barbarity and whose heritage and lives were stolen.
During the Apache War beginning from1861 and lasting until about 1924--the Americans battled the Apache warriors stretching from Southern Arizona to New Mexico.
Amid the atrocities of both military and civilian Americans against the native Indians, two brave Apache women rise above their People-- Lozen and Dahteste.
Dahteste accepts a daunting task from the Spiritual God -- to reach the high mountain and claim what belongs to their People. She is about twenty years younger than Lozen with a strong command of the English language. This skill enables her to serve as the interpreter in negotiations between the Apache tribes and the U.S. Government.
Lozen, defies the role of a traditional female Apache. Instead of tending to her family with domesticated duties, she trains with the male Apaches to fight. Due to her deep brotherly love for Victorio and loyalty to her People, she joins him in many battles to defend the Apaches. The title "Shield to her People" becomes synonym to her name.
After months of treacherous journey in the mountains of Chiricahua-- encountering inclement weather, venomous snakes and enemies -- Dahteste reaches the high mountain where she learns about the plight of her People. Lozen describes to her horrific massacre of Apaches at the battle of Tres Castillos including death of Victorio (Lozen's brother), their food rations and blankets stolen, and their People dying from the diseases of the white eyes (American). Subsequently, Lozen prays to Ussen in finding the enemy and her hands begin to shake and turns color signifying the enemy is close by.
The Apaches feel their souls weaken as they get shipped out to a reservation in Florida, far away from their Native land. Can one say, “Perfidious acts of U.S. Government is to blame?”
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