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Wednesday, August 18 - Sunday, August
22, 2004
THE NATIVE CINEMA SHOWCASE is an international film and video
festival held during Indian Market to celebrate the creativity
of Native cinema today. This year's showcase features Native stories
and peoples from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand,
the Siberian Arctic, and the United States. Produced by the Smithsonian
National Museum of the American Indian and the Center for Contemporary
Arts of Santa Fe, the showcase exhibits preeminent contemporary
Native cinema to the northern New Mexico community and national
and international visitors who come to Santa Fe for Indian Market.
Report from the Showcase
By Michelle Svenson, Film and Video Specialist
 The
4th Native Cinema Showcase (NCS) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, presented
an outstanding body of new media and discussions to local audiences
and visitors during Indian Market. Co-produced by the Smithsonian
National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) and the Center for
Contemporary Art (CCA), events at the NCS included new partnerships
with the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC) in Albuquerque and
the Native Roots and Rhythms (NRR) concert at the Santa Fe Indian
School. Generous publicity coverage for the Native Cinema Showcase
in the Santa Fe New Mexican, Albuquerque Journal,
Pasatiempo, Crosswinds Weekly, Santa Fe Reporter
and Native Peoples Magazine, as well as numerous interviews
with participating media-makers in other local papers and radio
stations.
Launching the showcase on Saturday, August 14th was a special
free screening at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC) featuring
Dale Kruzic, Beverly Morris and Conroy Chino's Looking
Toward Home, about the lives of urban Indians in New York,
Los Angeles, and San Francisco, hosted by IPCC's Tazbah McCullah
and Na'al Kid Festival director Charmaine Jackson-John
(Navajo). This first-ever Native American film and video event
at the IPCC included two shorts by young emerging filmmakers,
Composure by Tazbah Chavez (Bishop Paiute)
and Yellow Dust by Shonie De La Rosa (Navajo).
It was a packed house that greeted the filmmakers and special
guest speaker filmmaker and scholar Beverly Singer (Tewa/Diné).
 Director
Rick Shroder and actor Russell Means (Lakota) presented
Schroder's inspirational Black Cloud as the Native
Cinema Showcase opener, at the CCA in Santa Fe. On Thursday, August
19th, the showcase went into full swing with a collection of short
films, featuring works from New Zealand - Dot's Death,
Australia - Wind, Hawaii - Kava Kultcha,
California - Memory, and from Canada - The
Shirt and Music Is the Medicine,  presented
by actor, director, cultural activist, and musician, Gary Farmer
(Cayuga). Farmer also introduced to the stage Derek Miller
(Mohawk), musician, co-director of Music Is the Medicine
and former-host of the APTN music show Buffalo Tracks.
Derek's voice and electric guitar filled the room with soulful
music for two phenomenal live songs. Thursday also featured animation
shorts by the legendary Faith Hubley, introduced by daughter and
award-winning animator, Emily Hubley. Introducing Emily
and moderating Q&A was John Bowman, director of the
Santa Fe Film Festival. Afterwards, everyone gathered for an evening
of music, food, and fun at the annual Native Peoples Magazine
party, hosted by the Institute of American Indian Arts in its
lovely sculpture garden.
 Friday
night, filmmakers and local audiences attended the Native Roots
and Rhythms concert where Derek Miller and his band—Ken
Hoover on bass and Sean Kilbride on drums—rocked
the amphitheatre. Gary Farmer on harmonica made a guest appearance.
Other bands were Arigon Starr, Litefoot, Native Roots, and George
Leach. Thanks to Seth Rothman and Melissa Sanchez
of NRR for sharing this wonderful event with the showcase participants!
Also on Friday was an exhibition opening for contemporary artist,
Stephen Deo (Creek/Euchee). Perceptions displayed
the artist's diverse talents in photography, sculpture and multi-media
painting. The show was organized by CCA's Executive Director,
Jerry Barron and his staff.
