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Carlos Efraín Pérez being interviewed by Marcelino Pinto, 2000 Native American Film and Video Festival

All Roads Film Festival

In 2007 the National Geographic All Roads Film Festival took place September 27 - 30 in Los Angeles, October 4 - October 7 in Washington, DC, and November 28 - December 3 as part of the Santa Fe Film Festival. The films shown are about indigenous and minority communities around the globe. The number of films shown at the three sites varied, with an expanded program in Santa Fe including "Nihí Dinék'egho Neidá: We Walk as Diné" (a program of nine Navajo films curated independently by Charmaine Jackson-John) and a retrospective of works by Alanis Obomsawin.

Native American and indigenous directed features included:

International features and long documentaries included:

  • Sonam…The Fortunate One (director: Ahsan Muzid)
  • Super Amigos (director: Arturo Perez Torres)
  • Dol (director: Hiner Saleem)
  • Bolinao 52 (director: Duc Nguyen)
  • Enemies of Happiness (director: Eva Mulvad)

Short works by indigenous directors included:

  • Crocodile Dreaming (director: Darlene Johnson)
  • Tavake (director: Paul Stoll)
  • Taua (director: Tearepa Kahi)
  • Land and Airwaves (directors: Patrick Boivin and Alland Flamand. Produced by Wapikoni Mobile)
  • 133 Skyway (director: Randy Redroad)
  • Nana (director: Warwick Thornton)
  • Gene Boy Came Back Home (director: Alanis Obomsawin)

The special program "Nihí Dinék'egho Neidá: We Walk as Diné" included works by Navajo directors Klee Benally, Ramona Emerson, Sydney Freeland, Mike Goodman, Melissa A. Henry, Bennie Klain, Darwyn Roanhorse and Sunrise Tippeconnie.

Other events included an art market in Washington, DC; music performances by Balkan Beat Box; panel discussions with the All Roads Photography Fellows. Three All Roads films and filmmakers won awards at the Santa Fe Film Festival. The All Roads Film Project website includes not only Festival programs but new features including a blog space with news and video blogs from the festival events. For more information go to www.nationalgeographic.com/allroads.
12/27/07

In 2006 the National Geographic All Roads Film Festival took place September 28 - October 1 in Los Angeles and October 5 - October 8 in Washington, DC. Thirty films were shown, about indigenous and minority cultures around the globe. The following films by Native American directors were screened:

Works by indigenous Pacific directors:

  • 5 Seasons (director: Steven McGregor)
  • The Lore of Love (director: Beck Cole)
  • Petroglyphs of Rapa Nui (directors: Santi Hitorangi and Susan Hito-Shapiro)
  • Plastic Leis (director: Tyrone Sanga)

Also included was The Hardest of these is Love by Sami director Suvi West. Other films produced in Native communities included: Arctic Son (director: Andrew Walton), Mi Papai (My Grandmother) (director: Sandra Hoffman), Un Poquito De (director: Dominique Jonard) and Tainá-Kan, The Big Star (director: Adriana Figueiredo).
3/26/07

The All Roads Film Festival was held September 22 - 25, 2005 in Los Angeles and September 29 - October 1, 2005 in Washington, D.C. The festival is presented by the All Roads Film Project of the National Geographic Society. Indigenous works from North America included: 5th World (director: Blackhorse Lowe), Goodnight Irene (director: Sterlin Harjo), Steve Ma'i'i (director: Kaliko Palmeira), Suckerfish (director: Lisa Jackson), and Teachings of the Tree People (director: Katie Jennings).
For contact information enter here.
2/2/06

American Indian Film Festival

The 32nd annual American Indian Film Festival was presented November 7 - 15, 2007, in San Francisco, showcasing more than 90 films produced in American Indian and Canada First Nations communities. The awards given were:

  • Best Film: Imprint (director: Michael Linn)
  • Best Director: Sterlin Harjo for Four Sheets to the Wind
  • Best Actor: Cody Lightning in Four Sheets to the Wind
  • Best Actress: Tonantzin Carmelo in Imprint
  • Best Supporting Actor: Ernie Tsosie in Milepost 398
  • Best Supporting Actress: Carla-Rae Holland in Imprint
  • Best Documentary Feature: Our Land, Our Life (directors: George Gage and Beth Gage)
  • Best Documentary Short: Dreammakers (director: Susan Cardinal)
  • Best Live Action Short: Seeking Bimaadiziiwin (directors: Dave Clement and Kelly Saxberg)
  • Best Animated Short: Raccoon and Crawfish (director: Dale Rood)
  • Best Music Video: What Are We Fighting For? (Joanne Shenandoah) (directors: Eric Benda, Pearly Leung, Joanne Shenandoah)
  • Best Public Service: A Place Between: The Story of an Adoption (director: Curtis Kaltenbaugh)
  • Best Industrial: Seminole Tribe of Florida - 50th Anniversary (director: Danny Jumper)

For the complete program and descriptions go to www.aifisf.com.
2/18/08

The American Indian Film Festival took place November 3 - November 11, 2006. The festival award recipients were:

  • Best Film: Expiration Date (director: Rick Stevenson)
  • Best Director: Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn for The Journals of Knud Rasmussen
  • Best Actor: Robert Guthrie for Expiration Date
  • Best Actress: Andrea Menard for The Velvet Devil (director: Larry Bauman)
  • Best Supporting Actor: Eric Schweig for One Dead Indian (director: Tim Southam)
  • Best Supporting Actress: Renae Morriseau for The Velvet Devil
  • Best Documentary Feature: The Trail of Tears: A Cherokee Legacy (director: Chip Richie)
  • Best Documentary Short: Starblanket: A Spirit Journey (director: Cindy Pickard and Andy Pickard)
  • Best Live Short: Kinnaq Nigaqtuqtuaq/The Snaring Madman (director: Andrew Maclean)
  • Best Music Video: The Greatest Love Song (director: Yellow Thunder Woman and Robin Davey)
  • Best Animation: By the Rapids (director: Joseph Lazare)
  • Best Public Service: Gang Aftermath (director: Francis Campbell)
  • Best Industrial: Amerind: Our History (director: Patrick Murphy)

3/26/07

The 30th American Indian Film Festival, held November 5 - 12, 2005, in San Francisco, California, announces the award winners:

  • Best Feature Film: Johnny Tootall. Director: Shirley Cheechoo
  • Best Director: Aaron James Sorensen for Hank Williams First Nation
  • Best Actor: Adam Beach for Johnny Tootall
  • Best Actress: Stacey Da Silva for Hank Williams First Nation
  • Best Supporting Actor: Nathaniel Arcand for Johnny Tootall
  • Best Documentary Feature: Trudell. Director: Heather Rae
  • Best Documentary Short: The Salt Song Trail. Director: Esther Figueroa
  • Best Live Short: A Thousand Roads. Director: Chris Eyre
  • Best Public Service: The Gift of Diabetes. Director: Brion Whitford
  • Best Music Video: Tamara Podemski for Meegwetch

