- In the special compilation edition of "ARTEFFECTS," meet the artist behind the 2025 Artown Poster.

(upbeat music) - I've been working on art all my life, and I'm finally getting where I want to be.

(upbeat music) - [Beth] The heartbeat of The Mankillers.

- The mission of The Mankillers is to provide cultural awareness and leadership and empowerment for the wellbeing of our Native American communities.

When you see and hear us, you will know and understand who we are.

(singing) (upbeat music) - [Beth] And a conversation with a Hallmark actor turned director.

- What I love about cinema and what I love about movie theaters, you go into a space that's dark, filled with strangers, and you're washed over with light and sound, and the light and the sound makes you feel things that you didn't expect to feel.

- It's all ahead on this award-earning compilation of "ARTEFFECTS."

(upbeat music) (upbeat music fades) (bright upbeat music) - [Narrator] Funding for "ARTEFFECTS" is made possible by Sandy Raffealli with Bill Pearce Motors, Heidimarie Rochlin, in memory of Sue McDowell, The Carol Franc Buck Foundation, and by the annual contributions of PBS Reno Members.

(gentle upbeat music) - Hello, I'm Beth Macmillan, and welcome to the special compilation of "ARTEFFECTS."

For our first segment, 2025 marked the 30th anniversary of Artown, the organization behind the arts and culture festival that attracts thousands of people to Northern Nevada each July.

Each year, the Artown team selects a local artist to capture the spirit of the festival.

Meet Connor Fogal, an artist who has been painting portraits and murals in Reno for more than 20 years and who refuses to let cerebral palsy get in the way of his passion for creating.

(gentle upbeat music) - I really like people portraits 'cause there's just something about the eyes that I love.

(gentle music) Telling my story in my art make me feel free, like my disability is gone, and I feel, (Connor laughs) how do I say this?

Normal, I guess, like, without disability or problems at all.

(gentle music) I don't take the word can't really well.

(gentle music) I kind of wanted to do something that speaks to Artown and that's local.

(bright music) I did Mt.

Rose, the ski resort, with a beautiful desert sunset.

(bright music) I did the cityscape of downtown, and then I added a silhouette of a guy playing the saxophone with notes coming out of the saxophone.

(bright music) I really like it, and I'm really proud of it.

(bright music fades) (audience clapping) - Connor, it's been an absolute honor to work with you, alongside you, and to see the work that you've created.

And I'm sure everybody is going to agree with me.

Meredith, show us the poster.

(upbeat music) (audience clapping and cheering) - Beth saw me as a normal, typical artist, no disabilities at all.

(upbeat music) I never dreamed of being an artist with such a big organization in Reno, and knowing that Beth trusts me in doing something that is huge for Artown, that is one of the best feelings ever.

I typically by the quote, "Never give up," and I got that on my forearm as a tattoo.

(upbeat music) I look at it every day, and it reminds me to get up and not give up on life.

(upbeat music) - I've been working on art all my life, and I'm finally getting where I want to be.

(upbeat music) ♪ Never give up ♪ ♪ Never give up ♪ ♪ Never give up ♪ ♪ Never give up ♪ (upbeat music fades) - To learn more about Connor Fogal, visit mylonv.com.

Up next, we meet the women behind The Mankillers, a Native American drumming and singing group that formed in 1991.

The members live throughout Nevada and California in cities including Reno, Fresno, Riverside, and Yreka.

When The Mankillers come together, they celebrate friendship, identity, and culture through powerful performance.

(birds chirping) (gentle upbeat music) - The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony is a federally recognized, sovereign nation located here right in the middle of Reno and Sparks, Nevada.

We have about 1,300 plus tribal members, and we represent our membership and descendancy of Washoe, Paiute, and Shoshone people.

(upbeat music) (birds chirping) We have 28 acres downtown.

We are located between Mill Street and Second Street.

That's the 28 acres.

We also have 15,000 acres in Hungry Valley.

(upbeat music) (birds chirping) My name is Michon Eben.

I manage the Cultural Resource Program and Tribal Historic Preservation Office for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony.

And I'm also the co-founder of the all-Native women drum group, The Mankillers.

(bright music) The Mankillers began and were established at Humboldt State University in Northern California.

We were all college students, and we just came together as friends.

We did sing with the co-ed drum group, so other male singers.

We were called the Humboldt State University Drum Group, and the Humboldt State University Student Drum Group.

We would just get together and sing on campus for different Indigenous events.

