Native American Film and Video Fest Turns 30

Older Than America, (2007, 102 min. USA) Directed by Georgina Lightning (Cree). An accomplished first feature explores a dark reality that has shaped generations of Native American experience cross the U.S. and Canada-the Indian boarding school. A woman’s haunting visions reveal a web of intrigue that reaches out from the past in a cry for justice and healing. Presented in association with IFP. New York Premiere.

Pachamama, (2008, 104 min. Bolivia/Japan) Directed by Toshifumi Matsushita. In Quechua and Aymara with English subtitles. A warm and vibrant coming-of-age film follows Kunchari, a traditional Quechua boy, who joins his father on a trek across Bolivia to trade the salt they have gathered at the salt lake. As they and their pack animals slowly make their way, Kunchari’s many experiences—hardship, tragedy and the joy of first love—reveal to him the gift of Pachamama, the fullness of life itself. Presented in association with Asian CineVision and the Japan Society. US premiere.

Tkaronto, (2007, 105 min. Canada) Directed by Shane Belcourt (Metis). In this moody, stylishly envisioned feature, Ray and Jolene, two Native thirty-somethings living in Tkaronto (the Mohawk word for Toronto), make an unexpected and life-changing connection as they navigate experiences of contemporary Native life. Presented in association with imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. New York Premiere.

Feature Films, Documentary:

Club Native, (2008, 78 min. Canada) Directed by Tracey Deer (Mohawk). Through absorbing, intimate portraits of four Mohawk women, the filmmaker delineates the human cost of rules about blood quantum that determine the everyday lives and loves of the Kahnawake Mohawk. In common with many Native communities, blood quantum, marrying “out,” and arbitrary requirements for membership have a devastating power to define aboriginal identity and aboriginal rights. Presented in association with Women Make Movies.

El Juicio de Pascual Pichun/Besieged Land, (2007, 65 min. Canada/Chile) Directed by Maria Teresa Larrain. In Spanish and Mapudungun with English subtitles. In Southern Chile, a powerful landowner and a respected Mapuche chief dispute contested land. When the chief is accused and tried for burning the landowner’s home, his case comes to represent a clash between two opposing visions of the world, enflamed by a multinational company’s desire to log the land. US Premiere.

Kanien’Keha:Ka/Living the Language, (2008, 62 min. Canada) Directed by Paul M. Rickard (Cree) and Tracey Deer (Mohawk). In Mohawk and English with English subtitles. What does it take to save an ancient language? In the Mohawk community of Akwesasne an immersion program developed by the Akwesasne Freedom School holds out hope for new speakers of all ages. US Premiere.

Little Caughnawaga: To Brooklyn and Back, (2008, 57 min. Canada/USA) Directed by Reaghan Tarbell (Mohawk). The filmmaker explores her roots and traces the connections of her family from the Kahnawake Reserve outside Montreal to the 10-square block area in Brooklyn known as Little Caughnawaga. There, while the Mohawk ironworkers were building Manhattan’s iconic skyscrapers, the women sustained a vibrant community far from home.

Making the River, (2008, 83 min. USA) Directed by SarahDel Seronde (Navajo). Jimi Simmons shares his life story, growing up within the institutional system, finding family and his Indian identity inside prison walls, and—despite the odds—his emergence as a loving husband and father. New York Premiere.

Moko Tekoa Pete Jeguata/Two Villages, One Path, (2008, 63 min. Brazil) Directed by Ariel Ortega (Guarani), Germano Benites (Guarani), Jorge Motinico (Guarani). In Guarani and Portuguese with English subtitles. Three young Guarani filmmakers explore the daily lives of the inhabitants of two communities linked by a common past, their first contact with Europeans and their dependence on the sale of their artisan crafts to survive. US Premiere.

Suma Qamana, Sumak Kausay, Teko Kavi /For a Better Life, (2008, 55 min. Bolivia) Directed collectively. Produced by Cinematography Education and Production Center-Bolivian Indigenous Peoples’ Audiovisual Council. In Spanish and indigenous languages with English subtitles. In Bolivia, a forceful new movement for progressive change has emerged from the indigenous peoples of the country. Indigenous videomakers document the historic process of mobilization by indigenous and peasant organizations, leading to the drafting of a controversial new national constitution that recognizes indigenous autonomy and protects linguistic and cultural diversity. US premiere.

Weaving Worlds, (2007, 57 min. USA) Directed by Bennie Klain (Navajo). In Navajo and English with English subtitles. An exploration of the intricate relationships between Navajo rug weavers and reservation traders, this insightful documentary reveals the delicate balance between maintaining cultural traditions, economic survival, and the artistic validation sought by many weavers. New York Premiere.

We Shall Remain: Trail of Tears (2008, 74 min., USA) Directed by Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho). Though the Cherokee embraced “civilization” in the mid-1800s and their sovereignty was recognized in the U.S. Supreme Court, they were made to leave their eastern homelands and force-marched to present-day Oklahoma on the infamous Trail of Tears. Contemporary voices are woven with a richly textured narrative cinema that recreates this tragic chapter in Cherokee history. Presented in association with the American Indian Community House and Native American Public Telecommunications. World Premiere.