 The
weekend offered feature films, with A Bride of the Seventh
Heaven, from the Siberian Arctic, introduced by Michelle
Svenson; an urban reality story from Canada, On the
Corner, starring Alex Rice; and a slapstick comedy
that filled the house with laughter, Don't Call Me Tonto,
introduced by screenwriter, Annie Frazier-Henry (Blackfoot/Sioux/French).
Extra chairs were needed to accommodate the crowd for the free
screening of Dreamkeeper that was introduced by
associate producer Georgina Lightning (Cree). Chris
Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho) and Wes Studi (Cherokee) delighted
the audience with their charm and humor in the Q&A for their
PBS Mystery! episode A Thief of Time.
 Akatubi
Film and Music Academy graciously supported the New Generations
program by bringing in some of their most talented and dedicated
young media-makers to this year's Showcase. New Generations
screened works from California's Akatubi students, Oklahoma's
American Indian Resource Center, and a piece by Joseph Lazare
(Mohawk) from Big Soul Productions in Canada. Introducing were
Yvonne Russo (Lakota) and Paulette Moreno (Tlingit)
from Akatubi. Jessica Ponce, Jenny Hartman, Shaleena
Delgado (Tlingit) and Tazbah Chavez offered a generous
Q&A followed by words of encouragement from Gary Farmer.
 This
year the showcase offered a special panel presentation on Native
sovereignty, with esteemed guests Corrine Sanchez (Tewa)
from Tewa Women United, Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne/Hodulgee
Muscogee) president of the Morning Star Institute, filmmaker Alanis
Obomsawin (Abenaki), W. Richard West (Southern Cheyenne),
director of the NMAI, James Brooks of the School of American
Research, and Daniel Craig a Santa Fe physician and veteran.
Moderated by Institute of American Indian Arts' Director Della
Warrior (Otoe-Missouria), the panelists were articulate and
informative, often passionate, and almost as often, downright
funny.
 After
the panel, serious discussions continued in Q&A for documentaries
such as The Ghost Riders by V. Blackhawk Aamodt
(Blackfoot/Lakota/Mexican) and in two recent documentaries from
Alanis Obomsawin,  Is
the Crown at War With Us and Our Nationhood.
One group of documentaries—Nunavut Summer,
Video in the Villages and Native Games—focused
on Native youth and family life. Throughout all of this year's
screenings, audiences were thoughtful and encouraging. The filmmakers,
too, enjoyed learning from our other participants in the showcase-reserving
time for the cinema when they could have continued shopping at
Indian Market! On the lighter side, Gary Farmer was often spotted
riding his bike around the Plaza, and filmmakers and actors loved
to hang out at the CCA. In moods serious and fun, everyone gathered
in Santa Fe that week to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy Native
arts, traditional or contemporary.
 This
year's showcase would not have been a success without the hard
work of Ann Marran, publicist extraordinaire, and the rest
of the great Native Cinema Showcase staff. "Thank you!"
to Reaghan Tarbell (Mohawk) for all those early/late hours
driving to and from Santa Fe, Charmaine Jackson-John for
her wonderful community outreach, Luke Dorman, Margaret
Sagan and all the other staff and volunteers of the CCA and
NMAI. Thanks also to Jerry Barron, Executive Director of
the CCA and Elizabeth Weatherford, Head of the Film and
Video Center,  for
their vision and encouragement of growth, Jason Silverman for
his continuous support to Native media, and to all who have helped
launch and evolve the event. The Native Cinema Showcase offers
not just contemporary perspectives of Native media-makers, but
also "shed(s) some light on what seem(s) to be a growing
movement of indigenous filmmaking" and "offer(s) insights
into the complicated, tragic relationship of the motion pictures
to Native culture." (Jason Silverman, "Native Cinema
Showcase: Refocusing Indian Images," Native Peoples Magazine,
Sept. /Oct. 2004, Vol. XVII, Number 6)
Featured Works
Schedule
at-a-glance
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7:30 pm
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A SPECIAL SCREENING: The Native Cinema Showcase
and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center present Looking
Toward Home
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IPCC
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7 pm
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Black Cloud
Discussion with director Rick Schroder follows.