For more information, enter here.
12/30/05

The 29th American Indian Film Festival, held November 6 - 13, 2004 in San Francisco, announces its 2004 award winners:

  • Best Film: Edge of America. Director: Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho)
  • Best Director: Chris Eyre for Edge of America
  • Best Actor: George Leach (Lillooet) in Distant Drumming - A North of 60 Mystery
  • Best Actress: Tina Keeper (Cree) in Distant Drumming - A North of 60 Mystery
  • Best Supporting Actor: Gordon Tootoosis (Cree/Stoney) in On the Corner
  • Best Supporting Actress: Irene Bedard (Inupiat/Cree) in Edge of America
  • Best Documentary Feature: The Ghost Riders. Director: Vincent Blackhawk Aamodt (Blackfoot/Lakota/Mexican)
  • Best Documentary Short: A Tribe of One. Director: Eunhee Cha
  • Best Live Short: Memory. Director: Cedar Sherbert (Kumeyaay)
  • Best Animated Short Subject: Raven Tales. Directors: Chris Keintz (Cherokee) and Simon James (Kwakwaka’wakw)
  • Best Public Service: G. Directors: Shonie de la Rosa (Navajo) and Larry Blackhorse Lowe (Navajo)
  • Best Music Video: Love Fades Away - Chester Knight. Director: Robert DeLeskie
  • Best Industrial: Plum Creek Reservoir. Director: Steve Marks

11/29/04

The 28th American Indian Film Festival, held November 6 - 13 in San
Francisco, announces its 2003 award winners:

For contact information enter here.
2/15/04

The 27th American Indian Film Festival, held November 7 - 14 in San Francisco, announces its 2002 award winners:

  • Best Film: Fast Runner (Atanarjuat)
  • Best Director: Zacharias Kunuk
  • Best Actor: Natar Ungalaaq, in Fast Runner (Atanarjuat)
  • Best Actress: Lucy Tulugarjuk, in Fast Runner (Atanarjuat)
  • Best Supporting Actor: Saginaw Grant, Skinwalkers
  • Best Supporting Actress: Sheila Tousey, Skinwalkers
  • Best Documentary Short Film: Century of Genocide in the Americas. Director: Rosemary Gibbons
  • Best Documentary Feature: Ojibemowin: Ojibwe Oral Tradition. Director: Lorraine Norrgard
  • Best Live Short: Only the Devil Speaks Cree - (Canada). Director: Pamela Matthews
  • Best Public Service Announcement: Restoring the Sacred Circle: Responding to Elder Abuse in American Indian Communities. Director: Phil Lucas
  • Best Music Video: George Leach Young Enough
  • Best Animated Short: Keeping Balance. Director: Scott Clark
  • Eagle Spirit Award: Joy Harjo
  • Horizon Award: Shane Hannigan, Admirational
  • Producer's Award: Noreen Norrgard

11/20/02

2001 American Indian Film Festival, held November 8 - 14 in San Francisco, announces its awards:

Best Film: The Doe Boy (Director: Randy Redroad)
Best Director: Randy Redroad (Cherokee)
Best Actor: James Duval (in The Doe Boy)
Best Actress: Jeri Arredondo (in The Doe Boy)
Best Supporting Actor: Sam Vlahos (in Christmas in the Clouds)
Best Supporting Actress: Jade Herrera (in The Doe Boy)
Best Documentary: Lady Warriors (Director: John Goheen)
Best Documentary Short: Bernie Whitebear: Modern Warrior (Director: Kurt Feldhun)

12/10/01

Cine Las Americas

The 10th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, held in Austin, Texas, April 19 - 26, 2007 screened more than 65 films. The festival showcases contemporary films from throughout the Americas, by or about Latino and indigenous peoples, and features a youth filmmaker program Emergencia.

Native-directed short films, documentary features, and new theatrical releases included:

Other feature narrative and documentary films with indigenous themes included:

  • Tierra Roja (director: Ramiro Gómez) Paraguay
  • Cocalero (director: Alejandro Landes) Argentina, Bolivia, USA
  • En el Hoyo (director: Juan Carlos Rulfo) Mexico
  • ?Quién Mató a la Llamita Blanca? (director: Rodrigo Bellott) Bolivia
  • Hartos Evos Aqui Hay: Los Cocoleros del Chapare (director: Hector Ulloque Franco, Manuel Ruiz Montealegre, Fernando Lopez Escriva) Colombia
  • ?Qué Pasa Después de la Coca? (director: Roberto Lanza) Bolivia
  • The Beloved Community (director: Pamela Calvert) USA, Canada

The winner of the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature was Tierra Roja, which follows the stories of four Guaraní families in Paraguay. Among the festival jurors were director Blackhorse Lowe (Navajo) and Sundance Institute's N. Bird Runningwater (Cheyenne).

For more information, go to www.cinelasamericas.org.
7/17/07

The 9th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival was held in Austin, Texas, April 19 - 23, 2006. The festival showcases contemporary films from North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean and works by or about Latinos and indigenous peoples.

Native-directed Short Films were:

The Panorama section included many films on Native life by both indigenous and non-indigenous directors:

  • Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action (director: Roberta Grossman)
  • La Vida de las mujeres en resistencia/We are Equal: Zapatista Women Speak (producer: Promedios de Comunicacion Comunitaria)
  • Miranda hacia dentro/The Militarization of Guerrrero (producer: Promedios de Comunicación Comunitaria)
  • Muxes: Authentic, Fearless Seekers of Danger (director: Alejandra Islas)
  • Sierra Madre Tierra/Mother Earth (director: Carlos E. Rincon)

Emergencía, a program of films by youth no older than 19, and selected by a youth jury, included Asveq-The Walrus Hunt and Survival in the Weave-Kumeyaaya.

Other films on Native topics were the documentary features Trespassing (director: Carlos DeMenezes) and Apaga y Vamonos/Switch Off and Go (director: Manel Mayol) and the dramatic short El Dia de los Muertes (director: Jim Keeshan). In addition to these works, the festival this year selected a number of outstanding works on border-crossing issues, representing the experiences of indigenous and non-indigenous emigrants from Central America and Mexico.
For more information enter here.
8/11/06

The 8th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival was held in Austin, Texas, April 20 - 24, 2005. The festival showcases contemporary films from North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean and works by or about Latinos and indigenous peoples.

Native-directed films selected were Shadow in Deep Water (director: Shirley Cheechoo), 5th World (director: Larry Blackhorse Lowe), Goodnight Irene (director: Sterlin Harjo), Suckerfish (director: Lisa Jackson), Kunuk Family Reunion (director: Zacharias Kunuk), and El Panteonero/The Gravedigger (directors: Juan Infante and Romina Cruz/Peru). Other documentaries on Native culture included Uxüf Xipai: El Despojo/The Spoils, Danzante, and Buscando a Don Juan.

