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Power's War

An in depth look into one man's silent protest against American’s entry into the first World War that led to the deadliest shootout in Arizona’s history. Set in the backdrop of the American West, this is a story clouded by politics, prejudice, and intolerance.

Narrated by Mad Men's John Slattery. Features interviews with lead historians Eduardo Pagan (PBS History Detectives), Heidi Osselaer (ASU/PBS), Marshall Trimble, and author Thomas Cobb (Crazy Heart).

  • Cameron Trejo
    Director
    Izmit 10, Everything Is Incredible, Another Testament, Reflections of Christ, Murder in the Dark
  • Dodge Billingsley
    Writer
    Unfortunate Brothers, Balloon Man, Why We Fight
  • Dagen Merrill
    Producer
    Finding Harmony, Broken Hill, Beneath, Murder in the Dark
  • John Slattery (narrator)
    Key Cast
    "Narrator"
    Mad Men, Iron Man 2, Flags of Our Fathers
  • Eduardo Pagan
    Key Cast
    "Historian"
    History Detectives
  • Marshall Trimble
    Key Cast
    "Historian"
    Blood Into Wine
  • Thomas Cobb
    Key Cast
    "Historian"
    Crazy Heart
  • Steve McCoy (Jay Murdock)
    Key Cast
  • Mike O'Brian (Tom Power)
    Key Cast
  • Bart Flynn (Frank McBride)
    Key Cast
    Take Cover
  • Roy Bunales (Darvil McBride)
    Key Cast
    Dragon Ball Absolon
  • Heidi Osselaer
    Key Cast
    "Producer / Historian"
    Arizona's Deadliest Gunfight, PBS Route 66
  • Christopher Brady
    Composer
    Broken Hill, The Citizen, The Real World
  • Wesley Johnson
    Cinematographer
    Shoelaces for Christmas, Instrument of War
  • Dan Fusselman
    Animation Supervisor
    Pierce the Veil: This Is a Wasteland
  • Karen Everett
    Story Editor
    Women In Love, My Femme Divine
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 5 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    February 20, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    130,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 1080p
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Maryland International Film Festival
    Hagarstwon, MD
    March 28, 2015
  • Phoenix, Arizona
    Phoenix, Peoria, Mesa, and Scottsdale AZ
    April 6, 2015
    Arizona Premiere
  • Longleaf Film Festival
    Raleigh, NC
    May 2, 2015
  • Anthem Film Festival
    Las Vegas, NV
    July 8, 2015
    Nevada Premiere
    Grand Jury Prize
  • Hill Country Film Festival Series Screening
    Fredericksburg, TX
    August 11, 2015
  • Jerome Film Festival
    Jerome, AZ
    September 4, 2015
    Best Feature Documentary Film
  • Logan Film Festival
    Logan, UT
    September 11, 2015
    Best Feature Documentary Film
  • West Virginia Filmmakers Film Festival
    Sutton, WV
    October 2, 2015
  • Eugene International Film Festival
    Eugene, Oregon
    November 13, 2015
    Oregon
    Best Feature Documentary
Director Biography - Cameron Trejo

An Arizona native, Cameron Trejo graduated from Arizona State University in 2003 with a degree in business from the W.P. Carey School of Business. A passionate and talented up and coming name in the filmmaking world, Cameron has spent much of the last 15 years honing his skills as a commercial and documentary producer/director working on projects all over the world, including Brazil, Italy, Israel, Honduras, and South Korea. His project Reflections of Christ, distributed by Deseret Publishing, was viewed by over 1 million people worldwide, and was followed up by and international project entitled Another Testament shot in the historic Copan Ruins of northern Honduras. Cameron's work behind the camera on the short film entitled Everything is Beautiful took home best cinematography at the DC Shorts Film Festival in 2012. Power's War has taken nearly three years of extensive research and production to complete, as well as several grueling trips to one of the most beautiful and remote mountain ranges in the state of Arizona. Cameron is currently working on developing a series based around the Power Shootout as well as a follow up western history documentary film. He currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona where he produces commercial and documentary films alongside partner Dagen Merrill for their production company Beautiful Science.

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Director Statement

History with its flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale gleams the passion of former days.” Winston Churchill

From the moment I first heard about the the shootout at Power's cabin I was fascinated by the story and the human element. However, what ultimately compelled me to make this film was just how passionate the people of the region still were about the events that had transpired so long ago and how different all the various accounts of what happened were. I wanted to bring that history to life and I was determined to get to the ACTUAL truth of what really happened on that day.

The truth, as it often turns out, was much stranger, more interesting and more elusive than the many accounts that had been written. I was pulled into a world of historical documents and gifted historians and two years later our research revealed that this was a not a typical old west shootout but a more modern battle which pitted the rights of individuals against the power of growing and expanding federal government. We could no longer tell the story without considering the broader context of America's entry into the first world war and Jeff Power's silent protest against that war for the terrible effect it would have on his rights and his family. With the story revealed we assembled an amazing team of artists and filmmakers to cinematically tell the story of POWER'S WAR; the deadliest shootout in Arizona's rugged history.