MOSES ON THE MESA
is a short fiction film that focuses on a few episodes in the real-life tale of Solomon Bibo, a Jewish immigrant who left Germany in 1869 while still a teenager to seek out the mythical “El Dorado” in America. Through incredible twists of fate, he became governor of the indigenous tribe of Acoma whose ancient pueblo (named “Sky City”) sits atop a beautiful and unassailable cliff in the middle of a New Mexico desert. Solomon became known to the Indians as “Don Solomono” and married the granddaughter of the tribe’s former governor. Solomon’s amazing story spans the Napoleonic Wars, the aftermath of the American Civil War, the building of the Santa Fe railroad, the American Indian Wars (and such famous characters as Geronimo), the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, the Great Depression and leads all the way up to World War 2. Solomon’s descendants now live throughout the world.
PAUL RATNER writer/director
Paul was born in the former Soviet Union, and had his first interactions with indigenous people during his early childhood when his family lived in Siberia. Since moving to the US, he has continued to explore his fascination with the Native American community through film. After studying film at Cornell and Chapman Universities, Paul started working as a professional in film and television. He has worked in Hollywood and all over the world (Russia, India, Czech Republic), and made his own short films, music videos and documentaries. Currently, he is in the last stages of post-production on his documentary feature film, THE CAVEMAN OF ATOMIC CITY, which portrays a fringe philosopher who lived in a cave on the territory of the Los Alamos National Lab and came up with his own theory of time and space.
PETRA RATNER producer
Born in Prague, Czech Republic, Petra has a wealth of international production experience in commercials, film and television in the US and Czech Republic. She has worked on such films as HOSTEL & HOSTEL 2, ALIEN VS PREDATOR, and DOOM. She was also a department coordinator on the blockbuster WANTED. For her company New Spirit Cinema, Petra has produced documentaries, short films, music videos and is currently developing feature projects. Petra is also producing the Prague 48 Hour Film Project.
Alongside her film and video work, Petra has a passion for photography.
JOZO ZOVKO cinematographerJozo shoots commercials, music videos and narrative work. He cut his teeth on countless big budget Hollywood projects as an assistant cameraman. He is a winner of the Emerging Cinematographer Award from the International Guild of Cinematographers.
