In her striking feature debut “East of Wall”, writer-director Kate Beecroft blurs the line between documentary and narrative filmmaking, crafting a hybrid that feels as lived-in as it does cinematic.
“My job was to secretly, in the back of my head, think: how can I still make this feel like a doc? How can I still make this feel free?” explains Beecroft. “There was a lot of shifting — and asking for forgiveness later.”
The result of that instinct is a film that pulses with authenticity, rooted in Beecroft’s chance encounter with Tabatha Zimiga, a recently widowed young horse trainer. What began as a meeting between strangers evolved into a years-long collaboration, centering on Zimiga, her daughter Porshia, and the sprawling South Dakota ranch that serves as their livelihood and sanctuary.
Winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award: NEXT, “East of Wall’ is an immersive portrait of grief, resilience, and chosen family. Zimiga and her daughter train and sell horses while gathering a tight-knit community of kids and adults who drift to the ranch, seeking purpose and belonging.
Two seasoned actors — Scoot McNairy (“A Complete Unknown”) and Jennifer Ehle (“She Said”) — join the otherwise untrained ensemble, but their presence never tips the balance. Most of the cast had never acted before, and their lives and labor were woven into the fabric of the film.
“Just to be a rancher or a cowgirl — that’s passed down,” Beecroft says. “It’s in your hands, it’s in your face, it’s in every rhythm of the steps you take. There’s no faking what they’re doing.”
Ahead of the film’s theatrical release this weekend, Awards Focus spoke with Beecroft about showing “East of Wall” to the Zimiga family for the first time at Sundance, blasting Taylor Swift during a spontaneous mud fight, navigating the unpredictable South Dakota elements, and the alchemy of working with a cast of first-time actors.
Awards Focus: The film won the audience award at Sundance. What was the experience of having the film screened at the festival like for you?
Kate Beecroft: Crazy? I can’t believe this film was even made, to be honest. It was such a risk for people to give me money for this. Of course, there were a lot of no’s because I’m a no-name director with basically all no-name actors, so to get into Sundance was such a dream.
Sundance was the perfect place for this film. I didn’t go to film school, so I think imposter syndrome creeps in for me. I don’t know everything about a lens, but I’m learning every day, and I know how to work with actors, and I know what my taste is.
Honestly, I didn’t even call myself or realize that I was a filmmaker until I had the Audience Award in my hand at Sundance. It just felt like I was making a movie with people that I love and my greatest friends in the world. Then, just to see them at Sundance and for them to be going on planes to places, these teenagers from Native American communities going to Sundance, that was really special for them, and somewhere where they could really honor their heritage. It was super emotional because it was also the first time the cast had ever seen the film.
AF: What was their reaction to seeing the film?
Beecroft: I kind of warned them. I was like, you are going to blackout with anxiety, and you’re gonna see it a couple more times after. The reason why I had them see it at Sundance instead of at home was that I wanted them to experience the audience and 600 people clapping. I wanted them to feel honored that people connected with their stories, because what they did was so brave. You have to have so much heart and so much guts to do what they did, and vulnerability and strength.
AF: I feel like camera shock, that moment when the camera turns on and you freeze, is really difficult to overcome. What was that like when you started filming and you called, “Action”? How did you manage to keep the environment comfortable?
Beecroft: I think because I lived with them for so long, there was just that trust. And I knew I needed to keep this crew small. I really needed to vet all the crew members to make sure that they’re just compassionate, wonderful human beings. And they were. It’s like you’re assembling a family because it is delicate. It’s really delicate to do anything in the docu-fiction realm or doc realm. I knew my cinematographer very well because he found the story with me, so there was a lot of trust there. The cast rose to the occasion every time, and to have a bunch of cowgirls who have never had a camera in front of their faces be able to make choices as actors was crazy.
AF: There are so many different storytelling devices that can be used within the scope of documentaries and fictional narratives. How did you land on the docu-fiction hybrid and incorporate their stories into a feature script?
Beecroft: I was told many times that Tabby and Porshia are amazing characters. They’re such strong female characters that everyone wants in Hollywood right now. You could cast professional actors, and you could get way more of a budget. And I said no. I wanted to take the tiny pennies just to showcase them, because I think we need new talent, we need new faces, we need new stories, and we need to take risks.
Also, just to be a rancher or a cowgirl, that’s passed down. That’s in your hands. It’s in your face. It’s in every rhythm of the steps that you take. So, there’s no faking what they’re doing. There’s a scene by the fire when all the women are talking; you can’t fake what Tabby went through. That’s not written. That’s her telling her story, and it was the same with Porshia. So, I needed to keep that authenticity.
I’ve always loved the docu-fiction storytelling. I love non-professional actors, and when they turned into first-time actors, I think the first movie I ever saw where that played out, which I loved, was a film in the early two thousands called “Rabbit-Proof Fence”.
AF: I’m Australian, and we watched that film in school.
Beecroft: That film was the first time I was like, Wow, there is something so magnetic about these girls because the ego is not there. I’ve always been drawn to that.
