- Reprinted with permission of Steve Cowley (Cree).

New York, NY (May 11, 2007) - Naming Number Two premiered in New York City at the National Museum of the American Indian's George Gustav Heye Center last evening to a standing ovation. Initially completed in April 2005, the small film with a big heart pulls all the right strings. The film which was originally an award winning one-woman stage play opens in theaters on July 27th.

The film starred the incomparable Ruby Dee, who was honored at an invite-only reception as a special guest for the NMAI premiere. The special pre-premiere screening of this film was presented as part of NMAI's new works showcase from Hawai'i and the Pacific Islands in conjunction with the Hawai'i Cultural Foundation.

Playwright-turned-director Toa Fraser adapted his 2000 play into an award-winning family film about a Fijian matriarch living in New Zealand who undertakes the task of naming her successor. Naming No. 2 explores the universal values of family morals, traditions and legacies. It's an exuberant story about singing, loving and fighting; everything that binds families through life and death.

The family matriarch Nana Maria (Ruby Dee) awakens one morning from a dream that inspires her to call for a traditional feast during which she will name her successor. Not only does she order a feast to be prepared in one day, she adds that only the grandchildren will be involved with no outsiders invited.

She demands that her long missing grandson Tyson be in charge of the planning; except Tyson is far removed from the clan. Although the film adaptation doesn't quite explain Tyson's absence, in the whole scope of the film, it is irrelevant. He's not interested in tradition but reluctantly appears at the house…with his girlfriend.

There are a number of scenes where Fraser's direction is intensely concentrated on the star, Ruby Dee, Nana, in this drama. The scene in the bedroom where Nana hands her will to…I won't tell…will leave you breathless. Dee's performance is in the zone where she, as a living legend, shines. Cinematographer Leon Narbey's (Whale Rider) close ups of Dee's facial reactions are so intimately shot that we can feel all of her emotions; you can't take your eyes off her.

At one point Nana is so distraught at her grandchildren's inability to follow her directions that she announces that the day's feast is called off. Nana retires to her room and we watch as she reminisces (through beautiful flashbacks) on a time when her family was rich in Fijian tradition. Because of Nana's heartfelt insistence her family continues planning the feast. At the film's resolution, Nana names her successor, the family is reunited, tradition will continue and family order is restored.

Among Naming No. 2's list of honors: World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic, at the Sundance Film Festival 2006; Official Selection Panorama at the Berlin Film Festival 2006; Audience Award at the Brisbane International Film Festival 2006; Best Actress Award - Ruby Dee at the Atlanta Film Festival 2006.

After more than 36 film appearances, numerous stage and televisions shows, Ruby Dee's star has never shone brighter.

Steve Cowley (Cree), CEO
Tapwe Production Projects

Image credits: Naming Number Two - courtesy of The New Zealand Film Commission; Ruby Dee wears the gift of a blanket presented at the screening of Naming Number Two. At left: John Haworth, Director, George Gustav Heye Center and JoAnn Chase, former Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians. - photograph by Julia Smith; Janu Cassidy, co-founder of the Hawai'i Cultural Foundation, presents a lei to Miss Dee. - photograph by Julia Smith; Ruby Dee greets actor Terry Carter at a reception in her honor preceding the screening. - photograph by Julia Smith; Ruby Dee and Sarah Smith, Consular Officer, New Zealand Consulate General - New York. - photograph by Julia Smith