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Cinematheque
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5:20 pm
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MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH:
SHORT FICTIONS
TRT: 100 minutes.
An explosion of Native film talent is seen in new works
by directors from North America and the Pacific Rim that
tell stories of resistance, spiritual strength, and transformation.
Including: Kava
Kultcha, The Shirt,
Memory, Dot's
Death, Wind,
and Music Is the Medicine
Introduced by Gary Farmer. Discussion with performer Derek
Miller follows.
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Video Hall
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7 pm
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A Bride
of the Seventh Heaven
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Cinematheque
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7:20 pm
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FROM THE ARCTIC TO THE AMAZON:
A FAITH HUBLEY RETROSPECTIVE
TRT: 60 minutes.
A focus on the work of Faith Hubley (1925-2002), whose animations
were inspired by world cultures and indigenous oral traditions.
Hubley's revolutionary, independent visions connect deeply
to Mother Earth and her inhabitants.
Including: Amazonia,
Northern
Ice, Golden Sun, Starlore,
and Cloudland
Discussion follows with Faith Hubley's daughter, award-winning
animator Emily Hubley.
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Video Hall
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4:30 pm
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NATIVE GAMES
TRT: 90 minutes.
Including: Toka
and Spirit of the Game
Discussion with director Annie Frazier Henry follows.
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Cinematheque
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4:45 pm
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WIPING THE TEARS
TRT: 80 minutes.
Including: Estos Dolores
Somos and The Ghost
Riders
Discussion with director V. Blackhawk Aamodt follows.
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Video Hall
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6:20 pm
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NUNAVUT SUMMER
TRT: 80 minutes.
Including: Kunuk
Family Reunion (US premiere) and If
the Weather Permits
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Video Hall
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7 pm
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On the Corner
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Cinematheque
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8 pm
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VIDEO IN THE VILLAGES
TRT 100 minutes.
For 20 years the Video in the Villages/Video nas Aldeias
project (VNA) has worked closely with Indian communities
in Brazil. VNA produces the award-winning works of the project's
many videomakers and organizes indigenous video production
workshops. These productions won the top prizes at the recent
Premio Anaconda Film Festival in Latin America and First
People's Festival in Canada.
Including: Wai'a Rini:
The Power of the Dream and Marangmotxíngmo
Mïrang: From the Ikpeng Children to the World
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Video Hall
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1:15 pm
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NEW GENERATIONS
TRT: 90 minutes.
The growing talent of the next generation of Native filmmakers
is making waves already. This program presents outstanding
new productions from Native youth media projects in the
U.S. and Canada.
From the American Indian Resource Center in Tahlequah, Oklahoma:
How
the Red Bird Got His Color, and Might
of the Starchaser
From the Akatubi Film and Music Academy of the Owens Valley
Career and Development Center in California: The
Great Indian Massacre, Bigger
Things, The
Last Laugh, and Composure
Discussion with Yvonne Russo (Lakota) and media-makers from
the Akatubi Film and Music Academy follows.
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Cinematheque
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1:35 pm
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MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH:
SHORT FICTIONS
TRT: 100 minutes.
An explosion of Native film talent is seen in new works
by directors from North America and the Pacific Rim that
tell stories of resistance, spiritual strength, and transformation.
Including: Kava
Kultcha, The Shirt,
Memory, Dot's
Death, Wind,
and Music Is the Medicine
Introduced by Gary Farmer. Discussion with performer Derek
Miller follows.
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Video Hall
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3:25 pm
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AS WE LIVE TODAY
TRT: 90 minutes.
Including: I Belong
to This and Looking
Toward Home
Discussion with producer Conroy Chino follows. Invited:
director Dale Kruzic.
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Cinematheque
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3:35 pm
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Is the
Crown at War With Us?
Discussion with director Alanis Obomsawin follows.
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Video Hall
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5:10 pm
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A Thief
of Time
Discussion with director Chris Eyre and actors Adam
Beach and Wes Studi follows.