This year's festival honored Mexican director Nicolás Echevarría, screening his award-winning films from 1979-1991 concerned with Native community and outlook. The classic feature Cabeza de Vaca (1991) tells of a 16th-century conquistador's encounter with a Native tribe and its outcome. Also shown were his documentaries on Native healers, spiritual practices, and arts: Maria Sabina, mujer espiritu (1979); Teshuinada, semana santa Tarahumara (1980); Poetas Campesinos (1980); and Nino Fidencio: el taumaturgo de Espinoza (1981).
7/15/05

The 7th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival was held in Austin, Texas, April 21 - 25, 2004. The festival showcases contemporary films by and about Latinos and indigenous peoples from North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean. The Best Narrative Feature Award was given to Cowboys and Indians: The J.J. Harper Story, starring Adam Beach and Eric Schweig (director: Norma Bailey. producers: Eric Jordan and Jeremy Torrie (Ojibwe)). Other Native-directed or produced fictions were Blood River (director: Kent Monkman), Composure (director: Tazbah Chavez), and Don’t Call Me Tonto (executive director/writer: Annie Frazier Henry). Dreamkeeper featured great storytelling and an outstanding cast of Native actors. Documentaries shown on various Native issues included La Pasion de Maria Elena, The Shaman’s Apprentice, Boomtown, and Oaxacan Hoops.
8/5/04

CineFestival en San Antonio

CineFestival en San Antonio is produced by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio, Texas. The 2005 festival, held November 11 - 19. The festival featured works with indigenous themes from the United States, Mexico and Argentina, including A Thousand Roads (director: Chris Eyre), Danzante (director: Sergio Bátiz), Oaxacan Hoops (director: Olga Rodriguez), Race is the Place (directors: Rick Tejada-Flores and Ray Telles), and Salinas Grandes (director: Milguel Kohan).
For contact information enter here.
2/2/06

The 27th annual CineFestival en San Antonio, was presented March 3 - 6, 2004 by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, one of the nation's premier cultural centers for Chicano and Latino arts. The theme of this year's festival was Many Roads, Un Destino: Latino and Indigenous Perspectives on Immigration. Participating in the professional workshops was Frank Blythe (Sioux/Cherokee), director of Native American Public Telecommunications.

Awards for Native productions were:

  • Premio Mesquite: Native American First Place
    A Salto de Mata: Historias de Migrantes Indígenas. Director: Javier Sámano Chong
  • Premio Mesquite: Native American Education
    The Iron Lodge. Director: Ismana Carney

Other works with indigenous themes:

  • Balance. Director: Antonio Cisneros
  • Red Road: Towards the Techno-Tribal Tribe. Director: Juan Salazar
  • Vis á Vis: Native Tongues. Directors: Steve Lawrence and Phil Lucas (Choctaw)
  • Juchitán Queer Paradise. Director: Patricio Henriquez

For more information go to www.guadalupeculturalarts.org/mediaarts/cine2k4.htm.
5/19/04

Dreamspeakers Film Festival

Dreamspeakers Film Festival, held June 4-9, 2007, in Edmonton, Alberta, presented documentaries and feature films from Canada, New Zealand, and the United States; a two-day film trade and career fair; and a Youth Day with screenings and workshops. On Opening Night, a welcome reception was followed by a screening of The Waimate Conspiracy and the festival closed with an Awards Night. Awards given were:

Other works screened include the feature film Rain in the Mountains, directed by Joel Metlen and Christine Sullivan. Short works screened included Aydaygooay, directed by Mary Code; Buffalo Spirit, directed by Marie Burke; and Maq and the Spirit of the Woods, directed by Phyllis Grant. Documentaries included Flight from Darkness, directed by Trevor Grant; The Spirit of Sacajawea, directed by Alyson Young; and Waban-Aki, directed by Alanis Obomsawin.
For more information go to www.dreamspeakers.org/2007/films.htm.
9/5/07

Dreamspeakers Film Festival, held June 7 - June 10, 2006, in Edmonton, Alberta, presented documentaries and feature films from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and US; a one-day film trade and career fair; and a Youth Day with screenings and workshops for 250 young people. The festival also honors key figures in indigenous film in its Walk of Honour. Awards given were:

  • Best Dramatic Feature: Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis (director: Gil Cardinal)
  • Best Documentary: The Kaipara Affair (director: Barry Barclay)
  • Best Documentary Short: Our Community (director: Sean Kennedy)
  • Best Public Service Media: Gang Aftermath (director: Francis Campbell)

The Opening Night gala featured Indian Summer and the festival closed with a VIP Gala to raise funds for Edmonton's Aboriginal Walk of Honour honoring First Nations media contributions. This year's Walk of Hnour recipients are Bert Crowfoot, Barry Barclay, Tantoo Cardinal, Alanis Obomsawin, and Gil Cardinal.

Other works screened include the feature films Disappearances, Johnny Tootall and A Thousand Roads. Short works screened include The Salt Song Trail and humorous shorts Dude vs. Dude and Pigeon Powwow. Documentaries included Aboriginal Architecture, Living Architecture; The Ghost Riders; My Father, My Teacher; Homeland: Four Stories of Native Action; and Trespassing.
For more information go to www.dreamspeakers.org.
8/11/06

On June 22 - 25, 2005, the 10th annual Dreamspeakers Film Festival in Edmonton, Alberta, presented nearly 40 indigenous works and a retrospective of works by director and actor Shirley Cheechoo, Bearwalker, Silent Tears, and Shadow in Deep Water. The Opening Night gala screened Goodnight Irene (director: Sterlin Harjo) and Heavy Metal (directors: Neil Diamond and Tracey Deer). The Dreamspeakers Film Society organized a VIP Gala to raise funds for Edmonton's Aboriginal Walk of Honour honoring First Nations filmmaking contributions to Canada. This year's Walk of Honour recipients are Wil Campbell, August Schellenberg, Jimmy Herman, Willie Dunn, and Gordon Tootoosis.

