Reviews

The Film Stage
”A fascinating, illuminating study in various modes of femininity in an industry often associated with rugged masculinity.”
RogerEbert.com
”A delicate and compassionate profile piece… A sweet and tender piece about a changing America.”
Red Carpet Crash
”Kolb has a passion for both the people and the profession and does her best to highlight their best qualities.”
Quelle Movies
”Effectively demonstrates the struggle these women face to live within the confines of their strictly gendered upbringing while also seeking independence through their respective careers.”
Film Inquiry
“Good Ol Girl succeeds in bringing attention where attention is due, and providing an understanding of the changes Texas ranchers must embrace if they are to survive.”

Interviews

Texas Highways
New Documentary “Good Ol Girl” Showcases the Lives of Modern Cowgirls
Texas Highways
The Evolution of the Texas Cowgirl
Get Reel Movies
SxSW 2020 Interview – GOOD OL GIRL director Sarah Brennan Kolb

Articles and Podcasts

True West Magazine
Best of the West: Western Movies - 2024 Readers’ Choice for Best Western Documentary
Texas Real Food
Western Documentary “Good Ol Girl” helps empower women in ranching
Bandera Bulletin
Free documentary screening benfits Silver Sage
Coleman Today
"Good Ol Girl" Documentary to be Shown April 23rd
RPR Company
Good Ol Girls. Good People.
Real Screen
SXSW ’20 bolsters doc lineup with new additions

Factual America Podcast
Apple
Spotify
YouTube

GOOD OL GIRL follows three young Texas cowgirls tasked with carrying on their families’ legacies amidst a volatile landscape and industry.

The film explores the modern West: a place where the male cowboy mythology must answer to a new, honest, and some would say subversive, female story. 

The jarring transition between generations illuminates the weight of heritage and tradition.  As the old guard wanes, these three women stand amidst the vast ranchlands of Texas. Who has the authority to claim our traditions when only those who have been overlooked are left to carry them on?
 

LEMOINE (32, West Texas) | The eldest descendant of a sprawling historic ranch, Lemoine upset her family when she decided to pay her own way through law school. Now with her own law firm, she is caught between her own professional aspirations and the duty to maintain and carry on her family’s legacy as ranch owners.

MANDY (37, East Texas) | A former runaway from the Northeast, Mandy defied her family’s wishes and moved to Texas to become a cowgirl. After the death of both her parents, she realizes she wants to start a family, despite the lack of support from her partner John. When she unexpectedly discovers she’s pregnant at the age of 37, Mandy must decide whether to stay in her flawed but stable long-term relationship or raise her unborn child on her own. 

MARTHA (25, South Texas) | Martha’s family helped found the city of Laredo when they moved from Spain in 1801. The Santos clan owned a sprawling ranch, the remnants of which disappeared 15 years ago as the city gradually swallowed it in urban sprawl. Martha has found it almost impossible as a Latina to find a job in ranching without her own land. Overshadowed by her older brother, Fred, who gave up ranching after the death of their father, Martha clings to her dream of working in agriculture. 

JOYCE (85, North Texas) | An author of numerous books on women in the American West, Joyce became a folklorist in the 1960’s at a time when  women were not allowed in historical academic societies. As she narrates connecting themes of each woman’s story, she reminds us that these women, although remarkable, are not the first of their kind. Women have owned, worked, and fought for their Texas land since before white men landed there; modern history has simply refused to acknowledge them.

9/14/21

ALPINE, TX - SUL ROSS STATE UNIVERSITY DRIVE-IN

7:30PM

I was born and raised in Texas by a single mom.  My parents split up when I was 10 months old and afterwards, my mom and I traveled around the state searching for work and a place to settle down. 

As we hopped from town to town — the South Texas plains, to the desert out west, to the eastern piney woods, and across the Llano Estacado — the only things that remained constant for me as a kid were my mother’s resourcefulness and Texas’ steadfast icons: football, Whataburger, heatstroke, and country music. 

