BUFFALO RUNNER


A short film about self-worth and our shared struggle for identity





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Your wound may not be your fault. But your healing is your responsibility.


Growing up on an Indian reservation Duane Kemmer took to alcohol, getting into fights with everyone and his dog. 10 years ago he stopped to never touch a drop again. He now runs an Indian Relay team with his family.

A film by Thilo Gundelach in collaboration with cinematographer Leonhard Kaufmann
and Brooklyn based composer Benjamin Louis Brody.


Dedicated to 
Michael Running Crane
Patrone & The Man


Featuring
Duane Kemmer
Narsis Reevis
Cliff Kemmer


Thanks to
Chris Carlson
The Kemmer Family

Sound Mix by Jan Brett
Color by Robin Jünkersfeld

Made with [poise]



Duane Kemmer is an Amskapi Pikuni, a Blackfeet from Browning, MT. 
A father of eight and a veteran in Indian Relay horse racing.

Marketed as the first extreme sport in the US, Indian Relay is the ultimate horse race. The athletes, Native American only, jump off the horse and onto the next riding three laps on a flat track - bareback. Kemmer is a mugger. The one, who stops the horse after the rider jumped off. Who gets run over and dragged behind when the horse does not stop. If your horse gets loose your team is disqualified, so you better hold on to it.

When a guy named Henry Skunkcap brought it first to the Blackfeet, Kemmer was one of his apprentices. As you have to stop a 1000 pounds horse, muggers are usually big guys. But Kemmer figured a small guy might work as well, if he is quick enough and got the balls to do it.