Local filmmakers win emmy award

    PHOENIX, ARIZ. - Poco Loco Productions, a local film production group, won Emmy Awards at the Rocky Mountain Division of the awards organization Sunday evening in Phoenix, Ariz.

Poco Loco is under the direction of Doug Bocaz-Larson at New Mexico State University-Grants.

The winning film features an interview with World War II veteran, Judson Hemperley of Grants, who served as an army medic. As a young soldier, he was involved in the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp, where thousands of Jews and other minority members were murdered by the Nazis.

    As a medic, Hemperley wasn't armed. “I went to war to save lives, not to take them,” he states in the film.

    One incident revealed the man's compassion and humanity. A pregnant civilian woman in Germany had her arm blown off by an artillery shell. When Hemperley came on the scene the woman was holding her severed arm in one hand and a child's hand in her other.

Immediately Hemperley rendered first aid to the stricken woman and managed to save her life, if not her arm.

    Some time after the war, Hemperley went to work in the uranium mines. He is now a 90-year-old widower with a daughter who works at Grants Animal Care Center and a son who is a school principal in Santa Fe. He has lived in Grants for more than 50 years.

    Bocaz-Larson and his group are very interested in the stories of veterans. “My father was a Vietnam veteran, who never talked about the war, but most vets find it therapeutic to talk about their experiences. We've interviewed vets from the war in Iraq as well as vets from Vietnam and World War II,” he explained.

    “We're looking for more veterans to interview and they can call me at 287-6656 if they're interested in participating. These films are very popular on You Tube,” he added.

    The award-winning film was produced by three people. “My wife Kim came up with the story idea and did most of the interviewing while I did the sound and post production work. Brandon Vallo served as our one-man crew, handling the lighting and camera work,” Bocaz-Larson explained.

In a statement, he thanked his mentors Janet Davidson, Brad Stoddard, Erin Hudson, Charlie O'Dowd, John Britt, Pepper Gallegos, Nick Paine and Christopher Coppola.

The film can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTuRqlXALu8.

    Because both Bocaz-Larson and his wife brought home Emmy Awards, they've decided to keep one in their home and the other in Doug's office.