Everything about Texas made sense to me and I fell in love fast with movies that took place in my home state. When I visited my dad, he only owned 2 VHS tapes: Lonesome Dove and Wayne’s World II. After I quoted the latter in a kindergarten show & tell, I mostly stuck to watching the former. I loved the hero, McCray, and his horse, and the idea that there was a Western Utopia waiting for me somewhere out of reach, if only I had the gumption and horsemanship it took to get there. 

As I grew older, I realized there wasn’t much room for the independent life I wanted to lead in Texas. Strict adherence to “traditional” gender roles, political powerlessness over one’s own body, and the assumption that a woman’s place was safe inside a ranch-style house, permeated the lives around me. Like most women, I discovered accepting the dissonance between the person you are on the inside and the face you present to the world is part of growing up. 

I made this movie as both a Texan and independent filmmaker, and unlike anyone else who has told our story, I’m not a son of Texas, I’m a daughter. I want to reclaim the western cinematic landscape for female characters that have been backdrops but never heroes. 

After a few years of traveling around and looking for work myself, I’m back in Texas where I’ve always belonged. This film is dedicated to all the Texas women who came before me. They were brought up in a world where women didn’t have many choices, yet somehow raised daughters to believe we could be anything we wanted, even a cowgirl. And for that, I am forever grateful.

Sarah brennan kolb

Sarah Brennan Kolb is a Texan-born director and producer. Before moving to NYC to begin her film career, Sarah worked as a cook and baker on the Lazy L&B Ranch in Western Wyoming. Her past producing credits include Lingua Franca (2019) Major Arcana (2018) and Little Woods (2018). Kolb currently works on a cow-calf operation in East Texas while she develops her next feature.

kyle I. kelley

Kyle I. Kelley is an Emmy award winning cinematographer & colorist based in New York. He has shot multiple fiction and documentary features, including While I Breathe, I Hope, Train Keeps A Rolling, Grandpa Was An Emperor, Uncle Peckerhead, Maggie Black, and It Cuts Deep. Recent television work includes Axios on HBO, History's 9/11: The Legacy, ABC’s The Con, and multiple episodes of American Experience on PBS. His early career assisting Buddy Squires, ASC, led to an appreciation for verite and observational camera work, which translates into his style on everything from feature documentaries to short fiction films. His past collaborations include award winning fiction and non-fiction filmmakers, and companies such as HBO, Insignia Films, and the New York Times. Check out more of his work here.

Stella Quinn

STELLA QUINN grew up in the Hudson Valley of New York and spent her early adulthood working on organic farms. Today, she is a film editor and teacher at The Edit Center in Brooklyn, NY. She served as associate editor on Who We Are Now, starring Julianne Nicholson, Emma Roberts, and Zachary Quinto (Toronto Film Festival - 2017 Special Presentation.) She has also worked as an assistant editor on documentary projects, including the Dan Rather produced Fail State, which premiered at DOCNYC in 2017 and is set for a network release early next year.

Ethan c. yake

Ethan C. Yake is an executive producer and humanitarian from Upstate New York. He founded Mohawk + Hudson Films to champion storytellers who combine a deep connection to place with an authentic voice and a clear vision. Past projects include: This is Home: A Refugee Story (Sundance Film Festival 2018) and Little Woods (Tribeca Film Festival 2018).

Malcolm Parson

MALCOLM PARSON is a cellist and composer originally from New Orleans. He performed as 1st cellist on Tamar Kali's score to MudBound, an Oscar nominated film directed by Dee Rees. Malcolm has followed that success by co-composing the score with Brian McOmber (It Comes At Night and Krisha) for Little Woods (Tribeca Film Festival 2018) as well as composing the score to The World's Greatest Storyteller, a film directed by Horatio Baltz (Athens International Film Festival, Harlem International Film Festival).

Malcolm has shared the stage with musicians and bands such as James Lauderdale, Del McCoury, Old Crow Medicine Show, Marcus Mumford, Nial Horan, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Ron Carter, Paquito D’Rivera and Cyrus Chestnut to name a few as well as performing at major festivals such as Northsea Jazz Fest, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest, Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, and Stutggart Jazz Fest.

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