Other actors and directors participating included Alex Rice, Dakota House, Steve Reevis, Nathaniel Arcand, Sonny Skyhawk, Catherine Anne Martin, and Annie Frazier Henry. Among the works screened were Two Cars One Night (director: Taika Waititi), Medicine Walker (director: Greg Coyes), One More River: The Deal that Split the Cree (directors: Neil Diamond and Tracey Deer), The Business of Fancydancing (director: Sherman Alexie), Dhakiyarr vs. the King (directors: Tom Murray and Allan Colllins), Dancing on the Edge (director: Alan Tafoya) and Two Winters: Tales from Above the Earth (director: Carol Geddes).
For more information go to www.dreamspeakers.org.
7/15/05

On June 24 - 26, 2004 the Dreamspeakers Film Festival, presented twenty outstanding recent indigenous works from Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. Held at the Provincial Museum of Alberta in Edmonton, the festival opened on National Aboriginal Day with a gala featuring Shirley Cheechoo's (Cree) documentary Pikutiskwauu/Mother Earth and a blessing by Raven Mackinaw (Cree). Drew Hayden Taylor (Ojibwe) gave a humorous lecture/workshop entitled "Being a Successful Native Writer is not an Oxymoron". Other documentaries screened included If the Weather Permits, Kinja Iakaha: A Day in the Village, Diet of Souls, Found Voices, White Buffalo Burgers, and The Spirit of Annie Mae. Feature films screened were Cowboys and Indians: The J.J. Harper Story, On the Corner, and Dreamkeeper.
For the complete program go to www.dreamspeakers.org.
7/30/04

Welcome back
Dreamspeakers Film Festival, a long-enjoyed showcase of film, video, arts, conferences and meeting ground for international indigenous media, announces that its 8th festival is to be held June 2004 in Edmonton, Alberta. The Festival has recently been included as part of the Global Vision Film Festival, screening 8 films in 2003. This year brings back the first full-scale Dreamspeakers Festival since 1998.
4/2/04

In 2003 the Global Visions Film Festival in Edmonton, Albert—Canada's longest-running documentary film festival—featured Gil Cardinal's Totem: The Return of the G'psgolox Pole for the gala opening night. This year the festival, held November 5 - 9, collaborated with the Dreamspeakers Society to present eight aboriginal films. A special panel discussion on Aboriginal film style moderated by Murray Jurak (Lower Nicola Band), Board chairman of Dreamspeakers, included filmmakers Gil Cardinal (Métis), Sonny Skyhawk (Lakota), and Loretta Todd (Métis/Cree).

Additional Dreamspeakers documentaries screened were:

  • Angakkuiit: Shaman Stories. Canada. Director: Zacharias Kunuk (Inuit)
  • Imprints of Our Ancestors: Diich'anjoo Gookai' Deek'it. Canada. Directors: Mary Jane Moses (Gwitchin) and Tracy Kassi (Gwitchin)
  • Locked Horns: the Fate of Old Crow. Canada. Director: Andrew Gregg
  • Lonely Boy Richard. 55 min. Australia. Director: Trevor Graham
  • Media Nomads: The Thaiday Brothers. Australia. Director: Donna Ives (North Queensland Aboriginal)
  • The People Go On. Canada. Director: Loretta Todd (Métis/Cree)
  • The World of American Indian Dance. US. Director: Sonny Skyhawk (Lakota)

For more information on Global Visions Film Festival and programs go to www.globalvisionsfestival.com. For information about the Dreamspeakers Film Festival, which returns to Edmonton in 2004, go to www.dreamspeakers.org.
4/8/04

Encuentro Hispanoamericano de Video Documental Independiente:
Contra el Silencio Todas las Voces
(All Voices Against Silence Independent Documentary Festival)

On March 15 - 25, 2006, the Encuentro Hispanoamericano de Video Documental Independiente: Contra El Silencio Todas las Voces documentary festival was held in Mexico. The programs included "Visions and Voices of Indigenous America," a documentary showcase coordinated by CLACPI/Consejo Latinoamericano de Cine y Comunicación de los Pueblos Indígenas.

The indigenous showcase, presented March 15 - 18 in Mexico City at the Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares, screened:

  • Los Angeles de la Tierra (director: Patricio Luna, Bolivia)
  • Aquí Así Nos Curamos (director: José Luís Matías Alonso, Mexico)
  • Ayllus en Paz (directors: Humbero Claros and Ariel Yañez, Bolivia)
  • Buscando el Azul (director: Fernando Valdivia Gómez, Peru)
  • Cuando la Justicia se hace Pueblo (director: Carlos Efraín Pérez Rojas, Mexico)
  • De los Niños Ikpeng para el Mundo (directors: Kumaré Txicao, Karané Txicao, and Natuyu Txicao, Brazil)
  • Día 2 (director: Dante Cerano Bautista, Mexico)
  • Dulce Convivencia (director: Filoteo Gómez Martínez, Mexico)
  • Historias Verdaderas (Ojo de Agua Comunicación, Mexico)
  • El Misterio de la Palmera (director: Heladio Uraeza, Bolivia)
  • Moyngo, el Sueño de Maragareum (directors: Kumaré Txicao and Natuyu Txicao, Brazil)
  • Una Muerte en Sión (director: Adam Goldstein, United States/Peru)
  • Río de la Vida (Esse Ejja directors, Bolivia)
  • Susurros de Muerte (director: Reynaldo Yujra, Bolivia)
  • Servir el Pueblo (director: Hermengildo Rojas Ramírez, Mexico)
  • Soy Defensor de la Selva (director: Heriberto Gualinga Montalvo, Ecuador)
  • Teco, el Niño Mojeño (director: Rubén Machado Navía, Bolivia)
  • La Tierra, Nuestra Esperanza (directors: Violeta Chávez and Bertha Rodríguez, Mexico)
  • Las Voces del Uarhi Iurixe (director: Raúl Máximo Cortés, Mexico)

For more information, go to www.contraelsilencio.org.
4/10/06

The third biennial Encuentro Hisapanoamericano de Video Documental Independiente: Contra el Silencio Todas las Voces (Spanish-American Gathering of Independent Documentary Video: All Voices Against Silence), was held April 23 - 30, 2004 in Mexico City. The Festival gives juried awards in several categories. Jurors for the Indigenous Awards competition were videomaker Crisanto Manzano (Zapotec), cultural activist Marcos Sandoval (Triqui) and Iván Sanjinés of Bolivia’s CEFREC media organization.

  • Indigenous category shared prize:
    Üxüf Xipay, el Despojo/The Spoils. Director: Dauno Tótoro Taulis
    Son de la Tierra/Song of the Earth. Director: Jorge (Tzotzil)
  • Indigenous category honorable mentions:
    Crónica de un Baile de Muñeco/Chronicle of a Doll’s Dance. Director: Pablo Mora Calderón
    Sembrando Futuro/Sowing the Future. Director: Roberto Olivares Ruiz
    Cariñoso Maestro/Loving Teacher. Director: Maja Tillmann Salas
  • Human Rights category shared prize:
    La Generación Desaparecida/The Disappeared Generation. Director: Jan Thielen
    Cuando la Justicia se Hace Pueblo/Reclaiming Justice: Guerrero’s Indigenous Police. Director: Carlos Efraín Pérez (Mixe)
  • Human Rights category honorable mentions:
    Choropampa: el Precio del Oro/Choropampa: the Price of Gold. Directors: Ernesto Cabellos and Stephanie Boyd
    Trelew. Director: Mariana Arruti

For more information go to www.contraelsilencio.org.
5/10/04

Environmental Film Festival at Eckerd College (created from Native Visions, Native Voices Film Festival)

The 8th annual Environmental Film Festival at Eckerd College: Visions of Nature/Voices of Nature was presented February 23 - March 4, 2006, in St. Petersburg, Florida. One of the six film programs was "American Indians and the Environment," presented by Reaghan Tarbell of the NMAI's Film + Video Center. The works screened were A Thousand Roads (director: Chris Eyre) and Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action (director: Roberta Grossman).
4/5/06

The 7th annual Environmental Film Festival at Eckerd College: Visions of Nature/Voices of Nature was presented February 26 - March 5, 2005 in St. Petersburg, Florida. About twelve films were screened, discussed by the directors and scholars, including C.S.A.: the Confederate States of America, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Yellow Earth, and Edge of America, presented by director/producer Chris Eyre.
3/5/05

Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital

The 2007 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, March 15 - 25 in Washington, D.C. screened nearly 115 works at 46 different venues, with more than 20,000 people attending. The festival featured environmentally-themed productions from twenty-seven countries. Biologist E.O. Wilson, filmmaker George Butler, genome pioneer Craig Venter and New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman were among the 136 filmmakers, scientists and special guests who discussed their work at the Festival.

