Return to Foretop's Father

Return to Foretop's Father follows, 78-year-old, Crow tribal elder and pipe lighter, Grant Bulltail as he travels from Crow Agency in Montana to Heart Mountain in Wyoming.

Through his journey he reveals a dark past of genocide, ethnocide and the destruction of the land.

Grant’s mission is to bring awareness regarding the disconnect between people and nature, culminating in the universal impacts of climate change.

By connecting stories that have been passed down to him from generations of Native Americans, he presents his perspective on the modern crisis through a historic pipe ceremony at the base of the sacred Heart Mountain.

  • Preston Randolph
    Director
    The Summer of '81
  • Grant Bulltail
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    26 minutes 46 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 8, 2019
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Red Nation International Film Festival
Director Biography - Preston Randolph

Preston Randolph is the owner of Cactus Pro Films, an award-winning documentary production company out of Wyoming. Randolph’s passion for using film to generate awareness for social issues has been showcased through many of his short documentaries, PSA’s and interactive national media campaigns. Randolph has been involved in many causes with a focus on prison reform, wrongful imprisonments and Native American issues. This work has teamed him with individuals like Tom Morello, Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte and Pete Seeger as well as organizations like the Innocence Project and Amnesty International.

Randolph’s short documentary The Summer of ‘81 has been awarded honors nationwide, including winning the Wyoming State Film Contest in 2012. In 2019, Randolph released the short documentary, Return to Foretop’s Father which chronicles the journey of Grant Bulltail, a native American elder who travels to bring awareness to climate change and the negative impacts resulting from the disconnect between nature and modern culture. Randolph has generated a visual style that collaborates with his passion to reveal stories of the human element.

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