- There was a gathering at Captain Jack's Stronghold, and the Humboldt State Student Drum was there, and several of the women were singing together, and all of a sudden, looked at each other and said, "Hey, you know, we sound really good."

- We were singing, and from that gathering, it was like, "Oh, the women have such different tones that it would be nice to get the women to sing together."

(bright music) - We decided to become a support group and begin meeting on the weekends and start drumming on a big drum.

We just began to practice more and more, and then we were asked to sing on campus for an Indigenous conference.

We decided, "Well, let's do this little song for this Indigenous conference, but we need a name."

(energetic percussive music) (singing) - Somebody had yelled out, "What about The Mankillers?"

Well, that name is a strong name in the Cherokee Nation.

That name is from Wilma Mankiller, and Wilma Mankiller is a great role model.

She was the principal Chief of her Cherokee Nation in the '80s and '90s.

She was an activist, an educator, brought a lot of good economic development to the Cherokee Nation, and we decided to go with, "Okay, let's be the Mankillers."

And we knew that we needed to ask permission.

We just couldn't come out and use the name.

So we sent a letter to Wilma Mankiller, let her know who we all were, and after her leaving this world, her nephew approached us and told us how they approved that name.

So our understanding is that she took our letter to all the headmen of the Cherokee Nation, and they passed our letter around, and they gave us permission.

So hence The Mankillers.

(singing) - [Michon] The Mankillers encompass many tribal nations throughout the United States.

- I am from the village of Teotho or Taos Pueblo, and Raramuri, the running people.

- I am Yaqui and Chicana, so my tribe is from the Arizona area, Tucson.

- I am Cherokee and Muscogee Creek and Tunica-Choctaw-Biloxi.

- My father's people are Pyramid Lake Paiute, the Kuyuuiba, and my mother's people are Tumpisa Nua, so that's Death Valley Shoshone.

(energetic percussive music) When you see and hear us, you will know and understand who we are.

(energetic percussive music) (singing) - After we started our first conference, and did our first performance in public, we decided let's start learning songs, and let's start going to powwows.

(singer singing in foreign language) - One of our songs is called "The Gathering Song," and it was given to us by Jermaine Trammell.

(singing) - Usually, songs came to us by other drum groups that supported us.

- Or we would ask permission in the right way, ask with an offering from other drum groups, and they would give us permission.

And then we started learning our own songs or catching our own songs.

- [Michon] The Mankiller women would come up with songs or would hear songs, would hear songs in nature, or would hear songs in dreams.

- We started songwriting and dreaming, and, you know, again, like Carrie said, catching songs, and that's a beautiful process.

You know, you're just living your life and all of a sudden, a beautiful melody comes to you and you just try to catch it as you would like a poet or a writer.

(singing) (upbeat music) - We have a sisterhood with the drum group, so it makes us stronger as women for ourselves 'cause we need that healing as women, as moms, as aunties, as grandmas, as cousins.

You know, that women's spirituality is really important, and that connects us.

(gentle music) - You know, I lost my sister a long time ago, and the drum helped me heal, so I can say that it helped me find sisters.

- And I don't have any sisters, but I do here, and that's a wonderful, beautiful, fulfilling thing for me, just that feminine energy, that bond of other women.

- Yeah.

- And, you know, I didn't have that growing up, so it was a beautiful thing to get as a gift when I was 18, and it's just never left me.

And I think the drum refills us.

- [Carolyn] Yes.

- And (exhales deeply).

- Sustenance.

- Nurtures, and again, loves and protects, and, you know, just like the story of that drum is the heartbeat of the Mother.

(energetic percussive music) We come back to Mother when we come back to sing.

(singing) (singing) - It's exciting for me to be able to sing with the women because of the voices that we have, the different tones.

There was one comment one time that a male drum group member had said, "Oh, you know, you almost sound as good as the man drum groups."

And it's like, well, that's not what we're trying to do.

We have our own voice, we have our own tones, and we're not here to compete with the men.

We have our own way of singing, and it's just a beautiful thing.

(singing) - When we first started out- - It was a big deal.

- It was a big deal.

- Very big deal.

- It was very controversial because men can only sit at the drum, and that's specifically to certain tribal traditions.

And then after a while, people became accustomed to us as a group.

- We have a lot of stories where people at first came to be upset with us, and then they changed their tune.

(singing) - For 35 years, what we've gone through, there's been really great, good, and some obstacles that we had to go through to become who we are.

