#native cinema

Native Cinema Showcase All films on demand November 17–24, 2023

"The visibility [of Natives in contemporary film] is there. I think there are still misrepresentations in film. As far as Native Cinema is concerned, there's a big push to get more Native filmmakers in the industry - not only independent films but in commercial films as well. What is going to change things is to have more Native producers, more Native directors, more Native writers out there. It's there, but education is the key, talking about it, and changing the way we make films." Missy Whiteman on MPR News

SOAPBOX SATURDAY CONTINUES:

Drunktown’s Finest, written and produced by Diné filmmaker Sydney Freeland, opened to positive reviews at the Sundance film festival in 2014. That upbeat reception followed the film as it screened in independent and major theaters throughout the country. By popular demand, it returned in recent weeks to Albuquerque, Phoenix, and several other cities with large Native populations...

By ICTMN Staff August 13, 2012

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A still from "Mosquita y Mari"      

The Native Cinema Showcase runs from August 13-19 in Santa Fe, NM, concurrent with the flurry of arts activity known as Santa Fe Indian Market week, which culminates in the massive Santa Fe Indian Market on August 18 and 19.

The Showcase features some of today’s best and most interesting Native filmmaking; auteurs include the young and the old, and productions range from just a few minutes to feature-length works.

You may not be able to attend the screenings in Santa Fe, but here at ICTMN.com we’re bringing you some flavor of what you might see; the Native Cinema Showcase in miniature. Each day, we’re showing trailers from the films on offer and, in some cases, the complete clips.

Below are today’s offerings, with some information provided by the Native Cinema Showcase. Pop some popcorn, turn off all cell phones, sit back and enjoy!

Monday, August 13: Opening Night

Presented by the Sundance Film Institute

Mosquita y Mari (US, 2012, 85 min.)

Director and screenwriter: Aurora Guerrero. Producer: Chad Burris (Chickasaw)

This coming of age story focuses on a tender friendship and budding romance between two young Chicanas growing up in immigrant households in Los Angeles. Yolanda (Fenessa Pineda), an only child, delivers straight A’s and the hope of the American Dream, while Mari (Venecia Troncoso), the oldest of her siblings, shares economic responsibilities with her undocumented family. Mounting pressures at home collide with their new-found connection, forcing them to choose between their obligations to others and staying true to themselves. World premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

Aurora Guerrero was one of Filmmaker Magazine‘s 2006 “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” In 2012she was named a Sundance Institute/Time Warner Fellow for Mosquita y Mari, her first feature film. Guerrero developed this work through grants and fellowships from the Sundance Institute/Ford Foundation (2005), Tribeca All Access (2006) and Film Independent’s Producing Lab (2009). She received her BA from the University of California at Berkeley and her MFA in Film Directing from Cal Arts in Los Angeles.

Preceded by: “I Lost My Shadow”

Director: Nanobah Becker (Navajo)

Encounters on the New York subway, featuring Navajo dancer Jock Soto, highlight this music video of a song from Laura Ortman’s second solo album, Someday We’ll Be Together.