The National Museum of the American Indian presented Waterbuster, a film written, directed, produced, and edited by J. Carlos Peinado (Mandan/Hidatsa). The film investigates the impact of the massive Garrison Dam project, constructed on the Upper Missouri River in North Dakota in the 1950s, which laid waste a self-sufficient American Indian community, submerging 156,000 acres of fertile land, and ultimately displacing the filmmaker's own family and other people of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

Other programs with indigenous themes included two films by Chris Palmer. Save Rainforests, Save Lives features children in the rainforest of Ecuador, a leukemia patient at the Children's Hospital in Washington D.C. and others who owe their good health to the medicinal bounty of the rainforest. Protecting Life in the Rainforest tells the story of indigenous people and concerned friends from around the world and their efforts to preserve the treasures of the Napo River rainforest. Pachamama by Michael Schoenfeld highlights the efforts of a non-profit helping Ecuadorians protect their native lands. Ten Canoes, by Australian director Rolf de Heer, with an all-Aboriginal cast film, is a rumination on a community and oral tradition. Wellspring, directed by John Grabowska, is a film-in-the-making exploring the relationship of the Pueblo people to their ancestral lands and the placement of the atomic laboratory city of Los Alamos there.

For more information: www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org/2007FestivalReport.htm
7/17/07

The 2006 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, March 15 - 26 in Washington, D.C. screened nearly 100 works at more than 70 different events, with more than 20,000 people attending. The festival featured environmentally-themed productions from twenty-three countries. The National Museum of the American Indian presented At the Time of the Sturgeon (Ekospi Namew) followed by discussion with filmmaker Dennis Jackson (Cree) and editor Melanie Jackson (Metis/Saulteaux). This work is concerned with the fragile ecosystem of the Churchill River in Cree country in northern Saskatchewan. It was preceded by the animation Two Winters: Tales from Above the Earth (director: Carol Geddes (Tlingit). Other programs with indigenous themes included Banking on Disaster (director: Adrian Cowell), a documentary about the impact of the World Bank's support of highway construction in the Brazilian Amazon on both indigenous people and the impoverished Brazilians attracted to settle there. The screening, presented by American University's Center for Social Media and Center for Environmental Filmmaking, was followed by a panel discussion, "Can a Movie Save the Rainforest?" The National Museum of Natural History honored Bolivian director Jorge Ruiz and screened his 1953 fiction Vuelve Sebastiana, filmed with local actors in a remote Chipaya village in Bolivia.
For more information enter here.
8/11/06

The 2005 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, March 10 - 20 in Washington, D.C. screened approximately 130 works at more than thirty different venues. The festival featured environmentally-themed productions from thirty countries. On March 11 - 12, the National Museum of the American Indian presented two programs by indigenous directors. Okimah (director: Paul Rickard) focuses on the traditions and continuation of the Cree hunting way of life in his portrait of his father, an okimah, or traditional hunt master. The program was preceded by an animated Tales of Wesakechak: The First Spring Flood (directors: Gregory Coyes and George Johnson). Issues of water facing Native communities-hydroelectric projects and Native resistance in Mexico and Chile, obtaining adequate drinking water, and the protection of aquifers in desert lands-were featured in a program of short works: Punalka: The Upper Biobio (director: Jeannette Paillan), Esta Tierra Es Nuestra/This Land Is Ours (director: Guillermo Monteforte), La Lucha del Agua/Water and Autonomy (director: Israel for Chiapas Media Project), and Paatuwaqatsi: Water, Land and Life, introduced by director Victor Masayesva, Jr.
For more information enter here.
9/2/05

The 2004 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, March 18 - 28 in Washington, D.C., screened approximately 150 works at more than thirty different venues. International in scope, the festival featured environmentally-themed productions from thirty countries. On March 25-26, NMAI presented the Washington premieres of Totem: The Return of the G'psgolox Pole, introduced by director Gil Cardinal and NMAI repatriation specialist John Beaver, and Voices of the Sierra Tarahumara, introduced by director Robert Brewster and Environmental Defense attorney Bruce Rich.
For more information enter here.
4/1/04

Festival Internacional de Cine y Video de los Pueblos Indígenas (International Film and Video Festival of Indigenous Peoples)

The 7th Indigenous Film and Video Festival of the Americas was held June 18 - 24, 2004 in Santiago, Chile, featuring more than 100 productions. This year's events were coordinated by videomaker Jeanette Paillán (Mapuche) and local indigenous communications groups such as Lulul Mawida. Created in 1985 by the Latin American Council of Indigenous Peoples' Film and Communication (CLACPI- Consejo Latinoamericano de Cine y Comunicación de los Pueblos Indígenas), the festival supports the training, production and screening of indigenous video and film in Latin America. The festival is organized every two-three years and hosted on a rotating basis in different Latin American countries by local indigenous media makers and organizations. Works from Native communities and independent media makers throughout the Americas are invited to compete. The 2004 Festival jurors, from Chile, Cuba and Basque country in Spain, were Ramón Ibáñez Quispe (Aymara), Mario Tuki (Rapa Nui), Luis Alfaro Cutipa (Lickanantay), Lorena Lemuñir (Mapuche), Maria Julia Grillo, Juan Carlos Vásquez Velasco (Basque), Cecilia González, and Amalia Cordova.

