We’re pretty sure Sterlin Harjo is the main reason God made Oklahoma. Not only is he a talented filmmaker premiering his first feature film, Four Sheets to the Wind, at Sundance, but that boy can rep for the Sooner State like no other. Just yesterday at the panel for the “Burden of Representation” he was talking about his innate desire to continue writing and filming in his home state. He talked about how he had these specific images burned in his head, images of fields with old cars and family houses he grew up around; images he felt compelled to galvanize and reassemble on screen.

In Four Sheets to the Wind, the state of Oklahoma is as much a character as Cufe, the film’s protagonist, or Miri, his sister, or any other character for that matter. One can feel the director’s personal landscape emerging from the shots of sky and land, city and country. If there is a motif in Four Sheets it is the rich pattern of landscapes surrounding the story and it’s characters. At the panel yesterday, Harjo said he could write better in Oklahoma, that somehow his stories were richer, clearer, when he wrote there. If that is indeed the case, and if Four Sheets is any indication of this felicitous relationship, let’s hope Harjo never moves.

[Look and Listen]

To hear Sterlin talk about, among other things, his affinity for the Sooner State, check out our interview with him in the media player at the top of the blog. There is also a video of a post-screening Q&A available for your viewing pleasure. Photos from the Q&A are available to view in our gallery.