995), a taut and edgy

drama of a brainy loner (Frank Whaley) stalking an actress (Sheryl Lee) visiting her mother (Blythe Danner) at a ranch outside Las Cruces. In 1997, Medoff collaborated with director Andrew Shea, the founder of the New Mexico Repertory Theater, to film Santa Fe (1996). It offered tart commentary on the capital city's flourishing New Age scene and appeal to cultists. Rod McCall used historic Hillsboro, his adopted hometown, as the setting for Paper Hearts or Cheatin' Hearts (199

3), a tale of marital discord starring Sally Kirkland, James Brolin and Kris Kristofferson. McCall segued with Lewis & Clark & George (1997), an absurdist road movie he describes as "a template for a live

-action cartoon about three comically obsessed characters whose desperate measures compare to those of Wyle E. Coyote." Set in New Mexico's remote southwestern Bootheel region and showcasing the vivacious Rose McGowan, L&C&G won best picture honors at the Austin Film Festival. Emboldened by the warm Texas welcome, McCall is distributing the movie himself, opening with playdates in Austin. Both McCall and Medoff cite the personal and art

istic rewa

• rds of independent f
• ilmmaking, even if t
• hey have scored more

lucrative

• studio deals. Says Medo
• ff, "Making movies in New