At Last, Okemah! is a 2009 short film directed by Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

-based independent filmmaker Michael Glover Smith, based on an original screenplay by novelist Adam Selzer

Adam Selzer

Adam Selzer is an author, primarily of young adult and middle grade novels. His first novel was How To Get Suspended and Influence People, a 2007 Random House novel which was included on the Chicago Public Schools 2007 Summer Reading List...

 and Smith. The film had its world premiere at the Chicago International REEL Shorts Festival

Chicago International REEL Shorts Festival

The Chicago International REEL Shorts Festival is an annual short film competition and screening put on by Project Chicago. The festival was founded by Scott Rudolph and Nels Dahlquist...

 on Sunday, September 13th, 2009, where it won an Audience Choice Award. It was also an Official Selection of the 2009 Asheville Film Festival, the 2010 Tallahassee Film Festival and the 2010 Chicago International Music and Movies Festival, where the film effectively "opened" a concert by cast member Jon Langford

Jon Langford

Jon Langford born October 11, 1957, Newport, Monmouthshire is a Welsh-born musician and artist who is presently based in Chicago. He is the younger brother of science-fiction author and critic David Langford...

. This unique double bill was a "Recommended" screening by Cine-File, Chicago's guide to independent and alternative cinema.

Plot

At Last, Okemah! is a comedic retelling of Don Quixote featuring Jeff-nominated actor Kevin Viol in the lead role of Winston Thomas, a former hipster who becomes the self-styled greatest, most authentic folk singer of all time. After a mystical encounter, Winston embarks on a journey to Okemah, Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

 to be anointed by the spirit of Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie

Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...

.

History

At Last, Okemah! was shot on high definition digital video in 6 days in the spring of 2009. Most of the actors in the movie are well known in the worlds of Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 music, theater, television and independent film; in addition to Viol and Langford, the cast includes noted thespians Mia Park (host of television's Chic-a-Go-Go

Chic-a-Go-Go

Chic-a-Go-Go is a Public-access television cable TV children's dance show that airs on Chicago Access Network Television . The show bills itself as "Chicago's Dance Show for Kids of All Ages".-Show description:...

), Suzy Brack, Paul Perroni and Duane Sharp (star of Zen Noir

Zen Noir

Zen Noir is a 2006 surrealist Buddhist murder mystery by independent filmmaker Marc Rosenbush, starring Kim Chan, Duane Sharp, Ezra Buzzington, Debra Miller, Jennifer Siebel and Howard Fong.-Awards:...

). "At Last, Okemah!" is dedicated to writer Miguel de Cervantes

Miguel de Cervantes

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...

 and musician Woody Guthrie

Woody Guthrie

Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...

.