‘Turquoise Rose’ opens tonight at El Morro

By Independent Staff

Turquoise Rose opens at the El Morro Theater today with showings starting at 11am and occurring every two hours. The movie will be at also be shown at the theater Thursday at the same times. [Photo by Daniel Zollinger/Independent]

GALLUP – The film “Turquoise Rose” is holding its Gallup premiere on the opening day of the Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial. Both events are celebrations of Native people and their culture, traditions, and talent.

Holt Hamilton, the producer of “Turquoise Rose,” is hoping Ceremonial visitors will take a brief break from enjoying the arts and crafts, dances, and parades to also enjoy another contemporary venue for talent — a feature film about Navajo characters that was produced by a mostly Navajo cast and crew.

“Turquoise Rose,” a film about a young urban Navajo woman who returns to the reservation to care for her ailing grandmother, will be shown several times today and Thursday at Gallup’s El Morro Theatre, located at 207 W. Coal Ave. The film will be shown every two hours on both days, with the first show beginning at 11 a.m. and the last at 9 p.m. Admission is $8.

A red carpet evening premiere is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, just prior to the 7 p.m. showing. All cast members will be on hand to talk with moviegoers, pose for photos, and sign autographs. An autographed movie poster will be given away to the 100th person through El Morro’s doors.

In addition, moviegoers who attend the 7 p.m. red carpet premiere can still catch the Ceremonial’s popular Thursday night parade at 9.

“Turquoise Rose” was filmed on the Navajo Nation and in Gallup in 2006. It features a number of Navajo people, most without professional acting experience, in the lead parts. The title role is played by Natasha Kaye Johnson of Twin Lakes. Johnson, who has done some part-time modeling, works as a reporter for The Independent. Gallup resident Rhonda Ray, of the Southwest Indian Foundation, portrays Turquoise Rose’s mother. The film also features Native actors and entertainers Deshava Apachee, Vincent Craig, and Ernest Tsosie III.

Ethel Begay, the real-life Navajo grandmother who appears as Turquoise Rose’s grandmother, has become an audience favorite since the film made its Arizona premiere in late June.

Hamilton plans to show the film in Native communities across the United States and Canada. He hopes the Navajo characters of “Turquoise Rose” will become as endearing to Native audiences as the characters of Thomas and Victor in the ever-popular “Smoke Signals.”

Information: visit www.turquoiserosethemovie.com.