But I think once people understood who we were as individuals, as women in our jobs, women in our communities, and the type of work we've done, I think that that has changed, and we're more accepted.

And I'm really proud of Nevada and my relatives in Nevada for being so supportive and embracing The Mankillers.

(singing) - For our final segment, Reno native Kristoffer Polaha has made a name for himself in Hollywood, acting in television and movies for over a decade.

If you enjoy Hallmark Christmas movies, you've almost certainly seen him.

Recently, he tried his hand on the other side of the camera.

His directorial debut "Mimics" premiered here in Reno in February 2026.

The next day, he sat down with host Dave Santina for the "PBS Reno ARTS Podcast."

Here's a selection from that conversation.

- I'm Dave Santina, and I am sitting across from another hometown boy.

Mr.

Kristoffer Polaha, how are you doing?

- I'm doing great, Dave.

Thanks for having me.

- Thank you for coming in.

This is recording on the 12th of February.

We're going to put it out in the world on the 23rd.

So I want to mention that last night was a premiere.

We had a special event at The Pioneer Theater, Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, the premiere of "Mimics," your film, your first directorial effort.

- Debut, yeah, and it was a triumph.

It was a bonafide triumph.

- I got to go.

It was really fun to be there.

I loved the experience, and what a supportive environment.

It's like everybody knew you, and you knew everybody.

It was incredible.

- It felt like a warm, that was like a hug.

That was just a giant hug.

I think we had close to 900 people fill the space.

We had Mayor Shieve.

We had a representative from the Governor's Office, Tom.

Danette did a Q&A afterwards, but just to be there, sort of like home field advantage a little bit.

And I had a teacher from elementary, Mrs.

Armentrout, show up.

I had a teacher from my high school, Bob Anderson, show up.

Like, it was one of those moments.

Our neighbors, Franz and Janet.

It was a really cool moment.

- On the way in, I ran into your old babysitter, in fact, that's how far back people were going, who said, "Oh, yeah, he was six months old.

I was the babysitter."

- Isn't that fun?

- It was fantastic, so yeah.

- Do you know, it's like, it's a thing about having a dream and then pushing through, speaking it existence.

We have a huge weekend ahead of us and the moment of this interview behind us, and we'll see the verdict, you know, we'll see what happens.

But to have a movie released theatrically nationwide, it's a big deal.

I mean, everybody I've talked to, like, it's funny.

(Kris laughs) I don't want to name drop, so I'm not going to.

- Oh, it's all right.

Come on.

- But there's somebody that, a daughter of a very, you know, well-known director was like, "The fact that you're in theaters, like, that's a huge deal, dude."

- [Dave] It is.

- And she's like, "Congratulations on that," because it's, you know, AMC has to say, "Yeah, we want to show this," and Regal has to say, "Yeah, we want to show this," and then Cinemark, they have to say, "Yeah, we want to show this."

So the cool thing about it, and the cool thing about this show right now is that, so we just had our first weekend out.

We are already getting second weeks in places like Nashville, the Thoroughbred.

There's a place in Birmingham, Alabama, a theater on the 20th that's going to open up.

So we have what's called a second frame.

- [Dave] Oh, nice.

- So hopefully, what's happening right now is that we're gearing up for our second frame and expansion into more theaters, or we we didn't do any business, and we're already out, and you got to stream us.

- Well, either way, the film is "Mimics."

I feel like it's been talked over because I've seen a bunch of media about it because you've been everywhere, and I was very aware of this for quite a while leading up to it because I had tickets to the premiere.

My wife is a VIP.

My daughter is a VIP.

- Yeah, yeah.

- [Dave] I was just a P.

- You were just a P. There was GA.

You were GA.

(Kristoffer and Dave laughing) - But really enjoyed the experience, and they did too.

And what a fun group you got to work with.

The cast was there last night.

You had a Q&A after the fact.

So really an interesting experience to see a film in that environment.

This is not the same, but I wonder how you feel when the film is showing, and you're there in a live audience.

For years, we would do documentaries.

It's public television, right?

So PBS Reno, we're making documentaries.

We're sometimes doing screenings.

"The Wild Nevada" show sometimes, which I'm in sometimes, we'd do screenings, and I would pace in the back of the room because I couldn't stand to sit still.

And I'm wondering for something like this, something that was such a monumental effort, what's that like while people are watching it, and you're there?

- Yeah, no, it's a great question.

My hand was on my wife's leg for the majority of the half the film.

And at one point, I finally moved it, and then I moved it back, and the spot where my hand was was so hot that I was like, "I'm sorry, babe."

