THE REEL WORLD Dangerous eloquence BY BILL RODRIGUEZ

Documentary producer Elyse Katz has come far from the Cranston of her upbringing — in many ways. Trudell, an inspirational examination of Native American activist and poet John Trudell, which she brought to last week’s Newport International Film Festival, is just the latest example. "There’s a compassionate side of me that really connects with these kind of issue-oriented films," she says. " I think my political background also has a lot to do with my choices. These are films that I want people to see. They’re important."

Katz started out as a humble production assistant on the larky 1986 Crocodile Dundee and went on to production coordination and similar behind-the-scenes capacities. After a decade in commercial features, she couldn’t pass up the chance to work on the 1998 documentary The Last Days, which presented recollections of Holocaust survivors. It earned an Academy award for the film and associate producer credit for Katz, under Steven Spielberg as executive producer.

Documentaries have remained where Katz’s heart is, although she does commercial work to earn a living. She co-produced Bellyfruit, about teen pregnancy, and The Fire Within, about a heterosexual couple living with AIDS. "I feel really strong about being a participant and sending a message out in any way that I can," she says. "I’m really passionate about these projects."

Working on Trudell for the past 2-1/2 years has largely involved being the film’s archivist. Director Heather Rae, who’d been on the project for 10 years, had already amassed considerable material, but there were thematic holes to be filled and more interviews to be conducted. Sometimes the only existing recording of a rally from the ’60s or ’70s had been shot from a TV monitor. Sometimes historical footage was proprietary, in the hands of filmmakers who had their own vague notions of someday doing their own documentary and who would relinquish only brief excerpts.

The 75-minute Trudell will be broadcast on PBS sometime next year. Theatrical distribution is being looked into, as well as a DVD release. Foreign rights shouldn’t be difficult to sell, since John Trudell has sparked a lot of interest in Europe with his cogent critiques of American government policy, foreign and domestic. "Documentaries are a dramatic form of political and social understanding and awareness," Katz says. "I really enjoy working on them"