The Sundance Film Festival presents 11 of the year’s most anticipated Indigenous films, bringing issues of sovereignty, identity, loss and redemption to international audiences.
Indigenous films, which include well-known actors and filmmakers as well as newcomers to the limelight, are among the 110 feature films and 64 short films selected from nearly 16,000 entries for this year’s festival. was.
The festival begins Thursday, January 19th and runs through January 29th in Park City, Utah. This year’s festival will also include, for the first time, the IllumiNative Indigenous Home, featuring discussions, music and events.
“For Indigenous filmmakers, this year is one of the strongest in recent memory, not only in terms of the number of films at this year’s festival, but also in terms of the diversity of their productions.” Sundance said a programmer for the Institute’s Indigenous Film Program and the Sundance Film Festival. ICT.
“This has been a great year for Indigenous cinema, and it shows that things have not only changed over the past year, they have thrived.”
Films range from dramatic narratives and documentaries to experimental works, horror and comedy, and include one of the first films to receive the Cherokee Nation’s Film Incentive starting in 2022.
Piron said Aboriginal films offer an impressive line-up.
“You can’t go wrong if you see one of them over the other,” he said. “What I love about this year is that it’s a chance to dig deep and delve into what’s going on in Indigenous cinema and its endless possibilities.”
Themes are not used as judging criteria, but Piron said that certain issues appeared on the screen.
“We don’t curate the film around a particular theme, but looking back, we can see that certain issues were clearly more prominent in the discourse the artist attempted. The various forms of sovereignty that emerge from this are a fairly prominent theme this year, and can evolve into issues around the environment, politics, tribal rights, and more.”
He said these issues surfaced in many films.
“From the literal interrogation of policies featured in ‘Bad Press’ and ‘Twice Colonized,’ to ‘Gush,’ ‘Sunflower Siege Engine,’ ‘Hawaiki,’ ‘Headdress,’ and ‘I’m at home. He said.
“It’s central to ‘Fancy Dance’ and ‘The Bighorn Murders,’ and these films really ask why indigenous communities have to face problems such as: [missing and murdered Indigenous women] On their own land and mainly through their own resources. “
With 11 movies by 11 very different artists, it’s been an incredibly strong year. This is a testament to the creative richness and diversity happening in Indigenous cinema. “
Here is a list of Indigenous films featured at the festival:
‘fancy dance‘
Director/Producer: Erica Tremblay (Seneca-Cayuga), co-wrote the screenplay with Misiana Alice (Tlingit)
Section: US Dramatic Competition
Date: January 20th Premiere
An Indigenous woman abducts a niece from the child’s white grandparents while searching for her missing sister, as Sundance magazine describes it:
The film features native talent and a crew, including actors Lily Gladstone, Blackfeet and Nimipuu, who will appear in this year’s Killers of the Flower Moon. Isabel Deroy Olson of Canada, “Three Pines”. Ryan Begay, Dineh, “Breaking Bad” Cherokee Tribal Film Office officials and other Oklahoma film officials will join Tremblay and the cast and crew in supporting Native Films during the festival.
‘bad behavior‘
Producers: Desray Armstrong, Te-Aitanga-a-Hauiti and Ngāti Porou, New Zealand (with Molly Hallam)
Section: World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Date: January 21st Premiere
The film follows former child star Lucy, played by Jennifer Connelly, who decides to seek enlightenment on a spiritual retreat while grappling with her tumultuous relationship with her daughter, a stunt performer. Written and directed by Alice Englert.
‘bad press‘
Director: Rebecca Lansbury-Baker, Muskogee (Creek)
Section: US Documentary Contest
Date: January 22nd Premiere
After the Muscogee (Creek) Nation begins censoring press freedom, Mvskoke Media reporters fight for transparency and access.
‘spurt‘
Director/Writer/Producer: Fox Maxy, Payómkawichum and Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians
Section: New Frontier
Date: January 20th Premiere
The film is a reflection on both male and female power, which Sundance describes as “a stream-of-consciousness meditation on the effects of sexual violence and the healing effects of collective pleasure.”
“Double Colonization”
Producer: Emil Hertling Peronal, Inuit of Greenland. Alethea Arnakku Baril, Inuit. Stacey Agrok McDonald, Inuit.and Bob Moore
Section: World Cinema Documentary Competition
Date: January 23rd Premiere
The film follows Aju Peter, a leading Inuit lawyer who has fought for the indigenous peoples of the Arctic for many years, as he embarks on a journey to reclaim his language and culture after the death of his son.
‘bighorn murder‘
Producers: Razelle Benally, Oglala/Lakota, Diné. and brothers Ivan and Ivy MacDonald, Blackfeet
Section: Premier
Date: January 22nd Premiere
The three-part documentary, set on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations, explores the disappearance of Indigenous women and girls in rural Montana in what Sundance describes as an epidemic that “began almost 200 years ago.” investigating the circumstances surrounding
“Hawaiki”
Director/Screenplay: Nova Paul, Te Uri Lo Roy, Te Palauhau/Ga Puhi
Section: Short Film Program
Date: January 21st Premiere
The film tells of a refuge called Hawaiki created by the children of the Okiwi school as a haven with spiritual and metaphysical connections for the Maori people.
‘headdress‘
Director/Screenwriter/Co-Producer: Tai Etzaron: Sele “Thai” Reclair, Kanienke Harka (Mohawk), Mikmak
Section: Short Film Program
Date: January 23rd Premiere
According to Sundance, a queer native confronted with a non-native wearing a ceremonial headdress at a music festival “must examine his own mind to discover the correct responses from different versions of his identity.” I will retreat to.”
‘I am at home‘
Director/Screenplay: Kimon Greyhorse, Navajo, Tonga
Section: Short Film Program
Date: January 20th Premiere
This short film examines introspection and identity. As Sundance points out, “Aboriginal peoples may look different from each other, but they are fundamentally the same, made from Mother Earth – mud, wood, love, and patience.”
‘sunflower siege weapons‘
Director: Sky Hopinka, Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians
Section: Short Film Program
Date: January 19th Premiere
Various movements are interwoven using documents from Alcatraz, the settlement of Cahokia, and the repatriation of the tribe’s ancestors.
‘fetal bill‘
Director/Screenplay: Inga Erin Malakat, Sami
Section: Midnight Short Film Program
Date: January 20th Premiere
A pregnant widow survives by stealing silver from the corpse to feed her daughter, but soon discovers that silver is cursed.
More information
Films are available in person over several days, and some are available online during the festival. The 2023 Sundance Film Festival has in-person and online packages for sale.
The Sundance Film Festival was founded by actor/producer Robert Redford, who has championed Indigenous causes and films for over 40 years. After the success of the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Redford purchased a ski resort near Provo, Utah and renamed it Sundance after his character.
He founded the Sundance Film Festival, now the largest and most prestigious festival for independent film, with workshop labs, grants and community screenings. The Sundance Institute started the Indigenous Film Program in 1994.
This article is reprinted with permission from Indian Country Today. To view the original story, please visit: https://ictnews.org/news/indigenous-films-featured-at-2023-sundance-film-festival.
