Sandra Hale Shulman, Indian Country Today
First Published: Jan 24, 2023 3:32 PM
PARK CITY, Utah — Eleven of this year’s most anticipated Indigenous films will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, 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 kicks off on 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 Institute A programmer for the Indigenous Film Program and the Sundance Film Festival told 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 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.
“It can be seen in the literal interrogation of policies taken up in Bad Press and Twice Colonized, including “Gush,” “Sunflower Siege Engine,” “Hawaiki,” “headdress,” I’m in,’ he said.
Especially at the heart of Fancy Dance and The Bighorn Murders, these films explore why Indigenous communities have to face We question whether we have to face it on our land and mainly with our 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. “
The list of Indigenous films featured at the festival includes: Bad Behavior, Fancy Pants, Bad Pluwes, Gash, Twice Colonized, Murder in the Big Horn, Hawaiki, Headdress, I Am Home, Unborn Bill, Sunflower Siege Engine.
