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Unconquering the Last Frontier (Feature) 1:39:37

"The 100-Year War for the Elwha: A Case Study in Restoration and Resistance."

The damming of Washington’s Elwha River in 1915 wasn't just a feat of engineering; it was a crime of malfeasance. Built through the illegal actions of public officials, these dams became a century-long blockade against the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest: the salmon.

This feature-length documentary is a profound reflection on the failed ambitions of "progress." It tracks the decades of legal and sociological abuse wreaked upon the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, whose struggle to survive in the shadow of hydropower became the catalyst for the largest dam removal project in history. Narrated by Gary Farmer and scored by Tony Saunders (featuring Tower of Power’s Larry Braggs), the film is a forensic examination of Native American treaty rights and the "unblinking" reality of what it takes to restore an ecosystem after a century of industrial colonization.

The Record of Resistance

The Narrative: Featuring the vital voices of Elwha Klallam elders Beatrice Charles, Adeline Smith, and Rachel Hagaman, this film documents the reclamation of fisheries that have sustained the tribe since time immemorial.
Broadcast History: Premiered on PBS and Free Speech TV; now mastered for 2025 in 4K DCI.
Impact: A definitive archival record of the "Unconquering" process, used globally to study the environmental and cultural impacts of dam removal.

Technical & Production Dossier

Master Format: 3840x2880 / 2880P Digital Projection Print (4K DCI).
The Archives: 156 camera loads (62,400 feet) of Kodak 7293 16mm Film.
Primary Gear: French-made Eclair 1.5; Angenieux Zooms (10-150mm, 12-120mm, 9.5-57mm); Century 600mm Prime.
Audio Integrity: Double System Nagra 4.2 S Center Track Time Code; Shoeps Microphones.
Post-Production: Sound Design by Scot Charles; Film Processing and Final Print by Monaco Labs, San Francisco.

Song on the Water: The Return of the Great Canoes 58:37

"A modern-day miracle born of a legal ultimatum: reclaim the water by traditional means, or lose it forever."

In the 1960s, the Pacific Northwest was a battlefield known as the "Fish Wars." Indigenous fishermen were harassed and beaten by State Police for exercising their ancestral rights. Even after the landmark Boldt Decision of 1976—which federally guaranteed access to "usual and accustomed grounds"—the State of Washington continued to deny entry. The breakthrough came in the form of a daunting compromise: the tribes could access their traditional waters only if they could prove they could reach them by traditional means—ocean-going canoes.

Song on the Water is the award-winning ethnographic record of that triumphant response. I followed 50 indigenous crews, their "pullers," and their communities as they reclaimed the waves. This feature-length journey is an immersive exploration of Coast Salish and Nuu Chah Nulth resilience, filled with the songs and cultural expressions that were once targeted for erasure. Narrated by Johnson Charles Sr. and scored by Chief Frank Nelson, the film documents a vision of a positive future for youth, proving that the old ways are not just history—they are the key to the future.

The Legacy of the Voyage

The Partnership: Presented by The Long House Association, a Native 501(c)(3) dedicated to cultural preservation, led by President Linda Wiechman (Elwha Klallam).
Broadcast History: Following its premiere on KCTS 9 Seattle, the film has aired over 240 times on more than 80 PBS stations across the U.S. and on Canadian Television.
Narrative Voices: Featuring the essential testimony of Alfred Charles Jr., Darrell Charles, and John Boyd, documenting the spiritual and physical demands of the "pull."

Technical & Production Dossier

Master Format: 3840x2160 / 2160P Digital Theatrical Projection Print (4K).
Original Capture: Sony DSR-500 WS DV-Cam (Widescreen).
Audio Integrity: Captured using Single and Double System Sony Walkman Portable DAT with Sennheiser Wireless and Shotgun Mics to preserve the fidelity of the songs on the water.
Cinematography & Editing: Robert Lundahl.
Location Sound: Paul Hawxhurst.

Who Are My People? The Flashpoint in the Mojave 1:03:50

"A forensic look at the collision of billion-dollar green energy and thousand-year-old sacred history, where human remains are exhumed and ancient geoglyphs bulldozed."

The Mojave Desert has become ground zero for the "green energy" gold rush. Who Are My People? pulls back the curtain on this urgent "Flashpoint," identified by the LA Times, where the world's energy firms are destroying ecosystems, migrating birds, and sacred sites to produce power.

This documentary feature is an unblinking look behind the scenes of two of the world's largest solar projects. The film provides compelling evidence of a brutal value-system clash: the industrial imperative versus the ancestral imperative. Featuring the unassailable testimony of elders like Preston Arrow-weed and Alfredo Acosta Figueroa, alongside environmental leaders like the Sierra Club's Michael Brune, the film documents how corporations meet their match in a small, determined group of Native American elders fighting for land that has been an indigenous settlement for millennia.

