GRANTS, N. M. – The Santa Fe International Film Festival was held in October and a short documentary film about Thunderbird Lanes was entered.
Filmmaker Peter DuBois was impressed by Thunderbird Lanes' authenticity and decided to learn more about its history. Owner Sandra Encino spoke with DuBois and then attended the viewing of his film at the Festival with her granddaughter.
DuBois viewed the sold-out film with his wife, Jasman, and his codirector/ co-cinematographer Sinai Basua. The local topic appealed to film-goers who gave a generous round of applause, even approaching DuBois and Encino afterward to say how much they loved Encino’s story.
The film opens quietly with Encino entering her Bowling Center. She expresses her love for the business and the bowlers and how her late husband felt the same.
“Nothing is ever the same. The place is certainly not boring.”
Encino related that the building was built by Jack Dyer, a man from Clovis, New Mexico, in 1958, but it isn’t clear why he chose to build in Grants. In 1959 he sold the center to the Josephine Elkins family. After that, it was passed among family members, until her husband, Fidel, purchased it in 1978.
Bowling was actually Fidel’s dream. He entered the sport after his time in the Navy during WWII. But Encino has been operating the lanes independently for the past 5 years, since Fidel’s death in 2018.
What was her granddaughter's impression of the whole event?
DuBois recounts, “I didn't see her initial reaction but my wife did. There is a moment in the film where Sandra addresses her great-granddaughter directly and my wife said she saw the two looking at each other in what I assume was a touching moment.”
As it turns out, a local treasure has been revealed. Encino is of the generation that recalls much local history. She also speaks fondly of her “resilient” hometown and has a memory stash of a few important events.
For instance, she gives a brief timeline beginning with how Grants got its name, a familiar story to many residents. In the railroad days, the Grants brothers were in charge of the team laying the track. This location became known as Grants Camp and the name stuck to become the town’s name.
Encino also recalls the difficult days for small businesses during COVID, when many were forced to shut down for an entire year and some never reopened.
DuBois will be showing the film to Grants residents at the Cibola Arts Council when they arrange a date. He hasn’t heard from them yet, but you are encouraged to view this lovely, personable film on your own technology at https://vimeo.com/10104 06930 .
What does DuBois have planned for future film projects?
“I have several projects in the works. My codirector Sinai Basua and I plan on shooting a short documentary on a longtime martial arts instructor who resides in my hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. I also have a few short narrative films I'm writing at the moment that I hope to shoot sometime next year.”
Best wishes to the writer who sees importance in and records our everyday lives in his film documentaries.