Texas Monthly: Chutin' the Bull, an Interview

knew that in order to do this movie right I was going to have to ride a bull myself," recounts Jeff Fraley, who along with partner Harry Lynch constitutes the two-man team of Trinity Films, an alliance that even in its infancy has proven a passion for seeking out Texas experience. The Austin-based duo's first effort, Chasing the Dream: a Bull Riding Adventure, documents with humor and reverence the rough ride that has become the fastest growing sport in America. Appropriately enough, this title might also represent an endeavor of fledgling filmmakers to take their subject by the horns and hold on for dear life, artfully capturing the dangerous world of this rodeo event without bucking its yee-haw spirit. As we're sure Jeff would tell us, at least in the case of a 2000-pound bull, it's a good thing to chase your dream before it chases you.

documentary filmmakers Harry Lynch(l) and Jeff Fraley(r)

Made on a bantam budget of $30,000, Chasing the Dream follows the world's best bull riders from a small amateur competition in Junction, Texas to the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) championship finals in Las Vegas. Along the way we're given an intimate look at the quintessential cowboy sport -- its formidable personalities, the danger involved, the numerous injuries suffered by the riders, and a sense of the thrill that gets these guys back in the chutes again and again. As Mark Cain so eloquently puts it, "this is not a sissy boy sport." And although Chasing the Dream introduces us to Mark and other bull riding stars of the day, it also makes us privy to the aspirations of amateur riders -- one such cowboy surprised the filmmakers as much as himself by winning the championship event that serves as the film's climax. The spirit and stick-to-it-iveness exhibited by riders of all levels emerges as a cultural metaphor in line with the taming of the west. For sure bull riding's wild allure isn't lost on narrator Fraley who attends bull school and tries his own hand at the rope -- a humbling sequence that draws even the most neophyte rodeo audience into the film.

In a medium that most often requires a judgment be made in order to tell a story effectively -- and the world of bull riding can't help but be rich with countrified stereotypes -- Lynch and Fraley take care not to alienate their subjects or their audience. The combination of a structured narrative and the illusion of easy access created by Lynch's close and unselfconscious camera fosters respect for these athletes and their sport. As proof of the achievement of this delicate balance in documentary filmmaking, Chasing the Dream recently won a Best Documentary Short award at the Great Plains Film Festival in Nebraska, and a CINE Eagle award. Even for those who don't consider themselves rodeo fans, Chasing the Dream is bound to turn ignorance into eye-opening regard for this most Texan of sports.

Harry and Jeff stopped by the WWW Ranch to tell us about their inspiration for the project, how they conquered their lack of movie-making experience, the riders they grew to admire, and bull riding's role in Texas culture.

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