Awards were given in the following categories:

  • Preservation of Cultural Identity: Wichi. Director: Mariano Rubino, Documenta SRL
  • Defense of Indigenous People's Rights: La Tierra, Nuestra Esperanza, La Resistencia al Plan Puebla - Panamá (The Land, Our Hope, Resistance to the Plan Puebla-Panama). Directors: Violeta Chávez (Isthmus Zapotec) and Bertha Rodríguez (Chatina) for UCIZONI and GTCI
  • Social-Organizational Process of Indigenous Peoples: La Lucha del Agua (The Water Struggle). Director: Israel, Promedios; Kikillan Tae Kancheq/Ayllus en Paz (Peace in the Ayllus). Directors: Humberto Claros (Quechua) and Ariel Yáñez (Aymara), CEFREC-CAIB
  • Artistic Creation: El Día 2 (Day 2). Director: Dante Cerano (P'urhepecha), Exe Video
  • Best Fiction with Indigenous Participation: Los Angeles de la Tierra/Angels of the Earth. Director: Patricio Luna (Aymara), CEFREC-CAIB.
  • Testimonial and Documentary Value: Marangmotxíngmo Mïrang: From the Ikpeng Children to the World. Directors: Kumaré Txicao (Ikpeng), Karané Txicao (Ikpeng), and Natuyu Yuwipo Txicao (Ikpeng), Video nas Aldeias; La Hoja Sagrada/The Sacred Leaf. Director: Marta Rodriguez, Cine Documental; Üxüf Xipay/El Despojo (The Spoils). Director: Dauno Tótoro, Ceibo Producciones.
  • Best Mise-en-Scene: Qom 'Leec/La Gente (The People). Director: Leo Rodríguez
  • Lifetime Achievement: To the producer/director Jeannette Paillan (Mapuche), director of Wallmapu

Honorable Mentions:

  • Denouncing ecological disasters and their impact on indigenous communities: Una Muerte en Sion/A Death in Zion. Director: Adam Goldstein for Racimos de Ungurahui and the Achuar Federations of the Corrientes River.
  • Women's struggles: Xulum'chon: Weavers in Resistance from the Highlands. Director: José Luis (Tzotzil), Promedios.
  • Emergent themes-genetic engineering: Raweke Ira, Genetic Manipulation. Director: Robert Pouwhare (Maori); Squ' inal lxim - Fiesta del Maíz El Tercer Encuentro de Maíx Maya Zoque (Squ'inal lxim - Festival of Maize, The Third Summit of Maize Maya Zoque). Directors: José Angel Lopez Domínguez and Roberto Corzo León for CIESAS - (CESMECA-UNICACH) and Regiones Autónomas Pluriétnicas.
  • Urban Indians: Johnny Greyeyes. Director: Jorge Manzano, Nepantla Films.
  • Rescue of Indigenous Music: Son de la Tierra/Song of the Earth. Director: Jorge (Tzotzil), Promedios.

All translations in parenthesis are provided by the NMAI Film + Video Center and are for informational purposes only. For Amalia Cordova's festival diary enter here.
9/9/04

First Americans in the Arts Awards

First Americans in the Arts (FAITA) held its 15th annual Awards Presentations with Wes Studi serving as Master of Ceremonies and Host for the second year in a row. FAITA is a non-profit organization created to recognize, honor and promote American Indian participation in the entertainment industry. The annual awards event is the principle fundraiser for scholarships awarded to students pursuing careers in film, television, theater, and music.

  • Outstanding Performance by an Actor: Rudy Youngblood in Apocalypto
  • Outstanding Performance by an Actress (Theatre): Thirza Defoe in Stoneheart by playwright Diane Glancy and Native Voices
  • Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Film (Supporting): Mizuo Peck in Night at the Museum
  • Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Film (Supporting): Morris Birdyellowhead in Apocalypto
  • Outstanding Achievement in Traditional Music: Mary Youngblood for Dancing With the Wind
  • Outstanding Achievement in Writing: Rhiana Yazzie for Navajo Nation
  • Outstanding Achievement in Music (Contemporary): Arigon Starr for her CD Red Road
  • Outstanding Achievement (Technical): Tricia Wood for Casting
  • Humanitarian Award: Sundance Institute—Bird Runningwater accepting
  • Will Sampson Memorial Award: Native Star Dance Team of New Mexico
  • Trustee Award: Icon Pictures, Mel Gibson for Apocalypto
  • Legacy Award: Te Ata (Born Mary Thompson)—Accepted by Lt. Govenor Jefferson Keel of the Chickasaw Nation
  • Miss Indian World: Violet John

7/17/07

First Americans in the Arts (FAITA) held its 14th annual Awards Presentations on March 25, 2006, with Wes Studi serving as Master of Ceremonies and Host. FAITA is a non-profit organization created to recognize, honor and promote American Indian participation in the entertainment industry. The annual awards event is the principle fundraiser for scholarships awarded to students pursuing careers in film, television, theater, and music. The evening featured performances by Jana, winner of the NAMMY's Female Artist of the Year, by FAITA's Outstanding Musical Achievement winner Quese iMC, and by Arigon Starr. who presented an excerpt from the play The Red Road.

  • Best Director: Chris Eyre for Edge of America
  • Best Actor-TV Movie: Zahn McClarnon in Into the West
  • Best Actress-TV Movie: Tonantzin Carmelo in Into the West
  • Best Actress-TV Series: Kristin Cheneweth in The West Wing
  • Best Supporting Actor-Feature Film: August Schellenberg in The New World
  • Best Supporting Actress-Feature Film: Kristin Cheneweth in Bewitched
  • Best Supporting Actor-TV Movie: Tyler Christopher in Into the West
  • Best Supporting Actress-TV Movie: Delanna Studi in Edge of America
  • Best New Performance (Film or TV): Nakota La Rance in Into the West
  • Best Actress-Theater: Elena Finney in Kino and Theresa
  • Best Musical Achievement: Quese iMC
  • Lifetime Musical Achievement Award: Link Wray, guitar pioneer and inventor of the powerchord
  • Best Achievement in Stunts: Dutch Lunak, stunt coordinator for Into the West
  • Best Technical Arts: Stephanie Stonefish Ryan
  • Humanitarian Award: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and ABC Entertainment for the show's 2-hour season finale, "The Piestewa Family"
  • Legacy Award: Roy Track, popular powwow announcer
  • Trustee Award: Q'orianka Kilcher
  • Will Sampson Memorial Award: San Manuel Indians for the Extreme Home Makeover Project

4/5/06


The 13th annual awards of First Americans in the Arts were announced on March 15, 2005 in Los Angeles. FAITA is a non-profit organization created to recognize, honor and promote American Indian participation in the entertainment industry. The annual awards event is the principal fund-raiser for scholarships awarded to students pursuing careers in film, television, theater, and music:

