Skydancer (WT)
Documentary · Production: Penelope Pictures and ARD/WDR
Synopsis
"They say Mohawks are fearless. They say we can walk up there on the steel beams as if we were on the sidewalk, Mohawks don’t get scared – I say that’s a myth" says Jerry Thundercloud McDonald, smiles and points to himself, "because this one does get scared."
The Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the George Washington Bridge, the World Trade Center: for more than 120 years, six generations of Mohawk Indian ironworkers have raised New York City’s skyline, built the highways over the boroughs and crossed the rivers by weaving carpets of steel. They are called ‘sky walkers’ because they walk fearlessly atop steel beams just a foot wide, high above the city streets.
Who are these Mohawk skywalkers really? What is their secret for overcoming fear? And what is their life really like, when every Friday at quitting time, they jump into their cars and make the eight-hour drive back north to their families on the reservation?
Skydancer is a feature-length documentary that takes a provocative look at Indian life in the 21st Century: from the breath-taking steel structures of New York City to the pristine beauty of the nature on the reservation, working its way deep into the fabric of America. With humor and sensitivity the film will shatter the clichéd image of the oppressed and victimized Indian too often portrayed in the media.