Oklahoma has many filmmakers; let me rephrase that: Oklahoma has many people that talk about making a film, but never do. Al Mertens, however…he was never one of those guys.
I originally met him a few years ago at a screening of Billy Jack that I curated. He introduced himself, letting me know that he was a writer and, really, that was about it. No boasts and no brags, which was really a refreshing change of pace in a filmmaker, one that made me want to keep tabs on him and everything he was working on.