Bookstore event celebrates Western way of life

A film depicting the way of life of cattle ranchers in Paisley, Oregon will be the focus of a celebration at Paulina Springs Books on Thursday, December 7, at 6:30 p.m.

"The Outside Circle: A Movie of the Modern West," is now available on DVD and through the streaming service Amazon Prime. The film had been available for streaming through Horse TV for a year, but the bookstore gathering marks the long-awaited wide international release of the documentary created by Sisters resident Craig Rullman.

At the bookstore event, Rullman will show clips from the film and talk about bringing the project from a wild idea to a finished documentary, utilizing talent from Sisters, including cinematographer Sam Pyke of Hill Shadow Pictures, and freelance journalist and videographer Cody Rheault.

Central Oregon musicians Mike Biggers, Lilli Worona, and Jim Cornelius contributed original music to the film. They will play songs from the film and other Western-themed music during the Paulina Springs event.

Rullman originally conceived of the film as a portrait of Western artist and buckaroo Len Babb, of Paisley, who has shown his work often in Sisters. The tale grew in the telling to encompass the story of the Murphy family, fifth-generation Oregon ranchers fighting to preserve their land and legacy, and Victoria Jackson, a Paiute-Shoshone rodeo champion whose family legacy in the Great Basin reaches back over 14,000 years. The narratives find a common thread in their modest adherence to the values that have sustained them against the odds: faith, family, friends, and community.

"We worked as hard making the thing as the people in it work to preserve something very special about our country," Rullman said.

The film was selected for numerous film festivals across the West, and has garnered interest in Europe and South America as well.

"It's gratifying to me that people are still able to respond to a narrative that isn't driven by explosions, subterfuge, and betrayal," Rullman said.

DVDs will be available for purchase at Paulina Springs Books.

"I hope people come out and enjoy some great music, and maybe hear a story about a guy who knows nothing about making films who goes about trying to do it," Rullman said.

Paulina Springs Books is located at 252 E. Hood Ave.

For more information, call 541-549-0866.