“Blackwood” depicts South Dakota and Lakota culture on the big screen

Chris Canfield is a South Dakota native and former Colorado Film School student with a desire to represent South Dakota and Lakota culture on the big screen. Canfield combined his loyalty to the Black Hills and his love of film to create his first full-length feature film: “Blackwood.” 

“I wanted to make something in the Black Hills, showcase the Black Hills, and also do something that involved the community that, like the local Lakota culture,” said Canfield. “And I wanted to do something here at home, the Black Hills inspired me. Living in South Dakota inspired me.”

According to Canfield, the plot of ‘Blackwood’ follows a Native American woman named Dowanhowee who is on the run from a group of outlaws known as the Dutch Wilder Gang. The chase leads both Dowanhowee and the Dutch Wilder Gang into the uncharted Blackwood Forest. The gang captures Dowanhowee, but they soon discover they must work together to survive as they are all being hunted by an ancient creature known as the Wendigo.

Canfield drew inspiration not only from the Black Hills area, but also from the Western and horror film canon.

“For this one, I actually took a lot of inspiration from paintings, Western paintings, horror paintings and stuff like that, because I was having difficulty to kind of like pin down what I was seeing,” said Canfield. “I’m a big John Carpenter fan, but I’ve also watched a ton of Westerns to study for this one to figure out what makes a Western. So, there were a lot of inspirations that came from the different parts, you know, both Western and horror.”

“Blackwood” stars Bates Wilder who plays Dutch Wilder in the film.

According to Wilder, working on “Blackwood” was a positive experience because the cast and crew got along so well.

“You know what really worked for me was the way that we kind of emulsified as a cast,” said Wilder.

George Thomas Mansel, who plays Lester in “Blackwood,” echoed Wilder.

“We just all got along really well, and the whole cast and the crew and the production just really took care of us and made it easy, kind of,” said Mansel.

Although the film was written and directed by Canfield, the cast’s flexibility and collaborative efforts are what brought “Blackwood” to life.

“It’s a collaborative effort. It’s not just the actors. It’s not just, you know, the actors’ thoughts of who their characters are. It’s not just the director’s thought of what this bubble is, what this world is. It’s everyone gets together, we get an idea of what we’re doing,” said Wilder.

Tanajsia Slaughter, the leading lady who plays Dowanhowee in the film, is the Native American actress who rose to the challenge of this demanding role.

 “And then we have a newcomer, Tanajsia Slaughter. She plays the main actress in this, Dowanhowee, she’s a tough one,” said Mansel. “The actress, as well as the character, goes through a lot in this movie, and she did so well.”

Glenn Morshower (‘Transformers,” “24”) is featured as Wallace Price in “Blackwood.”

To watch the trailer and to find a list of streaming sites and theaters showing the film, visit the “Blackwood” website here.