The Record of the Conflict

The Narrative: This film is a primary document of how "progress" is often blind to cultural heritage, and how legal and environmental groups united to demand accountability from state institutions and private firms.
The Voices: Featuring key expert testimony from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dr. James Andre (UC Riverside), and tribal leaders Anthony Pico and Reverend Ron Van Fleet, establishing the gravity of the institutional conflict.
Distribution: Screened in theaters across 5 states (Oregon, South Dakota, Arizona, Nevada, California).
Score: Featuring an authentic score by Chuey Zapata Jess Fig and Keith Secola that underscores the urgency of the battle.

Technical & Production Dossier

Master Format: 3840x2160 / 2160P UHD Digital Theatrical Projection Print (4K).
Capture System: Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2 HD Camcorder.
Audio Integrity: Audio Technica Shotgun Mics; Sennheiser Wireless systems capture the pristine audio of the desert and the raw testimony of the elders.
Produced with Support From: The Rose Foundation, The Rex Foundation, Green Action, and more.

Harvest Dreams: A Film About Sustaining 50:41

"A seasonal study of color, light, and the quiet tragedy of a landscape in transition."

Shot over the course of a full year on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, Harvest Dreams is a profound reflection on what it means to stay rooted. As the region shifts from commodity agriculture to niche organic farming, four families fight to keep their legacies alive in a landscape once managed for thousands of years by the Klallam people.

While the "West" was built on the myth of endless abundance, this feature-length documentary explores the unblinking reality of the modern farmer: a struggle to find a "cash crop" that can survive the pressures of rising land costs and housing development. It is a story of adaptation—through agri-tourism, sustainable practice, and the "neighbor helping neighbor" values that are the last line of defense against being priced out of existence. Touching and occasionally tragic, the film documents the transition of generations as they attempt to sustain not just their farms, but their souls.

The Record of the Land

The Narrative: A year-long observational study featuring the families of Nash’s Organic Produce, Dungeness Valley Creamery, Angel Farm, and Lazy J Farm, capturing the rhythmic beauty and high stakes of a life in the dirt.
The Sound: Featuring a stinging, swinging West Coast Bluegrass score by Arhoolie Records legends The Maddox Brothers and Rose Maddox, whose 1950s "Rockabilly" energy underscores the film’s vibrant exploration of color and light.
Production Support: Created with the generous support of Friends of the Fields.

Technical & Production Dossier

Master Format: 3840x2160 / 2160P UHD Digital Theatrical Projection Print (4K).
The Vision: A deliberate exploration of the changing seasons, mastered in 4K to preserve the intricate textures of the Peninsula’s unique light.
Capture System: Sony DSR-500 WS DV-Cam (Widescreen), allowing for a high-mobility, intimate "fly-on-the-wall" presence.
Audio Integrity: Sennheiser Wireless and Shotgun Mics capture the "song of the land" and the raw, unscripted wisdom of the farming families.
Directed, Produced, and Edited by: Robert Lundahl.

PayDirt (Director’s Cut) 58:06

"The toxic cost of the American Dream: A forensic indictment of the liars, thieves, and hirelings who buried the truth in the soil."

PayDirt is a brutal, unblinking investigation into institutional fraud and the radioactive legacy of the Cold War. Set against the plunging economic reality of the Great Recession, the film uncovers a devastating pattern of malfeasance: government and military brass "cooking the books" to fast-track the decommissioning of California's Superfund sites.

This feature-length documentary exposes the cover-up of radioactive waste disposal from the Bikini Island nuclear tests, carcinogenic toxins, and asbestos left behind by half-hearted "clean-up" efforts. At former bases like Hunters Point and El Toro, these "unassailable" truths were buried beneath promises of residential development and children's play areas. In the segment "Dead Men Tell No Lies," the film identifies residual trichloroethylene (TCE) in the soils of what became Irvine’s Great Park, documenting a system where billionaire CEOs and private-enterprise leadership took advantage of the crisis for their own benefit, regardless of the consequences to others.

The Record of Impact: From Exposure to Policy

The Catalyst: Created in collaboration with Salem-News.com, SF Weekly, GreenAction, and The Law Offices of Angela Alioto, PayDirt provided the momentum for the founding of the Non-Toxic Neighborhoods movement.
Direct Results: The film’s awareness campaign led the City of Irvine to adopt a historic, organically driven landscaping policy in 2016, successfully eliminating toxic pesticides across 6,000 acres of open space and 570 acres of community parks.
A Cautionary Tale: Now serving as a blueprint for over 200 cities, this work proves that breaking the "code of silence" is the first step toward reclaiming a non-toxic future.

Technical & Production Dossier

Master Format: 3840x2160 / 2160P UHD Director's Cut Digital Theatrical Projection Print (4K).
Capture System: Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2 HD, used for high-mobility investigative shooting in extreme environmental conditions.
Audio Integrity: Audio Technica Shotgun Mics and Sennheiser Wireless systems ensure that every unscripted whistleblower testimony is captured with absolute clarity.
Post-Production: Mastered at Robert Lundahl and Associates (Larkspur, CA) and Utelevision (Sausalito, CA).

