“Skydancer” Q&A with Margaret Mead Filmmaker

Tuesday, October 25 11:28 am

Jerry McDonald Thunderloud works as a connector in New York City. © Katja Esson

Over 10,000 Native Americans of the Mohawk tribe live on the Akwesasne reservation in upstate New York—and every family in the community has included an ironworker. For decades, these men have weekly made the six-hour drive to New York City to build its tallest skyscrapers. Katja Esson’s film Skydancer, which will be shown at the Margaret Mead Film Festival on Sunday, November 13, at 2 pm, follows a group of Mohawk “sky walkers” as they continue the craft of their forefathers, spending weeks apart from their families and risking their lives for a job that pays well but also perpetuates superhuman stereotypes of Mohawk men.

Following the screening of Skydancer, Bear Fox and Katsitsionni Fox, who appear in the documentary, along with Robby Baier, the composer of the film’s score, will perform traditional Mohawk songs. Esson, who will attend the Mead Festival screening of the documentary and participate in a Q&A immediately afterward, recently answered a few questions about the film.

You were born in Germany, but your films often feature American subjects. What’s particularly American about this story?

I was always intrigued by the legend of the Mohawk ironworkers, but my interest in creating a film was sparked by the collapse of the Twin Towers on September 11. Mohawk ironworkers from all over the country rushed into the rubble of Ground Zero to help with the cleanup despite the strained history between Native Americans and the United States Government over issues such as sovereignty and land disputes. I wanted to learn more about these men who live on the fringe of American society and yet are American down to the bone. Read more »