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A production team is looking for a lead actor to help bring author Debra Magpie Earling's classic Montana novel "Perma Red" to the screen as a seven-part miniseries.

The independent filmmakers, all western Montanans, are holding a casting call at the University of Montana campus on Saturday, and are also accepting submissions via video. (See box for details.)

The team believes it has potential as a breakout role in an industry that rarely writes parts for indigenous women. "It's a female Native American protagonist," said Lynn-Wood Fields, the executive producer. "That is a big deal for film or TV right now. There just isn't anything that I know of."

They're looking for two females, ages 15 to 25. One is the lead: Louise White Elk, a young woman coming of age on the Flathead Indian Reservation. They're also seeking a second to play a fellow boarding-school classmate.

Once they find their lead, they plan to shoot a seven- to 10-minute "proof of concept" film with funding from the Montana Film Office. Once it's complete, they can use it to pitch the series to investors.

The project coincides with pressure, both internal and external, on the film and television industry for wider representation of the gender spectrum and people of color on screen and behind the camera.