Duke University Screening
FNFVF will be screening a 90 minute short film program at the Rubenstain Arts Center Film Theater at Duke University on Saturday April 13 at 2pm.
Sponsored by Duke Native American Studies Initiative and Duke Conematic Arts. This event is Free and open to the Public.
Film Program Includes:
Canoe Connections (2023)
Directed by Reeva Billy [Squamish Nation (Canada, West Coast)]
4:25
An essential element of maintaining culture in First Nations communities is nurturing the practice of knowledge keepers passing on their cultural wisdom. For the Canoe Cultures program in Vancouver Canada, an Indigenous-lead non-profit carving centre, Mike Billy Sr. and Jr. are an example of the transference of knowledge from one generation of Squamish Nation War Canoe builder to the next. In this short film they both share their experiences of passing and receiving the torch and the future they imagine that keeping this legacy alive can bring. Through this age-old tradition the uninterrupted connection between ancestors and the present generation is maintained and flourishes.
katatjanik utippalianinga (The Return of Throat Singing) (2015)
Co-directed by Caroline Nochasak, Heather Angnatok, Jason Dicker, Jennifer Semigak, Joshua Jararuse, Matmatil Angnatok, Maxwell Saksagiak, Nancy Nochasak, Sarah Semigak Lidd, Jenn Brown, Troy Maher [Inuit]
7:00 min
The community of Nain in northern Labrador is rich with breathtaking landscapes and people with a strong storytelling history. Created through the St. John's International Women's Film Festival's FRAMED film educations series, in partnership with the Nunatsiavut Government, this film explores throat singing- a special talent and traditional game for both fun and public entertainment, which was nearly destroyed but has since been revived.
We Make Stories Out of Totem Poles (2015)
Directed by Sean Stiller, Patricia Marcoccia [Shuswap (Secwepemc) Nation]
8:09 min
The Kwakwak’wakw First Nation of Vancouver Island is recognized internationally for its rich history of art and expert craftsmanship. The long-lasting effects of residential schools left many carvers disconnected from the meanings and stories behind traditional carvings. This short film opens a window into the world of Charles Joseph, a residential school survivor and a rare master carver in the community that still knows the stories.
JAAT SDIIHLYL'LXA Woman Who Returns (2016)
Directed by Heather Hatch [Haida Gwaii]
10:00 min
Heather didn't know she was Haida until she was 16. Now, she's returning to Haida Gwaii to join her clan and receive her Haida name.
Jane & the Wolf (2016)
Directed by Nadine Arpin [Red River Michif]
9:45 min
In the 1960s, Pagwa River was a booming railroad town populated by 2nd generation Crees. During one cold winter, the community was being stalked by a lone wolf. Every attempt to kill the wolf failed. Jane recognized the wolf as a spirit sign from the ancestors. Ridiculed for her beliefs, Jane set out alone to killing the wolf using the old ways.
Narrated by Jane’s Great Granddaughter Rachel Garrick, Jane’s story is interwoven with Rachel’s own journey to bring her mother Minnie Garrick to her final resting place. Minnie was a story teller, a surviver, and a woman who reclaimed her life despite many personal challenges. Minnie had passed on the story of Jane to Rachel at a time in her life when Rachel most needed to hear about the strength that is inherent in their family.
Light (2017)
Directed by Sarah Hennigan [Cherokee]
14:55min
A gifted young woman launches into the darkness to find a way to save her people. What she uncovers, nobody expected.
Darkness takes the world, with only around 10 minutes of light left each day. Humanity is dying. A gifted young woman is sent out into the darkness in a last-ditch effort to find a lifeline. If she returns empty-handed, or without the guard sent out with her to document the findings, she’ll be left to the darkness, and whatever lies within. A 21st-Century reinterpretation of a Cherokee oral story.
The Handsome Man (2022)
Directed by Misty Shipman and Hope Shipman [Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe (both directors, sisters, are enrolled)]
15:34 min
When River meets a stranger who calls himself "The Handsome Man," on the borders of her reservation, she invites him home, and all manner of commotion ensues. Can Grandpa restore balance to the family and heal a generations' old curse?
Image from “In Our Own Hands”
In Our Own Hands (2021)
Directed by Jennifer Varenchik [Tohono O'odham]
11:00 min
A group of women plan rescue efforts when one of their own goes missing from their reservation.