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Cinematheque
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5:40 pm
Free
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Dreamkeeper
Discussion with the associate producer Georgina Lightning
(Cree) follows.
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Video Hall
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7:15 pm
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A Bride
of the Seventh Heaven
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Cinematheque
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8 pm
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Don't
Call Me Tonto
Discussion with director Annie Frazier Henry follows.
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Video Hall
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12 pm
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A Thief of
Time
Discussion with director Chris Eyre and actors Adam
Beach and Wes Studi follows.
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Cinematheque
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12:20 pm
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Our Nationhood
Discussion with director Alanis Obomsawin follows.
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Video Hall
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2:05 pm
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Black Cloud
Discussion with director Rick Schroder follows.
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Cinematheque
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2:25 pm
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NATIVE GAMES
TRT: 90 minutes.
Including: Toka
and Spirit of the Game
Discussion with director Annie Frazier Henry follows.
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Video Hall
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4:10 pm
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AS WE LIVE TODAY
TRT: 90 minutes.
Including: I Belong
to This and Looking
Toward Home
Discussion with producer Conroy Chino follows. Invited:
director Dale Kruzic.
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Cinematheque
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4:25 pm
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Don't
Call Me Tonto
Discussion with director Annie Frazier Henry follows.
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Video Hall
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5:55 pm
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On the Corner
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Cinematheque
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6:10 pm
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NUNAVUT SUMMER
TRT: 80 minutes.
Including: Kunuk
Family Reunion (US premiere) and If
the Weather Permits
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Video Hall
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7 pm
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A Thief of
Time
Discussion with director Chris Eyre and actors Adam
Beach and Wes Studi follows.
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Cinematheque
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7 pm
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A Bride
of the Seventh Heaven
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Cinematheque
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How to attend the Showcase
Patron Passes, including priority access to all Native Showcase
events, are available for $150. All film/video shows are $8 for
general admission and $6 for NMAI and CCA Members. Tickets and
passes are available at the CCA box office beginning at 2 p.m.
Friday, August 8. CCA is located at 1050 Old Pecos Trail. All
events subject to change. Call 505-982-1338 or check www.ccasantafe.org
for further information. For information about the screening in
Albuquerque on August 14 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center,
call (505) 843-7270.
Showcase Staff
Elizabeth Weatherford, National Museum of the American Indian
(NMAI) and Jerry Barron, Center for Contemporary Arts. Coordinator:
Michelle Svenson, NMAI. Outreach Coordinator: Charmaine Jackson-John,
founding director of Na'al kid Film Festival, Farmington, NM.
Additional support has been provided by the program and administrative
staff of the NMAI Film and Video Center: Millie Seubert, Reaghan
Tarbell, Kim Hudson, Elaine Grubbs. Special thanks to FVC intern
Marcella Ernest. Center for Contemporary Arts: Luke Dorman, Ann
Marran, Elisa Keir, Melanie Matthews, Julia Felix, Zach Scheinbaum
and Owen Conley.
Presenting Organizations
Established in 1989, through an Act of Congress, the SMITHSONIAN
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN is a museum of living
cultures dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history,
and arts of the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere. The
Museum includes the George Gustav Heye Center, a permanent exhibition
and education facility in New York City and the Cultural Resources
Center, a research and collection facility in Suitland, Maryland.
The museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. is opening
with a gala celebration on September 21, 2004. For additional
information on the Mall opening, the Museum or becoming a Charter
Member, please visit our website at www.AmericanIndian.si.edu
or call 1-800-242-NMAI (6624). Questions may be emailed to aimember@nmai.si.edu.
THE CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTS is "Santa Fe's best
known alternative art space." (Art in America), presenting
the world's best cinema, contemporary art in three galleries and
a progressive performing arts program.
THE POND FOUNDATION is a sponsor of The Native Cinema
Showcase and the Center for Contemporary Arts. Pond Foundation
is a small, private foundation and does not accept unsolicited
proposals.
