Sunday, January 19, 2014

Filmmaker seeks funding for sheep rancher documentary

In 1997, then-18-year-old Yuri Chicovsky embarked on a bow-hunting trip in Northwest Colorado, one that changed his life forever. Being able to traverse the landscape and observe the natural splendor was one benefit, but the greater outcome was a chance meeting with the folks he has come to see as those who exemplify the spirit of the area. The sheep people. After four years in the making, Chicovsky’s documentary about area sheep ranchers is moving into the post-production stage. The film “Sage Country” — focusing on the lives of the family and workers of Villard Ranch — can be found as a campaign on the fundraising website Kickstarter, which allows independent filmmakers and others seeking money to get creative projects going through different avenues. Chicovsky first started filming footage of the ranch and its people and animals in early 2010, while he was teaching photography and writing at Colorado Northwestern Community College. If time and money were no concern, he’d still be out on the ranch with a camera. “It’s been very hard to tell when enough is enough, and there’s so much more that I want to film,” he said. “It’s just time to be done with this part of the story.” The years of filming have allowed the documentarian to create what he believes to be a well-rounded look at the Villard Ranch — “a complete portrait of the family, the place and, ideally, their way of life,” as the filmmaker puts it. Chicovsky said he didn’t want to be seen as a Hollywood type distanced from those whose lives he was recording. “I wanted to put my finger on the spirit of the American West,” he said...more

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