I'm gonna show you a picture that I took last night, and I'll send it to you, and you can show your audience.

This was me sitting in the back, looking at people, watching the movie.

- [Dave] Ah, that's great.

- And it was in this moment where, you know, what I love about cinema and what I love about movie theaters and theater and that experience of going to a movie and seeing it, you go into a space that's dark, filled with strangers, and you're washed over with light and sound, and the light and the sound makes you feel things that you didn't expect to feel and feel things new.

And it's a beautiful art, and I am blown away to be a contributor to it.

I mean, the hair on my face stands up as I'm talking about it, because, like, we were talking before the camera showed up, this is a dream I had when I was like a little kid- - It's amazing.

- Growing up here in Reno, Nevada.

- Yeah.

- And I've always wanted to make movies in Reno.

I'm gonna make more movies in Reno.

I have a trilogy in my head, not "Mimics," but like I just wanted to do three for some reason.

I don't know why a trilogy, but like I wanted to do three separate stories that all take place in Reno, because I just think it's an incredible canvas for storytelling.

- It is.

- It's just such a wild, weird, beautiful town.

- And there are few films that have been made here.

- Yeah.

- I can think of very few.

I remember "Hard Eight" was one years ago.

- "Hard Eight" was one.

- I think Paul Thomas Anderson, one of his earliest, maybe his first movie, but way back.

- Do you know Sean Penn did "The Pledge"- - Yeah, with Jack Nicholson.

- With Jack Nicholson, and it was filmed here in Reno.

- That's right.

- But I don't know that it took place, I don't think it was - - It was based here.

The story was here.

- [Kristoffer] It was.

- Because they showed him driving, I still remember this, they showed him driving in on, I think it was 4th Street, which was doubling for the freeway.

And I remember, you know, it's one of those things when you watch a movie with people who live in the area, you're like, "Nope."

- Yeah, you're like, "Nope, that's not it."

- [Dave] "You can't get there that way.

What are you doing?"

- Yeah, yeah.

- I always remember that from watching with, like, buddies who came from L.A.

when I was in college, and there was like a chase scene on a freeway, and they were like, "No, no."

- "That doesn't connect to that."

- "From one shot to the other is 40 miles apart.

What are they doing?"

But no one knows that except the people who live there.

- It's the people who live there.

- Yeah, it's fascinating.

So you get to depict Reno the way you want.

- Which, yeah, and it was funny because my mom was talking to me this morning and she's like, "It's just all of the things."

She's like, "You shot the Pioneer Center, and it's beautiful, and you shot St.

Mary's," where I was born, "and it's beautiful."

- I was born there too.

- Were you?

- Yeah.

- I think it was the only hospital.

- Maryans, what are Maryan's?

I don't know.

- St.

Maryans, yeah.

- But yeah, that was the only hospital.

But you did make it look beautiful.

- Right?

Like it's this art- - It literally took a second to capture, "Oh, wait, that's the St.

Mary's hospital.

Oh, that is St.

Mary's Hospital."

- And it's a beautiful building, and we got it from the angle that it just sort of stretches out into the frame.

At Mountain Crest?

- [David] Mountain View.

- Is it Mountain View Cemetery?

- [Dave] Mountain View Cemetery.

- Yeah, so my grandmother is buried there.

My grandfather's buried there.

My aunt's buried there.

My great-grandmother's buried there.

It's where my mom wants to be buried and, you know, morbidly thinking, but it's the corner.

There's this little corner that looks like a Greek, and it's deep in the background when Desmond and I are up on that sort of weird ship mausoleum aspect of it.

But in the distance in the corner is where my grandmother's buried.

So it is just this intensely personal, all of these intensely personal elements that went into making of "Mimics," and it really was a love letter from me to Reno.

- To watch the full conversation, visit the PBS Reno YouTube channel where you can subscribe and enjoy all kinds of award-earning content from PBS Reno.

And that wraps it up for this edition of "ARTEFFECTS."

Don't forget, you can watch hundreds of episodes of this program by visiting pbsreno.org.

Until next week, I'm Beth Macmillan.

Thanks for watching.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Funding for "ARTEFFECTS" is made possible by Sandy Raffealli with Bill Pearce Motors, Heidimarie Rochlin, in memory of Sue McDowell, The Carol Franc Buck Foundation, and by the annual contributions of PBS Reno Members.

(gentle upbeat music) (bright upbeat music) (bright upbeat music continues) (bright upbeat music fades)