  • Outstanding Lead Actor: Wes Studi in PBS' A Thief of Time
  • Outstanding Lead Actress: Julia Jones in Black Cloud
  • Best Supporting Actor-Feature Film: Russell Means in Black Cloud
  • Best Director: Chris Eyre for A Thief of Time
  • Best Supporting Actress-Television: Alex Rice in A Thief of Time
  • Best Supporting Actor-Television: Graham Greene in A Thief of Time
  • Outstanding Performance in TV Series (Recurring): Karina Lombard for her role as Marina in The L Word
  • Outstanding Guest Performance in a TV Series: Steve Reevis in ABC's Line of Fire
  • Outstanding New Performance in Film or TV: Kelly Byars in A Thief of Time
  • Outstanding Lead Actress in Theater: Arigon Starr in Please Do Not Touch the Indian at the Wells Fargo Theater, Autry National Center
  • Outstanding Lead Actor in Theater: Andrew Roa in Please Do Not Touch the Indian
  • Best Musical Achievement: Jimmy Lee Young for his new album Maya
  • Hall of Honor Award: Jim Thorpe, who has also been selected posthumously as ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Century
  • Humanitarian Award: The Recording Academy for creating a Native American Category for the GRAMMY Awards
  • Legacy Award: Clu Gulager, has appeared in a long list of films, including Feast directed by his son, John Gulager. Gulager is the cousin of Will Rogers.
  • Lifetime Achievement in Stunts: Hall Needham (Blackfoot)
  • Trustee Award: to independent Los Angeles filmmaker, Ian Skorodin (Choctaw)
  • Will Sampson Memorial Award: Owens Valley Career Development Center/Akatubi Film & Music Academy. In 2002 with the help of Native professionals in the entertainment industry, they created a digital film and music academy for you. More than 240 young people have participated since its founding

3/17/05

The 12th annual awards of First Americans in the Arts were announced on March 20, 2004 in Los Angeles:

  • Outstanding Lead Performance in a Film - Actor: Eric Schweig (Inuit) in The Missing - Revolution Studios/Imagine Entertainment
  • Outstanding Lead Performance in a TV Movie - Actor: Nathaniel Arcand (Plains Cree) in The Lone Ranger - Turner Television/Turner Films
  • Outstanding Lead Performance in a TV Movie - Actress: Stepfanie Kramer (Eastern Band Cherokee) in Hunter: Back in Force - 20th Century Fox Television/NBC Studios
  • Outstanding Supporting Performance in a TV Movie/Special - Actor: Eddie Spears (Lakota Sioux) in Dreamkeeper - ABC Television Network/Hallmark Entertainment
  • Outstanding Supporting Performance in a TV Movie/Special - Actress: Delanna Studi (Cherokee) in Dreamkeeper
  • Outstanding Guest Performance in a TV Drama Series: Graham Greene (Oneida) in Mister Sterling - NBC Studios/Universal Network Television
  • Outstanding Performance in TV Series (Recurring): Mitch Longley (Passamoquoddy/Penobscot) in Las Vegas - Dream Works/NBC Studios
  • Outstanding New Performance in Film or TV: Teneil Whiskeyjack (Saddle Lake First Nation) in Dreamkeeper
  • Outstanding Achievement in Producing (Special Award): Tiffany R. Delorme (Choctaw)
  • Outstanding Achievement in Technical Arts: Monty Bass (Sac and Fax/Creek)
  • Outstanding Achievement in Stunts: Henry Kingi, Jr. (Cherokee)
  • Outstanding Lead Performance in Theater - Actress: Arigon Starr (Kickapoo) in Buzz' Gem Blues - Native Voices
  • Outstanding Performance in Theater - Actor: Michael Horse (Mescalero Apache/Yaqui/Zuni) in Buzz' Gem Blues
  • Outstanding Musical Achievement - Independent: Darren Geffre (Blackfoot) in "Uncivilized" - independent
  • Outstanding Musical Achievement - Contemporary: Chester Knight (Cree) in "Standing Strong" - SOAR Corporation
  • Outstanding Musical Achievement - Traditional: Black Lodge Singers (Blackfeet) in "Brotherhood" - Canyon Records
  • Humanitarian Award: John Fusco, screenwriter for Dreamkeeper, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Thunderheart, and Hidalgo. "His sensitivity to Indian people, their history, their stories and their need to be told put him into the running for this award. He has earned it beyond question."
  • Humanitarian Award - Stunts: Norman Howell for his work as stunt coordinator who trained 20 Native American men as stunt men in Dances with Wolves, all of whom went on to become professionals in the business. Howell continues to employ and train Native American stuntmen.
  • Trustee Award: Hallmark Entertainment, Robert Halmi Sr., and Robert Halmi Jr. "The time and effort they took to consult with each Nation represented in Dreamkeeper to assure accuracy in every detail was extraordinary, their dedication to casting every role with Native American actors earned them this prestigious award."
  • Trustee Award: ABC Television Network for Dreamkeeper
  • Trustee Award: Tony Hillerman, novelist "for his accurate and sympathetic portrayals of Indian life in his novels."
  • Will Sampson Memorial Award: KTNN Radio, The Voice of the Navajo Nation

6/7/04

First Nations Film and Video Festival of Chicago

The First Nations Film and Video Festival, produced by Chicago's American Indian Center, was held November 14 - 19, 2005 in Chicago, Illinois. NMAI's A Thousand Roads (director: Chris Eyre) was screened on November 17 at the festival's special reception at the American Indian Center. Other films screened were 5th World (director: Blackhorse Lowe), The Gift of Diabetes (director: Brion Whitford), Playing at Happiness (directors: Stephani Etheridge Woodson and youth filmmakers from Gila River Indian Community), and Two Worlds Colliding (director: Taisha Hubbard). Screening venues in Chicago and adjoining suburbs included Trickster Gallery, North Park University, the American Indian Center, Hull House, University of Chicago, and Mitchell Indian Museum.
For contact information, enter here.
2/2/06

The 8th First Nations Film and Video Festival was held in Chicago on November 15 - 21, 2004. Sponsored by the American Indian Center and Red Path Theater Company, the festival presented 42 works by and about Native Americans, with screenings at 10 venues in the Chicago area. Director Chris Eyre (Cheyenee/Arapaho) gave a November 17 lecture "From Dances with Wolves to Smoke Signals: Re-Inventing Indians On Screen". Directors attending the November 19 reception at the American Indian Center included Roderick Pocowachit (Pawnee/Shawnee/Comanche), Frederick Lane (Lummi), and Ernest Whiteman III (Arapaho).
For more information, contact Dave Spencer of the American Indian Center, at 773-275-5871.
11/15/04

First Nations of Abya Yala Film and Video Festival

The IV First Nations of Abya Yala Film and Video Festival was held November 16 - 28, 2001 in Ecuador. After opening in Quito, the Festival moved to indigenous communities throughout the country for screenings from November 17 - 23. Screenings were held in Quito November 24-28. The Festival then toured Spain as the Muestra de Cine Indigena de Abya Yala/Indigenous Film from Abya Yala.

The Festival's Lanza de Amaru juried awards carry the names of the eleven indigenous nations in Ecuador.The prizes given were created by Native artists and artisans.

