Indigenous Action Media (IAM), Flagstaff Cultural Partners (FCP) and the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA) present Flagstaff’s first Native American Film and Video Festival celebrating works of Native American film and video makers from the Southwest. The festival will showcase feature length films, documentaries, shorts, music videos, and experimental film and video.
“We are very excited to offer a remarkable selection of films and video from the Southwest,” says Klee Benally, Director of IAM. “There have been so many movies made about Native Americans, now were telling our own stories.”
The Festival will begin with “We’re Still Here” by Dustin Craig (White Mountain Apache/Dine’), a feature documentary reflecting on family and tribal ties, that was part of the national PBS series “Matters of Race”; “Bitter Water: Dine’ Chronicles of Resistance,” a work in progress addressing forced relocation in Northern Arizona by Malcolm Benally (Dine’); “Hear Our Voices,” a documentary short confronting issues with uranium mining by students of Monument Valley High School; “Dada Yada,” a short film that poses thought-provoking questions about history and racism in a post 911 world, by Bennie Klain (Dine’), and Sheephead Films shorts by Dine’ director Shonie De La Rosa and more.
Saturday screenings feature Norman Brown’s (Dine’) PBS special on diabetes, “Horse Song,” as well as various shorts and works by Native youth and other filmmakers. There is also a panel discussion on Native youth productions.
At 7 p.m., view “Roast Mutton and Comedy Stew” featuring comedians James and Ernie and Bennie Klain’s “Return of Navajo Boy,” which chronicles an extraordinary chain of events, beginning with the appearance of a 1950s film reel, which lead to the return of a long lost brother to his Navajo family. Shorts films will be shown throughout the evening with discussions by the filmmakers.
For more information go to www.culturalpartners.org. Friday, July 16, 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 17, 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The cost is $5/afternoon or $10/evenings. For further information and tickets please call 928/779-2300.