OUR TEAM
Ivan MacDonald (Blackfeet) is an Emmy winning filmmaker based in Montana. His most recent project Murder in Bighorn premiered at the 2023 Sundance film festival aired nationally on Showtime. It was recently nominated for an independent spirit award. He is an inaugural fellow for the Netflix and Illuminative Producers Fellowship, and is also inaugural recipient of the Hulu and Firelight Kindling Fund.
Ivy MacDonald (Blackfeet) is a director, producer, screenplay writer and cinematographer based in Montana. She won an Emmy for her producing work on Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible for ESPN and her first docuseries Murder in Big Horn, which she produced, premiered at 2023 Sundance Film Festival and broadcast nationally on Showtime. She was a part of the Fourth World Media Fellow for Tracey Rector’s indigenous filmmaker program and is currently a part of the Firelight Media Documentary Lab.
Lily Gladstone (Kainawa, Amskapi Pikuni, Nimi’iipu) is an Academy-award nominated and Golden Globe winning actor who was raised on the Blackfeet Reservation. Her acting film credits include Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon”, Kelly Reichardt’s “Certain Women” and “First Cow”, Alex and Andrew Smith’s “Winter in the Blood”, Showtime’s “Billions” and HBO’s “Room 104”.
Sarah Clarke
Producer / Writer
Board Member
Daniel Glick
Director / Producer / Writer
Melissa Grumhaus
Executive Producer
Sarah Clarke is an award-winning TV and film actress (Bosch, 24, Twilight) whose lifelong passion for wildlife preservation and environmental protection led her to Thunderheart Films. A founding member of the company, Sarah has spent the last year producing and developing three of our projects - Iniskim, Buffalo Resurrection, and an unannounced film.
Throughout her career onscreen she has supported and worked with various environmental agencies including the NRDC, Earthjustice and Arts Earth Partnership and her Thunderheart work has become an extension of that passion.
Daniel Glick has directed and produced a wide range of narrative and documentary shorts, commercials, web series and more. His first feature documentary film, A Place to Stand (2016), the true story of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, has been called “inspiring” (Booklist), “gutsy” (Library Journal) and “compelling” (Santa Fe New Mexican).
In 2016, he completed Our Last Refuge which tells the story of the Badger-Two Medicine, the sacred homeland of the Blackfeet, and the 35-year struggle to protect it from oil and gas exploration. It was this film that led him to connect with the Blackfeet Buffalo Program.
Melissa Grumhaus is a philanthropy professional in service of wildlife, people, and nature. After spending more than 20 years at The Nature Conservancy, she now works on Indigenous-led and nature and climate-based projects and organizations, as well as with individuals and family foundations. She is supporting multiple films as a Consulting and Executive Producer. Working with the Blackfeet Community has been a highlight of her career and personal life.
Melissa has served on non-profit boards including Friends School and The Liv Project, a creative collective focused on turning the tide on youth suicide through fearless conversation. She is a graduate of Humanity First, an embodied leadership and mindfulness program.
Zane Clampett
Director of Photography
Paulette Fox
Board Member
Helen Augare Carlson
Board Member
Zane Clampett (Yankton Sioux / Ihankton- wan Nation) graduated from Montana State University’s film school in 2015 and has shot dozens of commercials, documentaries, and short films.
He work also includes five of our films set on the Blackfeet Reservation: Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya, Our Last Refuge, Bring Them Home (the short), Iniskim, and the upcoming Buffalo Spirit.
Paulette Fox (Kainai Nation) is one of the protagonists in Thunderheart Films's feature documentary Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya and is a member of the Kainai (Blood) Nation - one of four tribes in the Blackfoot Confederacy - in Alberta, Canada. She is a leader in the Iinnii Initiative and an Indigenous Knowledge holder.
Helen Augare Carlson Mamiatsikimiiaki-Magpie Woman is an enrolled member of the Ampsakapii Pikanii Blackfeet Tribe. She was born and raised on the Blackfeet Nation in Northern Montana. Helen began her career in STEM education reform as the director of the Rural Systemic Initiative project at Blackfeet Community College in 2000. Helen is currently the Title III Director in the Institutional Development Department at Blackfeet Community College. Together with her husband, Sheldon Carlson, they hold the Ksisktahkii Mopistan Beaver Bundle and the Ponoka Iikokan (Elk Painted Lodge). She is also a student of the Niistipowahsinni language and a devoted advocate of IINNII relatives.
Brandon Rosser
Board Member
Duke Elliott
Board Member
Brandon Rosser has a strong production and post production background with over two decades of experience in the American film industry. He has completed hallmark titles (including the Academy Award-winning Sling Blade) while managing film crews and professional staffs.
He is a co-founder of Sixteen19, a a boutique production and post services company specializing in feature film, episodic storytelling and commercials.
Duke Elliott is an entrepreneur and experienced home-builder with a passion for small, energy efficient and affordable homes. He has lectured nationally on sustainability and energy efficiency. Duke is responsible for energy and water conservation at Montana State University and is currently building a home made from shipping containers. He serves as the brass tacks financial guide for Thunderheart.
Ivan MacDonald
Director / Producer / Writer
Ivy MacDonald
Director / Writer
Lily Gladstone
Executive Producer / Writer
Narrator: Bring Them Home