AF: Earlier this year, I interviewed the filmmakers for the documentary “Sugarcane,” where they also immersed themselves within the local communities to help tell their stories. Similarly with “East of Wall”, you’re gaining the trust not just of the family, but also of a wider community in South Dakota.
Can you talk a bit about how you were able to build that trust to incorporate the community into the film?
Beecroft: I wear my heart on my sleeve. I got advice once that was don’t get too close to them. You have to remain objective. I don’t know how to do that. I mean, I’m asking these brilliant young girls to tell their story and do something incredibly brave, and I have to show that exact same respect and vulnerability, so that’s kind of how I went with the whole community. I really involved the community. To me, that was really important.
I used as many PAs, camera assistants, drone operators, and my assistant director was from South Dakota. I wanted to shoot everything live, all of the extras, all of the people having the one or two liners; I wanted it to be a South Dakota film so they felt like they were a part of something. And I think, unfortunately, a lot of the middle of America feels like there’s no space for them in Hollywood or filmmaking or art. So, it was great to have a bunch of ranchers be your hardworking PAs.
AF: In the middle of it all, you’ve got two established actors, Scoot McNairy and Jennifer Ehle, who plays the matriarch of the family. Can you talk a bit about casting Jennifer as a family member and integrating her into this world?
Beecroft: Casting in docu-fiction is so delicate. You have to be super on it because if you put the wrong person in there, it can kind of pop the docu-fiction bubble. The role of Tracey is based on real Tracey, Tabitha’s mother, down to the outfit and the way she talks. Everything is Tabitha’s mother. Because we shot at Live rodeos, and Tracey’s really well known in the community, people were going up and hugging Jennifer Ehle, being like, “Tracey, nice to see ya! Come get a drink with me.” And they would do a double-take when they realized it was Jennifer. They thought she looked identical to this woman named Tracey.
Jennifer is such a respectful actress. She has so much respect for what she’s doing, and especially if she’s going to become someone who’s a real person. She really studied Tracey. I would constantly send her videos, and there were a lot of discussions. She really embedded herself in the lifestyle of Tracey.
AF: There’s such a strong, visual language that you’ve developed with your DP Austin Shelton. What were the conversations with Austin about not just framing what would be inside the house and the ranch, but also outside, and those beautiful landscape shots?
Beecroft: I tried to stay away from watching a lot of westerns for this film because I think when you’re in South Dakota, it’s obvious that all you want to do is shoot the gorgeous Western shots. I tried to do the opposite because I wanted to make a film that was more modern and like the New West instead of the Old West. I wanted to make something very different because their life is different than the Westerns that you’re seeing now. I wanted to show the ruggedness of the landscape. In South Dakota, the weather is always changing, and I wanted to show that as well, like have that connection to the land because as ranchers and cowgirls, they are the most connected to the land out of any human.
Making the land a character was really important. The visual language for the more verté shots of being inside the house, I wanted you to feel the chaos that Tabby’s feeling, the chaos that I feel when I’m there as well. It’s brilliant chaos, but it’s chaos. Like screaming, yelling, raccoons running around on the floor, dogs, you know, it’s so nuts. Like, there’s never any silence there. And so when I was having the conversation with Austin, I said, I want the camera to be one of the kids. This makes you feel like, as an audience member, that you are one of Tabby’s kids who’s sitting there and you’re witnessing all of this.
AF: Given the unpredictable weather and the changing natural elements, what were some of the biggest creative or logistical challenges that you went through while shooting?
Beecroft: Everything we were shooting is basically natural light. The cloudscape there is constantly changing. We go from 107 degrees shooting to 40 to 30 degrees three days later. There are so many rainstorms in the summertime.
There’s a rodeo scene that we shot over two days, and one day, the rodeo ground is full of mud. I thought, how am I gonna shoot this? And you know, you can’t be too precious about anything and too controlling because you’re also going to miss the magic. I saw a puddle of mud in the middle of the rodeo arena, and I just said, that’d be a good scene. So, I had all the kids just jump in the mud, and it was so fun. We blasted Taylor Swift, and I had all the cameramen, and, of course, my producer was staring at me like, oh my God, this is a crazy liability. It is a scripted film, and it was 26 shooting days, and it’s a SAG film, and you have to hit all these rules. My job was to secretly, in the back of my head, think, how can I still make this feel like a doc? How can I still make this feel free? There was a lot of shifting and asking for forgiveness later.
AF: How has making the film changed you as a filmmaker, and what do you have planned next?
Beecroft: These people have changed me as a filmmaker, but also as a human being. They completely rocked my world and changed my life, and I’m forever grateful. What I want to take away from that is discovering my own talent, too. Especially for young girls, being able to discover someone like Porshia was incredible. You don’t really see half Native American girls holding a screen at the AMC anymore. Just being able to cast really incredibly rough around the edges, but such inspiring women, I think I’ll always carry with me. Writing for women of all ages is also something that I will take with me into my next project.