This year, for the first time, Native Cinema Showcase presents
new work in Albuquerque in collaboration with the INDIAN PUEBLO
CULTURAL CENTER. Owned and operated by the 19 Pueblos of New
Mexico, IPPC is the "gateway" to the 19 Pueblos and
a centerpiece Pueblo heritage center, with programs, performances
and conferences throughout the year. Open seven days a week, the
Center features a main museum, a children's museum, the Pueblo
Archives and Institute for Pueblo Research, a restaurant, and
gift shops.
 Poster/Cover
Artist
Stephen Deo (Creek/Euchee) is an Oklahoma artist who studied
at the Institute of American Indian Art, the San Francisco Art
Institute and Purdue University. Working in sculpture, photography
and multi-media painting, Deo creates contemporary work that retains
a passionate and authentic Native voice. PERCEPTIONS, an
exhibit of Deo's work in CCA's Lobby Gallery, opens August 20,
5-7 pm.
In Gratitude
Special thanks to W. Richard West, Director, National Museum
of the American Indian; John Haworth, Director, NMAI George Gustav
Heye Center; Sally Bowers, NMAI; V. Blackhawk Aamodt, filmmaker;
Akatubi Film and Music Academy; American Indian Resource Center;
The Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers; Orlando Bagwell,
Roja Productions; Sara Driver, filmmaker; Gary Farmer, actor and
media-maker; Finnish Film Foundation; Paul Gourlie, The Agency
Group; Laura Milliken, Big Soul Productions; Beth Nussbaum, Hallmark
Entertainment; Jim Jarmusch, filmmaker; Seth Rothman and Melissa
Sanchez, Native Roots and Rhythm festival; Tom Stebbens and Owen
Dockson, WGBH Boston; Jonathan Wacks, filmmaker; Grant Taylor,
Suncloud Productions; Evy Todd, KNME-TV; Zia Film Distributing.
Very special thanks to independent film curator and writer Jason
Silverman.
We Salute
Native Roots and Rhythms Festival is a premier venue for contemporary
and traditional Native American music, dance, storytelling, and
comedy. The 10th Annual event will take place on August 20 and
21 at the Paolo Soleri Amphitheater in Santa Fe. Friday is a Contemporary
Native Music & Comedy Showcase. Saturday is a Native Performing
Arts Spectacular. Tickets: 505-988-1234, Tickets.com, Lensic box
office (SF). Event info: www.santafe.net/nativerootsnrhythms.
Download the Native Cinema Showcase
flyer
The flyer is available to download as a Portable Document File
(PDF). To download the flyer enter
here.
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on your computer. If you are not currently using this program,
you need to download and install it. For more information about
PDFs, enter here.
If you are unable to access the information from this Website,
email the Webmaster for
other options.
Image credit:
A Bride of the Seventh Heaven; between screenings at the
CCA during NCS - photograph by Michelle Svenson, NMAI; Emily Hubley
- photograph by Michelle Svenson, NMAI; Derek Miller - photograph
by Michelle Svenson, NMAI; Charmaine Jackson-John (Navajo) hosting
at the CCA exhibition reception for artist Steven Deo - photograph
by Michelle Svenson, NMAI; Georgina Lightning (Cree) - photograph
by Michelle Svenson, NMAI; Gary Farmer, Jessica Ponce, Jenny Hartman,
Shaleena Delgado and Tazbah Chavez at the New Generations program
- photograph by Michelle Svenson, NMAI; Corrine Sanchez, Alanis
Obomsawin, Suzan Shown Harjo and Rick West - photograph by Michelle
Svenson, NMAI; V. Blackhawk Aamodt in front of the CCA - photograph
by Michelle Svenson, NMAI; Alanis Obomsawin at the Stephen Deo
exhibit reception at the CCA - photograph by Michelle Svenson,
NMAI; Ann Maran, Annie Frazier Henry and Charmaine Jackson-John
at the CCA - photograph by Michelle Svenson, NMAI; Audience start
lining up for a screening at CCA - photograph by Michelle Svenson
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