Program 15 • Youth Block, 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Heartbeat of a Nation

In the Northern Alberta community of Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation, a father teaches his child how to create a caribou drum. In Heartbeat of a Nation, a short documentary by Eric Janvier, cultural reclamation and traditional knowledge are celebrated and passed down from one generation to the next, inspiring renewed hope for the future.

Nightcap

A zealous daughter tries to convince her apathetic mother that Bigfoot is real.

Tsiiyééł (Hair Bun)

A Diné (Navajo) teenager is feeling down. She decides to go on a run wearing her Tsiiyééł, a traditional Diné hair bun. On her run, she is followed by a doppleganger -- a darker version of herself. In the end, she must draw strength from her culture to overcome her identity conflict and embrace who she is.

Program 16 • Mother Earth, 12:45–4:10 p.m.

Good Fire

For thousands of years the North Fork Mono Tribe has used fire to restore Central Valley land. A look at this practice amidst a time of drought, megafires, and climate change.

Killing the Klamath

Upper Lake Klamath has been a place of conflict and controversy for over a century, as farmers, ranchers, Tribes, fish and an entire ecosystem all rely on its dwindling and dying waters. Meet the Tribes who have lived here since time immemorial and discover why this dying lake should matter to us all.

Okpik: Little Village In the Arctic

Using local materials and traditional knowledge Inuit/Gwich’in Hunter, Kylik Kisoun will re-establish and re-imagine the lost practice of building an Inuvialuit sod-house with the intention of creating housing security in his traditional territory of the Beaufort Delta. Kylik builds his future at his off-grid camp and creates an opportunity for language and cultural revitalization.

Without Water

Without Water documents the ongoing dispute between the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) and various stakeholders in Long Valley, California. Filmed by acclaimed director Jonathan Hyla and narrated by actor David Chokachi, "Without Water" dives into LAWDP’s plan to reduce or eliminate irrigation allotments on leased lands in the Eastern Sierra's Long and Little Round Valleys. Now under pressure from climate change and the ever-growing needs of Los Angeles county, a group of ranchers, environmentalists, and indigenous tribal members are coming together to face the prospect of an uncertain future.

Native to Right Here: The Plants, Animals and People of Tuushtak

Cafe Ohlone founders Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino lead a walk in the hills below their most sacred peak, Tuushtak, aka Mount Diablo. As they point out plants and animals along the way, they discuss Ohlone history, culture, and cuisine—and how we can all celebrate what is "native to right here." Sponsored by Mount Diablo Interpretive Association. Videography by Wally De Young. Music by Phil Heywood. Photos by Scott Hein, Arnold Joe, Kendall Oei, and Cindy Roessler. Production by Joan Hamilton.

Bring The Salmon Home

The Klamath Salmon Run began in 2003, a year after dams, diversions, and drought led to a traumatizing fish kill that littered the banks of the Klamath with dead salmon for miles. Now, a historic drought grips the basin further stressing communities and fisheries. Started by local youth, the event has become an important way for the many small communities along this remote river in far northern California to find solidarity in the struggle to protect their salmon and their way of life. With regulators poised to approve dam removal plans later this year, runners are now racing into a future of hope and optimism.

Voices of the Grand Canyon

Before the Grand Canyon was a national park, it was the ancestral homeland of Native peoples. But rarely do tourists hear firsthand from modern Indigenous people whose cultures, worldviews, and livelihoods are inextricably tied to the Grand Canyon region. Jim Enote (Zuni), Nikki Cooley (Navajo), Leigh Kuwanwisiwma (Hopi), Coleen Kaska, (Havasupai), Loretta Jackson-Kelly (Hualapai) share what the Grand Canyon means to them and what they know in their hearts to be true. Hear the voices of Grand Canyon speak.

HERD

Through Inuit voices, HERD tells the story of the social, emotional, and cultural disruptions from cascading ecological change by putting an essential human face to the caribou declines. The film, which was developed over five years of intimate collaboration between filmmakers and communities, cinematically explores an array of lived experiences, from youth to Elders and hunters to cooks, to ensure that the stories of those living on the frontlines of this conservation crisis are HERD. It is a portrait of the deep and delicate interconnections that exist between humans and non-human life, a glimpse of heartbreaking loss and pain felt by entire communities, and an unforgettable testament of cultural endurance, hope, and resilience in the context of ecological uncertainty.\

POMO LAND BACK: A Prayer from the Forest

Created in collaboration with the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, POMO LAND BACK: A Prayer from the Forest aims to honor the vital movement towards indigenous-led stewardship and rematriation of California forest lands. The film is a visceral, poetic document of an alliance-building, inter-tribal gathering in February 2022, led by the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, calling for protection and co-management of the 48,652 acre Jackson Demonstration State Forest.

Rename Sq**w Valley

Too many generations of Indigenous people have suffered the detrimental effects of being born into and raised in a community named after an appallingly offensive slur. For far too long, the Indigenous peoples of California have been made invisible. The “s” word is a profoundly racist and misogynist term that epitomizes the racism and sexism Native American women have faced since the time of contact. This depiction of Indigenous women is more than simply derogatory – it has devastating and deadly consequences; California has the fifth-highest number of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People in the United States. Today, more than 4 in 5 Indigenous women report having experienced violence, and more than 1 in 2 have experienced sexual violence. Continued use of this word and other racist terms permits the ongoing dehumanization and degradation of populations that have been historically marginalized and the victims of violence.

Saging the World

White sage (Salvia apiana) is the key ingredient in the now ubiquitous sage bundles. This ecologically vital and culturally sacred plant only occurs in southern California and northern Baja California, Mexico. Indigenous communities have tended a relationship with white sage for thousands of generations. Today, poachers are stealing metric tons of this plant from the wild to supply international demand. Saging the World spotlights the ecological and cultural issues intertwined with white sage, centering the voices of Native advocates who have long protected and cherished this plant.

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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