It has come to our attention that some individuals have made false claims regarding their participation on the film Mystic Voices: The Story of the Pequot War. Unfortunately, the participants have falsely listed themselves as having worked in a number of capacities for which no veracity can be claimed. While we have acknowledged and appreciated the actual contributions made by these participants to the success of the documentary, the individuals have claimed to have acted in a capacity that accurately reflects neither their actual participation nor the credits accorded by the producers.

Specifically, the claim made by Julianne Jennings (a.k.a Strong Woman) that she served as Associate Co-Producer (RI Location) of Mystic Voices: The Story of the Pequot War is inaccurate and misleading. Ms. Jennings actually served as Associate Producer (Rhode Island). In fact, for your edification there has been previous legal action which had been taken in order to avoid further confusion.

*To help explain things for those not involved in the film and television industry, here is a definition of the term Associate Producer:

Often a "gifted" title, granted by the producer(s) as a courtesy to someone who might have made a financial, creative or physical contribution to the production.

An individual who performs a limited number of functions on a production delegated to her/him by a producer, co-producer, executive producer, etc. The Associate often will act in a limited capacity and function, and does so under the direct supervision and control of the producer(s). Fairly uncommon in feature films, an Associate Producer is normally someone acting as a liaison between the producer(s) and a limited number of personnel (for television the Associate Producer often works in the post production process).

Additionally, no such title of "Associate Co-Producer" exists (to our knowledge) within the industry, and it certainly wasn't part of any personnel's titles involved in the production of Mystic Voices: The Story of the Pequot War.

- Mystic Voices, LLC
  Co-Producers Perrotta & Clemmons

Mystic Voices is the proud recipient of two EMMY^® Awards

Co-Producers Guy Perrotta and Charles Clemmons receive their Emmys® for Outstanding Achievement-Documentary Program at the 28th Annual National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences ceremony in Boston. [photography by Robert Pushkar]

The film also was nominated in two other categories: Music Composition for Charles David Denler's compositions and Videography/Cinematography, Gary Maynard and Charles Clemmons, Cinematographers. The ceremony was presented by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Boston/New England Chapter.

Schedules for regional public television stations' broadcast of the film via American Public Television are now becoming available for your area.

Rhode Island International Film Festival Screens Mystic Voices

George Marshall (left), Executive Director & CEO of the Rhode Island International Film Festival and Producing Director of Flickers Arts Collaborative, with "Mystic Voices" Co-Producer Guy Perrotta at the wrap party for the festival.

With two screenings at the 2004 Rhode Island International Film Festival August 10-15 in Providence, Rhode Island, the film received enthusiastic reviews from the audiences and the news media. The second screening was due to what festival representatives called "an overwhelming number of calls including ticket reservations" and other questions. Samples from news media reviews include:

"Tired of summer blockbusters? ... A new look at history unfolds in Mystic Voices -- eye-opening ..."

"A new look at history unfolds in Mystic Voices: The Story of the Pequot War, an eye-opening documentary about New England Native Americans and how they fared when the Pilgrims and other European immigrants arrived to claim and tame the wilderness."

- PATRICIA LACOUTURE, East Bay Newspapers

"Mystic Voices" Co-Producer Guy Perrotta with schollar/interviewee Paul Grant-Costa, American Studies Program, Yale University, and frind Betty at the Rhode Island International Film Festival screening.

Though the "extensive historical documentation is both a plus and a drawback" due to the film leaving "few stones unturned" the "Fascinating Mystic Voices often repeat themselves... With its mix of historical records, vintage paintings, location work and the voices of Native American and university historians, Mystic Voices: The Story of the Pequot War is a solid documentary ..."

- The Providence Journal

The Film Fest New Haven Connecticut Filmmakers Festival was the site of an enthusiastically well-received screening of the film in February 2004.

"Mystic Voices" Co-Producers Guy Perrotta and Charles Clemmons at the Film Fest New Haven Connecticut Filmakers Festival screening.

"The near sellout audience … was stimulated."  The film presents a "balanced" view of the War, and in the discussion that followed the screening, "The engrossed audience didn't seem to want to end the discussion. The overwhelming sentiment in the audience, apparently mostly educators, was that the documentary is … objective" and presents "an important piece of history."

- The Pequot Times, the internal newspaper for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation

Chris Ortiz (Wampanoag) and Melina, singer-songwriter (www.melinasings.com), take in the festivities at a post-screening party in New Haven, Connecticut.

"The live-audience response to MYSTIC VOICES is impressive. At the FFNH screening last February, a packed audience (including standees) remained completely focused... The Q&A was very lively and could easily have continued way beyond the allotted time. The audience was universally enthusiastic, commenting on the depth of previously unknown history and the absence of simplistic portraits of good and bad. The audience seemed in agreement that this film should be viewed widely..."

- Nina Adams, Artistic Director, Film Fest New Haven

Other Great Reviews

This docu-drama tells events from divergent perspectives …two very different peoples with two very different belief systems both vying for existence on the same piece of land.  Balanced … a compelling piece of dramatization.  Told sympathetically through the voices of Native-American descendants [but] does not disintegrate into Euro-bashing … There is a shift in perspective – an English narrator takes over the account – and the film then works from the colonists’ point of view.  Pequot sympathy is developed, but the English perspective of the situation is not neglected. … Resonates today in the Age of Terrorism … The “mystic voices” trapped in the burning enclave of Missituck sound eerily similar to the 9-1-1 tapes recorded in smoky New York City on September 11th, 2001.  The parallels are subtle but present, and they are likely to spark discussion if this film is used in a classroom setting."

– Film & History: An Interdisplinary Journal of Film & Television Studies, Published by the Historians Film Committee, an Affiliated Society of the American Historical Association

"This beautifully produced documentary provides a superb telling of the often tumultuous relationship between the European settlers and the Pequots of Connecticut... Visually beautiful and balanced, paintings, photographs, and reenactors tell the tale. The musical score by Charles David Denler is superb. The treatment of the subject matter, one that still enflames emotions, is well balanced and even handed. It is refreshing that, in addition to the politics of the English and Dutch, inter-tribal relations are discussed. Read Full Review

– Mike Brown, Bowie High School, MD, School Library Journal

"Mystic Voices succeeds in changing the direction of discussion of early American colonization... " "The audio and visual quality is excellent as is the artwork, maps and dramatizations. Highly recommended for any library in the Northeast as well as libraries collecting in Native American Studies." Read Full Review

Highly Recommended

– Michael A. LaMagna, Educational Media Reviews Online

[Four Stars] Editor's Choice. "A must for libraries in New England, this is highly recommended elsewhere."

– Video Librarian

* Use of the trademarks and service marks of the National Television Academy (“NTA”), including the mark EMMY®, requires the prior express written permission of the National Television Academy.