5Q's w/Kristin Atwell "Castle Hot Springs: Oasis of Time" Director

#1: Can you describe your movie and why somebody should see it in less than 140 characters?

The world is full of natural wonders that nourish the human spirit. Castle Hot Springs is one of those places.

#2: What do you want the Borrego Springs Film Festival audience to know about your film that isn’t obvious from its title?

There are places that hold our memories. Sometimes memories are more feeling than fact, more mythic than real, but those stories speak to us about who we are. The history of Castle Hot Spring is a microcosm of the history of Arizona. From the nomadic lives of the indigenous Yavapai people to the arrival of prospectors, soldiers, and cowboys, and the advent of tourism in the Southwest, for better or worse our whole history is present in this one story. For me, this film is about how legends are made and, more importantly, how as historians in the new millennium we can tell old stories without making the same old mistakes.

#3: What is your movie making background? Tell us about yourself.

I am the love child of fact and fiction. My mother was a TV personality and my dad was a historian. One gave me a deep immersion in theatre and the arts, the other in the natural world. I've been making documentaries for 25 years. It's always been meaningful, now it's getting really fun! We have a big release coming out of our feature documentary, "Riders of the Purple Sage: The Making of a Western Opera," about a new American opera based on the iconic Zane Grey novel. I am fascinated by the connection between people and place, and how the natural world inspires art. Castle Hot Springs is a deep well for me, literally and figuratively, since my mother was one of the failed owners in the 1980s after the fire. She never got the resort open, and she lost everything trying to, but for the time we had access to these healing waters reunited my family after our parents' divorce a decade earlier. Thirty-five years later to the day I was standing where my sister got married at Castle Hot Springs while working on this film. Sometimes, if time can work its magic, the seasons roll around and what has been lost is refound.

#4: What was the biggest lesson learned in getting your film made?

Filmmaking, in general, is a series of relentless problem-solving calisthenics. The Castle Hot Springs film was different. The place has such a rich history, and a wonderful narrative arc thanks to it being lost to the elements and miraculously revived. The place told us what it wanted us to know, and the people who came before us left wonderful clues, photos, paintings, stories, songs.... Our task was to be there in the right light, which changed constantly through the seasons. We even got snowed in with the creek running high, which is an amazing experience in the desert just an hour outside of Phoenix! Our lesson for this project was to lead with the heart and listen closely to the people and the land. It was a joy and honor to tell this story.

#5: What does the future hold for your film and you?

Our team at Quantum Leap Productions is now working on a film about Liberty Wildlife, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Arizona. In addition to medical care for wild animals and educational programs for humans, Liberty Wildlife has a non-eagle feather repository which provides feathers to Native Americans for use in ceremony. The LW-NEFR is one of only two sources of legal feathers in the United States for tribal members. It is a wonderful way to care for animals after death and support the cultural identity of the First People. We are excited to explore the relationship between wildlife and the human spirit!

Thank you so much for including us in the Borrego Springs Film Festival. I hope to see you late this spring!