There is no one like Tabatha Zimiga.
Tattooed, with a half-shaven shock of blonde hair and followed around like a mother duck by a group of wayward teenagers, she cuts an entirely unique figure against the dramatic landscape of western South Dakota.
Kate Beecroft recognized as much when she visited Zimiga’s ranch just east of the Badlands, and it made her stay a while.
Beecroft’s directorial debut, “East of Wall,” is a feature-length film based on the true story of Zimiga’s life managing a ranch amidst financial struggles after the loss of her husband.
The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, earlier this year, where it won the prestigious Audience Award. It had its East Coast premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in June and will premiere nationwide on Aug. 15.
Zimiga stars as herself in her acting debut. So does her daughter, Porshia, and the half-dozen or so other teens in the film.
It’s reminiscent of some of the most successful films of the past few years who cast real people to act as themselves, like “Sing Sing” and “Nomadland” – which also takes place, in part, in South Dakota.
Beecroft refers to “East of Wall” as “docu-fiction,” in which a written script guides the film, although it’s based on real events.
Prominent actors Scoot McNairy and Jennifer Ehle also star in the film alongside the South Dakota natives who Beecroft spent three years teaching the ways of cinema and acting.
‘East of Wall’ took 3 years of preparation
But just as compelling as the film itself is the story behind its creation.
Beecroft spent five days at the Zimigas’ ranch while she was traveling the United States with the film’s director of photography, Austin Shelton. She recalls being told by one woman, “If you want a real story, head east of Wall.”
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After meeting the family and filming some content, she returned to her home in Los Angeles. Just three days later, she returned to South Dakota and ended up living with the family in their trailer for the next three years.
“I looked at all this footage that I had, and I was like, ‘I don’t know what this is. And I don’t really care what it is, but I just miss them. And I want to go back,'” Beecroft told News Watch.
“I knew that I was maybe going to want to make a film, but I was so nervous because I’ve never done one. And who’s gonna give me money and who’s going to believe in me? I’ve never directed a thing in my life.”
Tabatha and Porshia Zimiga: ‘The New West’
Beecroft now describes Zimiga – Tabby, as she fondly refers to her – as her best friend, which may seem unusual.
A director from Los Angeles and a South Dakota rancher don’t necessarily come across each other every day, let alone get along like family. But Beecroft describes their friendship as “a connection that I’ve never had with another human being.”
Beecroft frequently references being put through “cowgirl camp” while living on the ranch, and Zimiga is a cowgirl through and through. Her social media feeds are littered with videos of rodeos, her horses and Porshia atop them. Several of her TikTok videos made it into the film, layered over Shaboozey tracks and other punchy hip hop anthems.
Generally, Zimiga and her family represent what Beecroft calls “the New West,” a term she said Zimiga taught her early on in their friendship. Her hardened, edgy demeanor overwrites the typical perception of the ranching community in South Dakota, where the population is predominantly male and older than 50.
Beecroft recalls being surprised at her first visit to the ranch, which is located on an old homesteading property.
“It feels like you’re in a museum, almost. Then all of a sudden you pull up and you see this trailer. And I saw all these kids come out of the trailer, these teenagers, and they were so modern,” Beecroft said.
Some of those teenagers are Zimiga’s children. She has four, including Porshia. But many have been taken in from all around the southwestern part of the state, including the nearby Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
They come to Zimiga’s to live, play and practice for rodeos and, in “East of Wall,” turn the farm kid narrative on its head. Even in the film’s two-minute trailer, the wild personalities of the children that Zimiga has taken in are palpable. You see handstands on top of horses, mud fights and Porshia, who’s a frequent winner at rodeos, speeding alongside a car on horseback.
“I don’t think there’s ever silence on that ranch,” Beecroft said.
Film industry provides outlets for at-risk youth
The cast members, for all their talent, also come from some of the most difficult conditions in the state. Gaps in health care, education and other social services in rural areas of South Dakota lead to high mortality, drug use and incarceration rates.
Beecroft didn’t shy away from those struggles when writing the script and working with the community but acknowledged that casting the film turned out to be a difficult process.
“Certain kids I had to recast because of drugs or prison or, you know, things happen,” Beecroft said. “On top of that, the mental health there is not treated as it should be. And so there’s so much loss.”
One cast member was killed “in his home in front of his grandchildren” on the Pine Ridge reservation just weeks before filming began, Beecroft told News Watch. She said his killer has still not been found.
It’s a sobering reality for many living in adverse conditions throughout the state. But the cast members have risen above their circumstances, partially thanks to Zimiga and Beecroft’s mentorship and the opportunities the film gave them.
“Porshia, Tabatha, Jesse (Thorson), they all have managers now. They want to act,” Beecroft said. “It was also a film that paid well, so anything that was going to help them, from financial help to just building confidence with a lot of these kids. And I encourage them all. I say ‘you guys are all artists.’”
She acknowledged that, in many cases, the ‘Old West’ still dominates – certainly in Hollywood, which has seen the classic cowboy film enjoy success for decades. But Beecroft hopes that for South Dakotans, this story will feel much more grounded in reality while showing a side of the state that’s often under-covered.
“There’s this amazing resurgence of cowboy and Western films, right? But have you seen any of them that are told through the voices of women? No. And so that’s what I wanted to change.”
A film for and by South Dakotans
The Zimigas’ compelling story and innate talent have brought in a slew of positive reviews from major entertainment outlets like Variety, Vulture and IndieWire. It has even been picked up for screening at the Academy of Motion Pictures.
But Beecroft said some of the most important reviews come from those closer to the story. The film will see its South Dakotan premiere at the State Theater in Sioux Falls on Aug. 12. Beecroft and members of the cast will be present for a Q+A session after the screening.
“I was like, ‘We need to be in every theater in South Dakota.’ Because this is who this film is about,” Beecroft said of her conversations with Sony Pictures Classics, which picked up the film after its Sundance win. “You know, people write off South Dakota as, ‘Oh, they don’t appreciate art.’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, they do!’”
South Dakotans were involved behind the camera as much as they were in front of it. Beecroft made efforts to hire a nearly all-South Dakotan crew for the film.
Tracy Mailloux, administrator of the South Dakota Film and Television Association, worked as the lead gaffer. For Mailloux, “East of Wall” represents an opportunity for the state to capitalize on the dramatic vistas and heritage that inspired stories like “North by Northwest,” “Dances With Wolves” and “Thunderheart.”
“We have the landscape, we have the beauty and we don’t have a lot of the red tape that places like New York or California have (regarding film permits),” Mailloux said. “It’s a very film-friendly area.”
Ryan Hall, the first assistant director on the film, lives in Rapid City. “East of Wall” reminded him of the opportunities that the state and its people provide for filmmakers.
“Working on ‘East of Wall’ ignited a fire in me that you could tell really great stories here in South Dakota,” Hall said. “You don’t need a big Hollywood budget. You could come out here and just make something really meaningful.”
Beecroft is effusive about her love for South Dakota and its people, saying she “feels more herself” on Zimiga’s ranch than anywhere else. She also has other personal connections to the state. Her father, a production designer, worked on his own first film, “Dances With Wolves,” not far from where Beecroft shot “East of Wall.”
And while she might be back living in Los Angeles, Beecroft promises to return.
“South Dakota’s gonna give it to you,” she said. “I’m so deeply inspired, more than any other place I’ve ever been to in my life, by South Dakota.”
This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email for statewide stories. Investigative reporter Molly Wetsch is a Report for America corps member covering rural and Indigenous issues. Contact her at molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org.
Read the full story at South Dakota News Watch
