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Austin Box, an elder and artist from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe; Jeanne Rubin, the festival director; and Morris Te White Love, a member of the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management board of directors listen to Natasha Keating welcoming remarks. With Natasha is her son Te Ahiraa Asher. |
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Maori artist and filmmaker, Natasha Keating shares stories of Aotearoa with Lynn Chambers at the opening of her show at Jack and Robin Lima's Native American Trading Company. |
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Filmmakers Andrew MacLean, Tracy Rector, and Miranda McCoy talk shop at the Starz FilmCenter. |
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Millie and David Lester flank his sister, Lillian Kahler, at The Trail of Tears. |
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Filmmakers Lurline Wailana McGregor and Steve Heape at the screening of Steve's "The Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy" at the University of Denver. |
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David Redhorse and the student filmmakers from Merrill Middle School celebrate the premier of their film, "The Bear Paw." |
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Filmmaker Paul Rickard visits with architect Daniel Glenn, one of the featured architects in Paul's latest film, "Aboriginal Architecture-Living Architecture." |
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A contingent from the St. James Catholic School was among the audience for the Indigenous Film & Arts Festival school program. |
Denver. The International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management presented its Annual Indigenous Film & Arts Festival on September 26 – October 1. Now in its third year, the Festival opened with a preview reception of “Whakawhiti Te Moana (To Cross an Ocean)” at the Native American Trading Company. Gallery owners Jack and Robin Lima were joined by Southern Ute elder Austin Box who welcomed Maori artist Natasha Keating to the ancestral homelands of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. Morris Te Whiti Love, one of the directors of the Institute, acknowledged the welcome on behalf of Natasha according to Maori tradition. The strains of traditional native flute and a single guitar filled the intimate space as friends and colleagues of the Institute, the Rocky Mountain Indian Chamber of Commerce, the Douglas Society and the Native American Trading Company gathered to hear Natasha speak. “I was a bit concerned about coming to Denver with only my artwork, and not being able to include the works of other Maori artists, but I feel right at home displaying my work in this gallery surrounded by the art of so many indigenous artists.”
The theme of this year's Festival was “Place: Indigenous Peoples Relationship to the Land and the Water.” The opening film, “The Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy” screened on September 27th at Davis Auditorium on the University of Denver campus to a packed house. Executive Producer/Producer Steven Heape and Director Chip Richie were on hand to answer audience questions after the screening. On September 28th the Festival took up residence at the Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli.
The annual school program included an ethnically diverse group of students from seven public and private schools in Denver and Jefferson Counties. The school program this year consisted entirely of student-made films with many of the student filmmakers present to introduce their works. Students from Merrill Middle School, one of Denver's Indian Focus Schools, were on hand for the theatrical premiere of their animated film “The Bear Paw,” which they produced through a partnership with PlatteForum and the Denver Art Museum. Students traveled from as far away as the Swinomish Tribe in Washington state to be part of the event. All of the professional filmmakers participated in the student program, and all counted it among the Festival's highlights. Producer Steven Heape (The Trail of Tears) summed up the collective sentiment of the veteran filmmakers when he described the morning as “a great experience being able to visit with the next generation of Native American film makers.”
The lineup of films continued with “Aboriginal Architecture – Living Architecture,” a look at how indigenous architects are reinterpreting and adapting traditional forms for contemporary purposes. Cree filmmaker Paul Rickard was joined by Crow architect Daniel Glenn for a post-screening discussion on how Native architects and designers are using old and new materials and techniques, with an emphasis on harmony and balance, to meld current community needs with tradition. Glenn's slideshow took the audience on an armchair tour of his varied and innovative designs in indigenous communities across North American.
