When eight-year-old Rebecca Harrell starred with Sam Elliot in the 1989 film classic, Prancer, Roger Ebert called her “. . . a plucky schemer who figures out things for herself and isn’t afraid to act on her convictions.”
Roger Ebert just named PRANCER one of the top 10 Holiday movies to see.
Ebert was correct. That same little girl, who discovered that film could convey a powerful message, is certainly not afraid to act on her convictions. Instead, Rebecca Harrell Tickell is now a partner in life and work with Josh Tickell and a mother of two children, as well as a writer, producer and director of documentaries involving environmental issues.
“I’ve always been deeply moved by powerful spokespeople for the Earth, like Rachel Carson and Sylvia Earle,” says Harrell Tickell. “When I was 17, I was home sick and watching TV, and I remember the Veggie Van guy, Josh Tickell, on the Today show. He was promoting his Veggie Van, powered by used cooking oil to help to jumpstart the U.S. biodiesel/veggie oil car conversion movement. I’ll never forgot the way I felt in that moment when I saw him…it sparked something in me.” Less than two years after meeting, Tickell and Harrell won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival for their first film together, Fuel, about Josh’s journey with the Veggie Van and getting America off oil with Woody Nelson in the film. Another of their films, KISS THE GROUND, narrated by Woody Harrelson and now on NETFLIX.
Currently, the award-winning duo has just released their first scripted film, On Sacred Ground, in movie theaters Jan. 13, 2023.
It is about a war veteran with PTSD who goes to the Standing Rock Reservation as a journalist to cover the story from the oil company perspective. David Arquette, William Mapother,
With her husband Josh, Harrell Tickell has written, directed and produced this latest film, and she is also back on the screen with a significant role. The movie is based on true events during the 2016 construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline that runs through the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The film follows Daniel (William Mapother), a journalist and
military veteran, and Elliot (David Arquette), an oil company executive, who find themselves on opposite sides of the fight during the construction of the contentious pipeline. As the story unfolds, the two characters go down separate paths during one of the most heated protests and confrontations with Native American tribes in modern United States history.
“It is really the performances of our indigenous actors that steal the show,” says Harrell Tickell. “We must give credit to David Midthunder, who helped us with the dialogue and in honoring sacred traditions. Che Jim, who is a war veteran and Water Protector from Standing Rock, helped us keep the integrity of what happened at Standing Rock on our minds at all times.
Kerry Knuppe, who delivers a jaw-dropping performance, also grew up on Pine Ridge.
Witnessing her in this role that she felt so deeply connected to was like watching a character we had written come to life,” continues Harrell Tickell. “And, of course, it was a huge honor to get to work with Irene Bedard, who helped us with dialogue and in guiding the film as a tool to support indigenous people.”
Harrell Tickell says that their films are investigations into how we can better treat the earth and one another. “As we dug deeper into environmental stories, we realized that environmental justice and indigenous rights go hand in hand,” she says. “We became curious about our First Nation’s People and could see glaring human rights violations that we couldn’t ignore. So, we began to learn and listen to indigenous leaders, and when we were called to help, we took action. As non-indigenous filmmakers it was important to us,” adds Harrell Tickell, “that we honor and respect the people affected most by these issues, and at each step in the process of writing and filming On Sacred Ground, we checked in with elders and tribal leaders to ensure that what we were portraying was accurate and appropriate.”
While honoring that we are all stewards of this earth, the film’s creators, actors and crews had a full-circle experience. On Sacred Ground was shot on land in Ohio very close to Harrell Tickell’s heart: her father’s farm where she lived and visited from the day she was born.
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