  • Shuar Prize: Best Fiction. Qati-Qati, Susurro de Muerte/Murmurs of Death. Director: Reinaldo Yujra, Bolivia
  • Secoya Prize: Best Narration. Oro Maldito/Cursed Gold. Director: Marcelino Pinto, Bolivia
  • Tsa'chila Prize: Creativity. El Diablo Nunca Duerme/The Devil Never Sleeps**. Director: Humberto Paz, Bolivia
  • Kichwa Prize: Culture. Waia Rini, O Poder do Sonho/Waia Rini, The Power of the Dream. Director: Divino Tserewahu, Brazil
  • Siona Prize: History. La Palabra Desenterrada/The Haunted Land. Director: Mary Ellen Davis, Canada
  • Cofan Prize. Not Awarded
  • Chachi Prize: Collective Rights. El Silencio de los Zapatistas/The Silence of the Zapatistas. Directors: Paco, Marvin, Saul and Solin, Mexico
  • Achuar Prize: Education and Training. Educacion en Resistencia/Education in Resistance. Directors: Moises and Antonio, Mexico
  • Epera Prize: Gender. Vamos Siendo Parejos/Let's Be Equal. Director: Roberto Olivares, Mexico
  • Zapara Prize: Environment. Defender los Bosques/To Defend the Forest. Director: Carlos Efrain, Mexico
  • Awa Prize: World View. Pewma, El conflicto en el Sueno Mapuche/Conflict in Mapuche Dreaming. Director: Jaime Garcia Henriquez, Chile
  • Huaroni Prize: Migration. Familia Migrante/Migrant Family. Director: Raul Maximo Cortes, Mexico

2/18/04

First Peoples' Festival Film & Video Showcase/Présence authoctone

The 2007 First Peoples' Festival/Presence Authoctone, June 10 - 21, was held in various locations in Montreal. The film and video programs are part of the festival, which is organized by the Land InSights Society as a 9-day celebration of art, film, music, the written word, storytelling, and dance from the First Nations of Canada and other indigenous peoples from the Americas. The Festival always includes events on June 21, Canada's National Aboriginal Day. Opening Night screened the romantic and off-beat comedy from New Zealand, Eagle vs. Shark (director: Taika Waititi) and more than forty five films were screened. Awards were given:

Creation Category

  • Teueikan Grand Prize: William. Director: Eron Sheean
  • Teueikan Second Prize: Tuli. Director: Aurelio Solito

Community Category

  • Rigoberta Menchu Grand Prize: Pirinop, My First Contact. Directors: Mari Corrêa and Karané Txicao
  • Rigoberta Menchu Second Prize: Weaving Worlds. Director: Bennie Klain

Séquence Magazine Awards for Documentary

  • Best Documentary: Riding with Ghosts. Directors: Joe Hubers and James Starkey
  • Special Honor: Kiviaq vs. Canada. Director: Zacharias Kunuk

Best Short: Imbé Gikegu/The Scent of the Pequi Fruit. Directors: Takuma Kuikuro and Marica Kuikuro

Best Animation: Popul Vuh. Director: Ana María Pávez

Best Cinematography: Anna Howard for William (director: Eron Sheean)

Main Film Youth Award: Kevin Papate and Gilles Penoway for Wabak

The Festival awarded the Dr. Bernard Chagnan Assiniwi Prize to athlete and leader Billy Two Rivers.
8/29/07

The 2006 First Peoples' Festival/Presence authoctone, May 25 - June 8 and June 21 - 25, was held in various locations in Montreal. The film and video programs are a key part of the festival, which is organized by the Land InSights Society as a 9-day celebration of art, film, music, the written word, storytelling, and dance from the First Nations of Canada and other indigenous peoples from the Americas. This year's awards were:

Creation Category

Communities Category

  • Rigoberta Menchu Grand Prize: Urban Inuk (Qallunajatut). Director: Jobie Weetaluktuk
  • Rigoberta Menchu Second Prize: Nikamun/Chanson. Director: Myriam Caron
  • Special Mention: Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis. Director: Gil Cardinal

Séquence Magazine Documentary Prize

  • Brockett 99-Rockin' the Country. Director: Nilesh C. Patel

Cinematography Prize

Main Film Youth Award

4/05/07

The 15th First Peoples’ Festival, held June 13 - 22, 2005, showcased over 80 documentaries, feature and short fictions, and music videos, with screenings at the National Film Board in Montreal and on the Kahnawake Mohawk Reserve. A highlight of this year’s festival was a special retrospective of the work, 1970s to the present, of Bolivian filmmaker, Jorge Sanjines, who presented his most recent film, Los Hijos del ultimo jardín. The festival, organized by Land InSights Society for the Promotion of Native Culture, is a 9-day celebration of art, film, music, the written word, storytelling and dance from the First Nations of Canada and indigenous peoples from North and South America. Each year the festival coincides with Canada’s National Aboriginal Day on June 21.

Award-winning films were:

Creation Category (two grand prizes)

Communities Category

  • Rigoberta Menchu Tum Grand Prize: Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwai. Director: Kevin MacMahon.
  • Rigoberta Menchu Tum Second Prize: Heavy Metal. Directors: Neil Diamond (Cree) and Jean-Pierre Maher.

Séquences Prizes

  • Best Documentary Feature Film. Basal Banar. Director: Kanakan Balintagoes.
  • Best Documentary Short. Mujaan. Director: Chriss McKee.

9/2/05

2002 First Peoples' Film Festival, held June 10 - 21 in Montreal, announces its awards:

Communities Category
  • Rigoberta Menchu Tum Grand Prize: Shomotsi by Vincent Carelli and Valdete Pinhanta Ashenika (Ashenika). Produced by Video nas Aldeias/Video in the Villages, Brazil
  • Rigoberta Menchu Tum 2nd Prize. Rocks with Wings by Rick Derby
  • Rigoberta Menchu Tum 3rd Prize: Boomtown by Bryan Gunnar Cole

Creation Category

For more information go to www.nativelynx.qc.ca/English/2002prix.htm.
 9/02/02

Awards are announced for the 2003 First Peoples' Film Festival, held June 10-22 in Montreal:

  • Community Category Rigoberta Menchu Tum Grand Prize
    1st Prize: If the Weather Permits. Director: Elisapie Isaac (Inuit)
    2nd Prize: The Spirit of Annie Mae. Director: Catherine Ann Martin (Mik'maq)
  • Creation Category Teueikan Grand Prize
    1st Prize: Tu es, je suis...l'invention des Jivaros. Director: Yves de Peretti
    2nd Prize: The Bow and the Lyre. Director: Priscilla Barrak Ermel

For more information go to www.nativelynx.qc.ca/.
1/30/04

Geografías Suaves Cine/Video/Sociedad
(Soft Geographies Film and Video Festival)

The 2004 Geografías Suaves Cine/Video/Sociedad festival in Mexico was presented April 30 - May 7 in Mérida, Yucatán; was then shown in several community settings, and concluded July 31 - August 7 in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca. This sixth annual presentation included invitational screenings, a children's program, multimedia events, workshops, a roundtable discussion about the boundaries of documentary, and an open forum to present projects and discuss issues.

  • Bichito de Maíz Award/Best Work in Indigenous Language:
    Guie' Bigua. Director: Mayra