Eagle Pass Film “Western” to be premiered at 2015 Sundance Film Festival

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2015, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

The documentary film titled “Western,” which was filmed in Eagle Pass, Texas and in Piedras Negras Coahuila, Mexico featuring former Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster and cattleman Martin Wall, will be premiering on Sunday, January 25, 2015 through January 31, 2015 at the internationally acclaimed 2015 Sundance Film Festival under the U.S. Documentary category.

The “Western” documentary film is produced by Bill Ross and Turner Ross and based on two neighboring communities, Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, which are bonded together by more than border bridges but by families that are intertwined as both communities’ roots surpass the Rio Grande River connecting them both to the harmonious life and the reality of a drug cartel war violence that threatens that very harmony that exists and could break such bonds.

In “Western,” Bill and Ross Turner follow and interview Martin Wall, a fifth-generation cattleman, and former Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, whom both portray a side of our upbringing and morality who through forces out of their control come to grip with the turmoil that erupts due to threats of change and violence in an ongoing battle being felt on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, issues that are far beyond anyone’s control.

“Western” tells a story of both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border communities of Eagle Pass, Texas, and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, and emphasizes the harmonious history shared and the darkness that looms and conjoins both communities into the reality of change and violence currently facing both communities.

Through the process of selecting what to film, Bill and Turner Ross asked each other what would a non-fiction western and a modern day John Wayne look like today. After visiting many U.S.-Mexico border communities, they found their character in former Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster and the sister cities of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Coahuila, deciding they had found exactly what they were looking for in Chad Foster and the special relationship enjoyed between the sister cities of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras. Bill and Ross Turner decided this documentary had to be done to appreciate and understand this American culture icon known as the modern day western and John Wayne-like character.

“Western” is the Ross Brothers fourth documentary feature. The first,45365, debuted at SXSW in Austin, Texas, where it claimed the Best Documentary Award, while the following films, TCHOUPITOULAS and RIVER, received nods from Hot Docs, CPH:DOX, and several other events. Joining them as producer is Court 13’s Michael Gottwald, a Sundance alum with PING PONG SUMMER (2014), and the US Dramatic Grand Jury Award-winning and later Oscar-nominated BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (2012). Gottwald’s Court 13 partners Dan Janvey and Josh Penn serve as executive producers together with Bill King, Libby Thompson, and Catapult Films’ Lisa Kleiner Chanoff (an executive producer for past Sundance winners WATCHERS OF THE SKY (2014) and FRUITVALE STATION (2013)).

The Ross Brothers’ documentary is infused with a distinct sense of place and stunningly depicted and well-constructed as a portrait of unanticipated violence that threatens to besiege sister U.S.-Mexico border towns portrayed through the eyes of those being filmed and the camera which capture the essence of precipitating suspicion and fear where friendship and openness once prevailed and is now twisted as a modern day menace sets its shadow in the hearts of both U.S.-Mexico border communities.

Western portrays timeless American figures in the grip of unforgiving change.

The Ross Brothers stated that the film wouldn’t exist without Chad Foster.

“ We scouted the border towns of New Mexico and Texas, moving southeast along the Rio Grande, until we met Chad, the mayor of Eagle Pass, TX. It was his presence, more than anything else that kept us there. To us, he represented the modern-day John Wayne, the man of the frontier. We spent nearly every day of our 13 months with him. He became a great friend, attending our birthdays with fine tequila, taking us on many adventures into Mexico, looking out for us when things got dicey. To him, every day down on the border was “just another day in paradise,” said Bill and Turner Ross. Bill and Ross Turner stated that “This one is for him.”

The Cast & Credits are Directors, Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross, Michael Gottwald, Executive Producers Josh Penn, Dan Janvey, Bill King, and Libby Thompson.

Cinematography is by Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross.

Film editing is by Bill Ross IV, sound department by Lawrence Everson, and visual effects are by Josiah Howlson.

Cast includes the late Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, Rancher and Cattleman Martin Wall, and Brylin Wall as themselves.

The Eagle Pass Business Journal wishes Bill and Ross Turner the best of luck with their new documentary “Western” at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.