A full slate of filmmakers was on hand to address the audience at our program of North American Shorts & Documentaries on September 29th. Veteran filmmaker Paul Rickard presented his dramatization “The Winter Chill,” and long-time producer and director Jeffry Silverman gave us insights into Alaskan Native cultures in “Living From the Land and Sea.” Film student Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, completing his graduate studies in film at NYU transported us to his home in the arctic north with “Seal Hunting with Dad,” then took us back to the streets of Manhattan in an innovative telling of a traditional Inuit story “The Snaring Madman.” A rare treat for Denver was the presence Vivienne Jake, cofounder of the Salt Song Project, who gave us insights into the meaning and importance of the songs following the screening of “The Salt Song Trail: Bringing Creation Back Together.”
On September 30th the Festival featured a day of Aboriginal Australian shorts, documentaries and feature film. A delegation of film students from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe who drove up for the Festival had an eye-opening experience. “We learned so much by coming here,” said Nigel Long Soldier. “I didn't know about the boarding schools and the lost generations of Aboriginal Australians – that they had so many of the same experiences as Indians in the U.S. We definitely want to come back next year.”
Rounding out the program was the closing night of Hawaiian films, presented in partnership with the Pi'ilani Hawaiian Civic Club. “Heart of the Sea: Kapolioka'ehukai ” presented a moving portrait of Rell Sunn, legendary pioneer of women's professional surfing. Rell was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32. Even while battling the disease and becoming an activist for breast cancer awareness, Rell continued to surf and work with kids. Through surfing she helped Hawaiian kids connect with their native traditions and build the confidence and self-esteem that she embodied. This moving tribute was a fitting selection for the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The final film of the Festival was “Hokule'a – Guiding Star” about the voyage of the Höküle'a, the Hawaiian double-hulled canoe, to Rapa Nui (Easter Island). As we traveled with the crew of the Höküle'a, we saw the passion which fueled the voyage and the journey to relearn and reestablish the old ways. The film vividly demonstrates that “place” for Polynesians, was not only their lands, but the entire expanse of the Pacific Ocean .
After a week of festivities, Institute Director Morrie Love addressed a small gathering of filmmakers, sponsors and audience members at the Closing Night Reception. “We opened with an art exhibit ‘Whakawhiti Te Moana – To Cross an Ocean' a reference to Natasha's ocean-voyaging ancestors, and came full circle with a film about the Hokule'a that actually did cross an ocean.” In a week full of connections, that realization brought us all a bit closer together and made us feel we had completed our own successful journey. As we looked back over the past week, we were also looking forward to next year's event.
The Institute partnered with more than 20 local, national and international sponsors, including community groups, corporations and tribal organizations, to present the Third Annual Indigenous Film & Arts Festival. The Premier Sponsors were the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Marriott TownePlace Suites. Presenting Sponsors included: Coors Brewing Company, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, and the Native American Trading Company. Associate Sponsors included the Alaska Native Heritage Center, Legal Design, Moccasin Path Productions and Te Waka Toi (Creative New Zealand). Supporting Sponsors included Alire Facilitation Group, Basil Doc's Pizza, Consulate General of Canada (Denver), Counsel of Energy Resource Tribes, Creative Eye Framing & Gallery, Kennecott Exploration Company, KUVO Jazz 89, Pi'ilani Hawaiian Civic Club and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Contributing Sponsors included Accu-Type Printing, The Colorado Indian Education Association, Kaiser Permanente, the National Tribal Environmental Council, the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Individual Film Sponsors & Hosts included: Holland & Hart, LLP and Wright Water Engineers, Inc.
Are you interested in film? Filmmaking? Does the idea of hanging out and talking shop with indigenous filmmakers from all over the world sound like your idea of an evening well-spent? Well then, you might want to consider signing up for an internship with the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management, the organizer of the Indigenous Film & Arts Festival.
Volunteering as an Institute intern will offer you a great opportunity to experience a broad perspective on all aspects of the film festival by working closely with the festival staff. These internships afford you an excellent opportunity to acquire the necessary organizational, communication, management, and other skills required to organize and put on an international film festival. The internships require a commitment of 10 to 15 hours per week and a set working schedule for you to be in the Institute offices.
Please e-mail us a resume or call Jeanne Rubin, the festival organizer at 303-733-0481.