Resistance and Redemption 1:45:22

The hunger for gold—the "snake's blood" that has long destroyed worlds—is an ancient story of extraction and broken promises

Yet, in the arid landscapes of the American West, this narrative persists, merely updated with a new list of coveted elements: lithium, uranium, and copper, essential for a supposed "green energy" transition that ironically threatens the very earth it claims to save (p. 2). The feature film Resistance and Redemption is an unlikely cinematic artifact, a "Cinema Vérité Radio Documentary" drawn from candid interviews aired on primetime KPFK, Los Angeles, capturing a deeply personal and ongoing fight for the soul of the land.

The film begins in the Cargo Muchacho Mountains of Southern California, where Quechan elder Preston Arrow-weed stands as a steadfast guardian of his ancestral lands (p. 1). He speaks of a devastating proposed gold mine, the Oro Cruz project, and an infuriating double standard: if gold were found at Mount Rushmore, no one would dare defile a national monument, yet it is deemed acceptable to destroy Indigenous sacred sites to line corporate pockets (p. 1). Arrow-weed’s testimony is a foundational call to action, rooted in a belief that the mountains are living entities, created just as people were, and deserve equal respect (p. 1).

The narrative then spirals outwards, revealing a pattern of similar extractive developments across the region. We hear commentary on the uranium mining at White Mesa and witness snapshots of a proposed lithium mine at Ash Meadows, a critical biodiversity hot spot where 28 endangered species, including the unique Devil's Hole pupfish, rely on the fragile groundwater systems that mining operations threaten to drain (p. 14).

The film’s heart beats hardest at Thacker Pass, or Peehee Mu'huh ("Rotten Moon" in Paiute), in northern Nevada, a place of immense pain and profound sacredness (p. 12). Here, the focus shifts to the ongoing struggle against a colossal open-pit lithium mine, a project fast-tracked by the U.S. government during the COVID-19 pandemic with minimal and inadequate tribal consultation (p. 17).

Dorece Sam, a member of the Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe and a key voice in the film, unwinds the story of her community's resistance (p. 18). She recounts how the site is an ancestral burial ground and the location of two historical massacres in 1865, where U.S. cavalry left the bodies of 30 to 70 Paiute people unburied (pp. 15-16). The company constructing the mine, Lithium Nevada Corporation, a subsidiary of Lithium Americas, filed a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP suit) against Dorece and others to silence their protests and block access to their sacred grounds (p. 19). Dorece describes a raid on the Ox Sam prayer camp where sacred objects, including a prayer staff with an eagle feather, were seized and disrespectfully stored in garbage bags (pp. 24-25).

A central mystery hangs over the film: how could U.S. District Court Judge Miranda Du issue a record of decision allowing the mine's construction to proceed while simultaneously stating the permit process was incomplete and therefore, in effect, illegal (p. 21)? The "redemption" hinted at in the title arrives with explosive reporting, included in a Rachel Maddow show segment aired on January 5, 2026. This segment exposed a clear instance of political corruption surrounding the sale of water rights from a ranch owned by Frank Falen and his family to the mining company (p. 27). Falen's wife, Karen Budd Phelan, was the number three official at the Interior Department, the very agency responsible for approving the mine (pp. 26-27). The water rights deal was contingent on the mine's approval, creating a direct financial incentive and revealing a quid pro quo that enriched the Falen family and applied political pressure to permit the mine despite its illegalities (pp. 26-27).

This highly personalized, in-depth exposé pulls back the curtain on a system where exuberant market investments in highly destructive mining projects, supported under both the Biden and Trump administrations, are ultimately facilitated by criminal insider corruption and payoffs (pp. 11, 27). The film is a hard-hitting, bold, and successful testament to the power of Indigenous voices in shedding light on federal malfeasance.

The Record of the Conflict

The Narrative: This film is a primary document of extractive practices across the West. Projects across three states are highlighted.
The Voices: Featuring key expert testimony from Dorece Sam (Ft. McDermitt Pai-Sho Tribe,
Preston Arrow-weed (Quechan Tribe), Mahlee Yellowfeather (Apache), Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Karen Budd Falen (BLM), Bureau of Land Manadement, Rachel Maddow.
Distribution: KPFK, The Rachel Maddow Show, New York Times, High Country News, PRX, Public Radio Exchange.
Score: Featuring an authentic score by Various artists /Free Music Archive that underscores the urgency of the battle.
Narrated By: Filmmaker, Robert Lundahl
Drone Footage, Young Warrior, Pai-Sho Drone.

Technical & Production Dossier

Master Format: 1920x1080 1080P HD
Capture System: 1080p and Zoom Recordings
Audio Integrity: Field Recordings from Participant Camera Mics/Samson Meteor
Post-Production: Agence, Atascadero, CA