Check out NDN Collective’s post “Over 20 Must-See, Must-Experience Indigenouis Film Festivals and Showcases.” Although several have alraedy passed, there are still a few to look forward to, including a September festival in New York City.
2019 May Sumak Quichwa Film Showcase
The fourth annual May Sumak Quichwa Film Showcase will be held June 14-16, 2019 at NYU’s King Juan Carlos Center; Ossining High School in Ossining, NY; and Centro Corona in Queens.
National Film Board of Canada adds 200+ indigenous films online
Upcoming NMAI (NYC) screenings November 5 & 7
The NYC National Museum of the American Indian located at 1 Bowling Green will be hosting two events next week. First, they’ll screen the documentary Rebel Music: Native America on Thursday November 5 at 6pm which will include a discussion with journalist Simon-Moya Smith and documentary creator Nusrat Durrani and a musical performance by Frank Waln On Saturday November 7 at 6pm, they’ll screen the feature film Edge of America. Although you may have seen the film already, it will be a special event because director Chris Eyre, actress DeLanna Studi and actor Eddie Spears will be on hand for a discussion. The events are free but seating is on a first-come-first-served basis, so be sure to get there early!
Maoriland Film Festival – Call for Submissions
Submissions by indigenous filmmakers are being accepted for the third Maoriland Film Festival now through December 11th. A $25 late fee will be charged for submissions received December 12, 2015 through January 15, 2016. The Festival will be held March 23 – 27, 2016 in Otaki, New Zealand.
1920 Silent Film “Daughter of Dawn”
During the process of discovery, acquisition, and restoration of Daughter of Dawn, the Oklahoma Historical Society realized it owned one of the tipis from the film.
Daughter of Dawn, a 1920 silent film with an all-Native (Kiowa and Comanche) cast, will be released for home video by Milestone Films in the fall of 2015 with a score by Comanche classical composer David Yeagley. Although there were American Indians cast as leads and actors in early silent film, there are not many existing examples, which makes this film rather unique. This film has also struck a chord because it includes rare footage of ceremonial dances, a buffalo chase/hunt (to make it even more interesting, these were the progeny of an original 15 buffaloes shipped from the Bronx Zoo in New York City!), and it was filmed in Oklahoma rather than, say Monument Valley (the setting for many Westerns). It’s also notable because no costumes were used; the actors brought and wore their own regalia. This is no small detail in Hollywood, where Westerns have been heavily criticized for largely using Plains clothing to depict all types of American Indian nations. Interestingly, some elements of the movie (its love story and and the urgency of hunting for food) are reminiscent of another silent movie from 1930 with a Native cast called The Silent Enemy. Catch a few minutes of Daughter of Dawn below.
Thanks to fellow AILA member Debbie West of Troy University in Montgomery, Alabama for sharing this!
Clip from Daughter of Dawn
Navajo Film Showcase in NYC this Week
The trailer for Drunktown’s Finest, the opening night film at this week’s Diné Spotlight: A Showcase of Navajo Film, looks really good! The showcase is hosted by the National Museum of the American Indian in collaboration with the NYU’s Center for Media, Culture and History, and all films will be shown at the NMAI Auditorium. There will be an opening reception on Thursday at 5pm and several screenings will be followed by discussions with the filmmakers. Admission is free of charge but RSVPs are recommended (fvc@si.edu or 212-514-3737). Take the 4/5 to Bowling Green, R to Whitehall or 1 to South Ferry to the NMAI located at One Bowling Green near Battery Park.
MAY SUMAK: Quichwa Film Showcase in NYC
May Sumak / Quichwa Film Showcase: Indigenous Media from the Andes and Beyond is coming to New York City this week (March 26-28, 2015). It’s really great to see that the screenings and discussions will be hosted not only in three boroughs (Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens), but also by several institutions: the National Museum of the American Indian, New York University, Lehman College of CUNY, and the Queens Museum. Please note that many of the films will be in Kichwa, the Ecuadorean dialect of Quechua, with English subtitles.
American Indian Acting in Hollywood and Online
Tonto Plays Himself
In June of 2013, I spoke about the depiction of American Indians in Hollywood on a panel at the American Library Association conference and more recently, published an article about how these films are still prevalent in academic libraries (Domínguez, Daisy V. “American Indians in Feature Films: Beyond the Big Screen.” Collection Building 33, no. 4 (2014): 121-126.). As a result of this research, I learned that a number of American Indian directors have made documentaries about this topic. The most recent and probably well-known is Reel Injun, directed by Canadian filmmaker Neil Diamond (Cree), Catherine Bainbridge and Jeremiah Hayes (available for personal home use via Amazon.com and for institutional use via VisionMaker). Less widely known are the 1979 five-part series Images of Indians directed by Phil Lucas (Choctaw) and Robert Hagoplan and Victor Masayesva Jr.’s Imagining Indians (1992).
The Longest Walk Through Hollywood
There are also at least 3 films you can check out online. The most recent are Jacob Floyd’s entertaining Tonto Plays Himself (2010) and the Screen Actors Guild’s short American Indian Actors. Check out Indian Country Today Media Network’s interview of Charlie Hill, the late Oneida comedian featured in Reel Injun which also references The Longest Walk through Hollywood, a short featuring Hill and actress Kateri Walker (Saginaw Chippewa and First Nations Ojibway). In this short, the two celebrities stroll through the Hollywood Walk of Fame pointing out American Indian actors and making some recommendations along the way. All three videos are embedded. Enjoy!
American Indian Actors
Winter in the Blood Coming to NYC June 5
At long last, Winter in the Blood will premiere in New York City on the closing night of the inaugural The Americas Film Festival of New York! Several actors, including Julia Jones, David Morse and Michael Spears, and director Alex Smith will attend the screening, to be held the evening of June 5th at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) at One Bowling Green. I look forward to sharing my thoughts after. For now, check out the trailer and come on out! NMAI and the Festival’s entire program is free; only an RSVP is requested.
Winter in the Blood (Official Trailer) from Andrew & Alex Smith on Vimeo.
