Film: American Indian Film Festival, Season Forty Seven

Program 7 • Animated Shorts, 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Məca

A stop motion representation of the late elder Ida Smith telling her grandson the 'Nakwax'daxw legend of the Mink. In this film Ida tells the story in the Bak̓wa̱mk̓ala language. Mink, or "Məca", is an impatient son of the Sun who is trying to force himself into being someone other than he is, so that he can impress love interests. Throughout his journey Məca will learn what it means to have humility, patience, and to be better at self acceptance.

I am the Warrior

A Residential School Story. A mother and daughter Fox have a poor relationship. The daughter wants to right the wrongs the residential schools have committed to make her mother this way. She becomes the Warrior in her thoughts to save the young version of her mother, only to find her mother is the true Warrior after surviving Residential School.

Arctic Song

In this six-minute short, Inuit artist, storyteller and co-director Germaine Arnattaujuq (Arnaktauyok) depicts Inuit creation stories in all their glory. Arctic Song tells stories of how the land, sea and sky came to be in beautifully rendered animation. Telling traditional Inuit tales from the Iglulik region of Nunavut through song, the film revitalizes ancient knowledge and shares it with future generations.

Meneath

The Hidden Island of Ethics Meneath: The Hidden Island of Ethics dives deeply into the innate contrast between the Seven Deadly Sins (Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Pride and Envy) and the Seven Sacred Teachings (Love, Respect, Wisdom, Courage, Truth, Honesty and Humility), as embodied in the life of a precocious Métis baby. Brought to life by Terril Calder’s darkly beautiful stop-motion animation, Baby Girl’s inner turmoil is laid bare with unflinching honesty. Convinced she’s soiled and destined for Hell, Baby Girl receives Anishinaabe Teachings from Nokomis that fill her with strength and pride, and affirm a path towards healing. Calder’s tour-de-force unearths a hauntingly familiar yet hopeful world that illuminates the bias of colonial systems.

Woven Hoops

A retelling of a Hoop Dance love story which has been passed down for generations. During a time of great loss, the people were only able to do what was needed at the time to get by. I young warrior had fallen in love with a maiden that had many suitors. These suitors would travel to the village with offerings in hope of marrying her. She became overwhelmed with the constant attention and loved her people and family too much to run away. The young warrior remembered teachings from his Grandfather and the medicine they held. So he went and made time to remember and learn those teachings of the Hoop Dance. Upon returning, he danced for the people and awoken the spirit of healing. His selfless actions for his people caught the attention of the maiden. They fell in love and carried on this healing dance.

Simulation

Voladores 3D generated Voladores dancers perform a ceremonial aerial dance in a digitally bleak environment simulating the origin setting of an ancient legend.

Things You Know But Cannot Explain

Using images and art from Wiyot artist Rick Bartow as its basis, this experimental short explores one reclaiming their identity and culture as an Indigenous person.

When the Earth Began: The Way of the Skydwellers

Narrated completely in Kanien’kéha (Mohawk), Tsi Tiotonhontsatáhsawe is an animated version of the first part of the epic Haudenosaunee Creation Story, in which we learn the origins of Skywoman, and the forces at play leading up to her fall to earth.

Wâhkôhtowin | All My Relations

The power of stories, told over many nights, over many years, through all the languages across the world, are encapsulated in an intimate story between a grandmother and her children’s children on a clear winter night in the tipi. The grandmother speaks of the spirit of story, the spirit that exists in everything, and that we are star people - our spirits descended from the stars, and one day they will return. That the interchange between worlds happens at the apex of the tipi, and that we are never alone; our ancestors are always with us.

Titration: Radioactive Waste, Princeton, and the Navajo Nation

The film centers the late Princeton chemistry professor Nathaniel Furman, who was involved in the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb. He contributed to the development of the ether extraction process for the preparation of uranium oxide, and the film contextualizes his research within broader histories of uranium mining and Native land. Furman’s work in the early- and mid-20th century directly contributed to contamination in the Navajo Nation where incredibly detrimental effects on Navajo environmental and human health still remain today.

Premonition: On the Eve of Signing Treaty 6

As told through the hopeful yet cautious eyes of a First Nations leader in 1870s North West, PREMONITION acknowledges the major shifts that happened when European traders and settlers began to come into the territory. At first, the Elder understands Treaty as the promise of interconnectedness and dual responsibility, however we quickly see this hope descend into a series of shocks to a way of life and culture. By the time we get to the signing of the Treaty, we realize that the promise was never upheld, resulting in a dire situation for the land and for the First Nations people. Seeing a glimpse of the future, the leader envisions his culture fighting to maintain its strength. The storm post-treaty is coming, yet there is hope and resiliency just beyond.

WABANAVIA 

A short file created in handmade miniature sets, shot with an Iphone and with 95 percent of the effects done in camera. Jason Brown aka Firefly, the films creator is a member of the Penobscot Nation from Indian Island, Maine. This film is an exploration of both his Native American and Swedish ancestry and the striking similarities between Wabanaki, Sapmi and Viking lore, all brought to life in a fantastical new world. The original score, WABANAVIA was written, performed and produced by Brown and is a blending of traditional Wabanaki welcome songs with Scandinavian musical notes.

Program 8 • A Winter Love, 2–4:15

Spirit Emulsion

A woman’s connection to her mother in the spirit world reactivates Taíno culture and presence, revealing a realm unseen. Meanwhile, amidst a backdrop of flowers everywhere, an act of ancestral sovereignty extends into the future. Filmed on Super 8 and developed by hand with plant medicines and botanicals, Spirit Emulsion evokes a language for Taíno filmmaking in relationship to the earth and cosmos, breathing an ancestral connection into new form.

A Winter Love

Blue, a 35 year old, Navajo, singer-songwriter has lost her creative spark to a series of bad relationships and to the harsh Minneapolis winter. But when she meets a younger guy, Eddie, a 25 year-old, Lakota, law school dropout, she feels like she's regained her edge only to find it slip away from her again when she discovers Eddie’s love was never his to give in the first place. A WINTER LOVE is modern day, inter-tribal, love story that shows true love is found in the season you love yourself.

From Nov. 5–10, AIFF 47 will offer free film screenings at SFPL’s Main Library, Koret Auditorium.

Since its inception in 1975, the mission of the American Indian Film Festival (AIFF) has steadfastly been the cultural exchange—through the power of film—of Native American and Canada’s First Nations cultures. While the content is by, for and about Indigenous storytellers, AIFF remains a film festival for all audiences—from filmmakers whose intent is to inform, educate, enlighten and entertain all viewers. With the American Indian Film Institute director Mytia Zavala at the helm, and carrying on the work of her late father, founder Michael Smith, AIFF welcomes film fans back to the Bay. After two years of virtual film festivals, the American Indian Film Institute is excited to bring AIFF 47 in-person to film fans in San Francisco, featuring live events, panel discussions, food demos and an award show to showcase and celebrate the best of Native film.  

The AIFF47 film schedule and information is available at aifisf.com.

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