Cazador del Oso, a MT Reggae-Western Film by Zac Fawcett

A Jamaican Buffalo Soldier sent to Essex, MT to fight the “Big Burn” of 1910 becomes entangled with a local opium cartel and infamous whiskey bootlegger, “Anna” Josephine Doody; leading to his desertion into the Great Bear Wilderness and a serendipitous encounter with rural mail carrier, Mary Fields, who smuggles him to Bynum, MT where he is eventually caught by the cartel and their leader, Oso, resulting in a bloody gunfight.

Cazador del Oso began eight years ago as a series of musical compositions by artist/musician and film auteur, Zac Fawcett, from Whitefish, MT. Through the subsequent loss of his father, three bandmates (one of whom, Quindrey Davis, performed on this film’s soundtrack), and two uniquely traumatic partnerships; these compositions were shelved for nearly four years while Zac navigated grief and depression. As unfinished creative energies often do, these compositions persisted and Zac returned to this body of work, with a renewed sense of purpose, to share a unique healing journey in a playful, fun, and thought-provoking way, synthesizing his skills as a writer, artist/animator, musician, and composer, for the first time in his life.

Based loosely on the under-appreciated heroic feats of the 25th Infantry’s “Buffalo Soldiers” who saved both Wallace, ID and Essex, MT from the Big Burn of 1910, Cazador del Oso explores the plight of a fictionalized Jamaican protagonist, dealing with his own trauma, while navigating the lawless wilderness of rural Montana and its cast of early Montana pioneers like Dan and Josephine Doody –the bootleggers of Glacier National Park, and “Stagecoach'' Mary Fields –Montana’s first black female postal carrier.

In addition to Cazador del Oso's unique multi-layered presentation, this project represents a one-of-a-kind product in which the writer also composed and recorded the soundtrack. A magnum-opus of this scale has scarcely been attempted in film-writing, and yet this unique combination of originally-composed music set to careful and thoughtful writing allows both the music and the action to best compliment each other.

Full length feature films require vast sums of both time and money. Our current budget is carefully and fairly priced at $523,000, to which any donation amount will help us reach our goal. We have secured pledges to cover half up front, and with favorable outcomes from various film grants we've applied to, we are asking the community for $250,000 to help get this one-of-a-kind, purely Montanan, full length feature film to the big screen and in film festivals domestically and abroad.

Zac is currently amidst the final stages of releasing Cazador del Oso, the original soundtrack and graphic-vinyl LP, in Fall of 2024. This will include a gala event, art-auction, and five-course paired meal and live performance of Cazador del Oso's soundtrack featuring the Rockaz Orquestra, and accompanying visual presentation. Details to be announced soon. Stay tuned!

Donation Tier:

Bronze - $500: Signed graphic-Vinyl 33" LP. (Only 300 will be made).

Silver - $5,000: Two Tickets to SOUNDTRACK Vinyl-Release Live Performance Gala featuring a five-course catered meal in Whitefish, MT and Signed Graphic Vinyl 33" LP.

Gold - $20,000: Signed Original Artwork (4'x7' oil painting) from the Graphic Vinyl LP in addition to Two Tickets to Vinyl Release, Live Performance Gala in Whitefish, MT and Signed Graphic Vinyl 33" LP, AND tickets to film screening debut.

Platinum - $50,000: In addition to everything else, donor and one additional person of their choosing will receive the opportunity to stand-in as an extra in limited ensemble scenes.

For GOLD and PLATINUM donors, donor will be given producer credits.

Listen to the SOUNDTRACK here

Given musician/drummer Quindrey Davis's tragic untimely passing October of 2023, during the final production stages of the soundtrack, he never got to hear the final mix. In service to Quindrey's contribution to this project from day one, and given the circumstances that left his young son and unborn daughter without a father, Cazador del Oso will donate 1% of it's total budget, plus 1% of all future ancillary sales attached to any monetization of the five tracks he appears on; to Quindrey's family support fund. In supporting Cazador del Oso you are supporting Drey's young family during difficult times.

Thanks for following along and for your support!

Instagram: @cazadordeloso