Filmmaker Joel Dameron Takes On Hollywood Whitewashing

DURANT, Okla. - May 22, 2016 - PRLog -- Hollywood has a long history of 'whitewashing' movies, even those with a decidedly non-white historical aspect. From Charlton Heston playing a middle-eastern Jewish Moses and Mickey Rooney playing Chinese landlord Mr. Yunioshi,  to Scarlett Johansson playing Japanese character Motoko Kusanagi and Gods of Egypt and Exodus: Gods and Kings, where entirely white casts represent entirely Eqyptan characters, Hollywood has shown a strong preference for white actors.   Furthermore, with a few name exceptions,  parts for non-white actors are often simple, stereotyped, and lacking depth.

Filmmaker Joel Dameron has set out to change that.  His new film, Bluff, features a cast where the majority of the talent are minority actors.  Additionally, the crew, production crew, and publicists are minorities.

Often, minority characters, particularly Native American characters, are reduced to a stereotype:  the Apache wiseman, the warrior.  Typical film tropes such as the black thug, the genius Asian, are not found in Dameron's films.  His films have characters that could be played by actors of any race; what sets Dameron apart is that he auditions talent of all races, and chooses the actor that best portrays the character, regardless of ethnicity.

Dameron explains his writing and filmmaking philosophy:

I am a Native American Filmmaker and rather than making films that only appeal to a Native audience, I want to make films that appeal to the human race, to the world. I want to make superb films, that stand the test of time. Films that tell amazing stories and have amazing characters. I want to make films about modern, real people, with modern, real issues. People who are struggling to make sense of their existence, people who are trying to figure out where they fit in a constantly changing world, and I want all actors to play these roles, because we're all doing this, we're all trying to make it, we're all human beings. I do this and I believe that, in the end, my success will only prove to further progress all people, including my own. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting change, gets us nowhere. It's also the definition of insanity."

Bluff is a complex script, with complex, fully developed characters.  The entire Film takes place in the interrogation rooms, one on one, between the suspects and the Detectives. Every suspect is shown continuously, in real time, so that the audience can see every move they make and every word they say.

Dameron explains the film: "Bluff is a contemporary closed-circle Mystery that tells the story of three coworkers, a woman and two men, who are staying together in a hotel. When their fourth roommate/coworker is mysteriously found dead, they find themselves simultaneously being questioned, in three separate interrogation rooms. The coworkers were the only people who had a key to the room and the victim's key was found on her body. When the death supposedly occurred, the other three were playing Poker, a rousing game of No Limit Texas Hold 'Em, in the lobby. So, who did it?"

The film demands that the audience pays close attention, it makes them the judge and the jury, it asks them to decide who's telling the truth...and who's simply bluffing.

Because of the method used to shoot the film, each actor has to fully devote him or herself to the role, which offers the actors a challenge that is unusual for minority characters in the current Hollywood landscape.

Bluff is set to be the second feature length film produced under Dameron's production companies, Electric Candy and Holba'a Pisa Pictures.  Bluff currently has a gofundme.com/bluff campaign set up for funding.  Joel Dameron and co-producer Landry Miller will be in the Nashville, TN area this June to meet with potential production studios.


For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/Bluff-the-Movie-175445396186589/ or www.gofundme.com/bluff

About Holba'a Pisa Pictures:
Holba'a Pisa:
Pronounced HOLE-Buh-AH-Pee-SAW, is a Film brand and company started by American Filmmaker Joel Dameron in 2015 after disbanding his former company, Red Starr Films.

The name is a Native American (Chickasaw) phrase meaning, "To look at pictures." Dameron, who is Chickasaw, named it this in honor of his heritage and his grandfather, who is one of the last few remaining fluent Chickasaw speakers. Dameron's Film, Hitters, is the first to be released under the Holba'a Pisa Brand and last to released under Red Starr Films.
Holba'a Pisa also marks Dameron's transition from amateur to professional