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Apache Tribe

Phantoms of the Sierra Madre

Three men embark on a boyhood dream of a Western adventure in search of a lost Apache tribe in Mexico, but end up in a very different place than they had planned. 

A thought-provoking film about being out of place – and about realising it along the way.

Eight years ago, Danish screenwriter Lars K. Andersen had an idea for a film inspired by his childhood hero, Norwegian explorer Helge Ingstad, who in 1937 went on an expedition to Mexico to search for a lost Apache tribe. 

Lars will follow in his footsteps and find the mysterious tribe with Norwegian filmmaker Håvard Bustnes. 

But what at first looked like an eccentric road movie in the great American tradition of the Western soon turns into an involuntary deconstruction of the mythology of the white adventurer, forcing both Lars and Håvard to rethink their project and their own roles as cultural outsiders. 

Along the way, they are joined by Pius, great-grandson of Apache warrior Geronimo, who himself is a firm believer in the presence of the Apaches in Mexico. 

With the film project on the brink of collapse, Lars embarks on a final search for answers that leads him to Helge Ingstad’s granddaughter in Oslo. In the attic awaits an shocking discovery that changes everything.

 
 
YEAR:

2026

DIRECTOR:

Håvard Bustnes

DOP:

DOP Lars Skree

Starring:

Lars Kristian Andersen
Bernadette Chavez
Amanda Fayant
Don Agustin Fimbres
Don Pedro 
Pius Garcia
Robert Geronimo
Angel Holguin
Bernarda Holguin
Georgina Holguin
Libre para amarte (2013)
Benedicte Ingstad
Eirik Sandberg Ingstad
Helge Ingstad
Freddie Kaydahzinne
Bennett Martine
Jesús Gerardo Ramírez 
Rita Shaffer
Frode Skarstein
Larry Valdez

Meeting with Uncle
Phantoms of the Sierra Madre – cinematography by Lars Skree

VARIETY Speaking to Variety, Bustnes reckons he was perhaps naïve when Andersen (who was script consultant on three of his earlier films) first approached him with his idea for the film at CPH:DOX 2016. “I would never have thought of cultural appropriation, or anything like that. I felt this could be a great road movie, visually beautiful as well,” he says, mentioning the eventual key contribution from pedigreed cinematographer Lars Skree (“The Look of Silence,” “Putin’s Kiss”). (filmmaker Håvard Bustnes, Variety)

- VARIETY