Thursday, November 15 th

10:30 – 12:40  
Carlson Theater

Opening Ceremony with Jessy Lucas (Choctaw)

Trudell: The Movie – (2004, 1 hour, 15 minutes)
 "Trudell" follows the life work of Native American poet/activist John Trudell . Filmmaker Heather Rae spent more than a decade chronicling his travels, spoken word and politics in a poetic and naturally stylized manner.  The film combines archival, concert and interview footage with abstract imagery mirroring the coyote nature of Trudell himself.   

**Come back for a second showing on Friday afternoon, followed by commentary from Keynote Speaker John Trudell!**

Film followed by Q&A

1:00 – 1:45
Carlson
Theater

The Duck-In – (2005, 30 minutes)
Alaska statehood in 1959 brought federal laws to bear on the subsistence hunting of the Inupiat of Barrow. This video documents the community's successful protest against the government's insensitivity to its traditional way of life.  

Filmmaker Rachel Naninaaq Edwardson (Inupiat) will accompany her film with a Q&A session to follow.

2:00 – 2:45
Carlson
Theater

Half of Anything – (2004, 25 minutes)

The question, “What is a REAL Indian?” seems at first blush to be a simple question about identity. However, any question about identity is never simple.

Half of Anything is a documentary in which four participants (Christina Entrekin, Sherman Alexie, Deborah Bassett, and John Trudell) examine the notion of how Indian identity is constructed from their individual and often very personal perspectives.

Filmmaker Jonathan Tomhave (Hidatsa, Prairie Band Potawatomi, HoChunk) will accompany his film with a Q&A session to follow.

3:00 – 4:00
Carlson
Theater

Longhouse Media and Native Lens presents Native Youth Films

“Rez Life”, Martin Edwards, David Aleck and Nick Clark  TRT (2005, approx. 4 minutes)
A short poetic piece about growing up on the reservation and the everyday choices a boy must face on his path to manhood.

“Fifteen”, Travis Tom and Cody Cayou  (2006, approx. 8 minutes)
A conversation between two teenage boys one afternoon offers a window into the world of peer pressure and underage drinking.

“Fly Filmmaking Documentary”  Longhouse House Media (2006, 25 minutes)
A behind the scenes view of Longhouse Media’s SuperFly Filmmaking workshop, in which a collaborative group of young filmmakers come together to create four shorts in 36 hours.  The resulting work, “Father Coming Home” is a powerful tribute to the connection between a father and his son.

“Why We Play Basketball”, Full Circle Native Lens Youth (2005, 2 minutes)
An animated short based upon a poem by Sherman Alexie. 

“Four Children", Muckleshoot Native Lens (2007, approx. 2 minutes)
Four friends begin to understand that together they hold the strength to dream and give thanks.

“Be Healthy”  Muckleshoot Native Lens Youth (2007, approx. 2 minutes)
Swimming, running, and eating right are good for the soul.  This music video is a light-hearted call to action...be healthy!

Films followed by Q&A with Longhouse Media/Native Lens Filmmakers!

4:00 – 5:00
A265

Potluck Event Honoring Phil Lucas
Please join the AIFF Filmmakers and planning committee for a community potluck before the next session honoring the legacy of Phil Lucas.  Bring something to share if you would like!

5:15 – 8:30
N201

Honoring The Legacy of Phil Lucas, presented by BCC Students and Faculty.  Each film to be followed by Q&A sessions.  Refreshments served.

Performance by Swil Kanim (Lummi)
Swil is a world class virtuoso violinist who advocates
self-expression to create stronger community.

Images of Indians (Phil Lucas and Robert Hagopian, 1980)

Since their invention, Hollywood movies have generally portrayed Native American Indians as bloodthirsty villains, anonymous and deadly forces of nature, or as noble savages. And speaking roles tended to go to Anglo-Saxons in red-skinned versions of minstrels. Who can forget Rock Hudson as the warrior chief Young Bull in the classic Winchester '73? Narrated by genuine Native American Will Sampson, who played Chief Bromden in the Academy award-winning One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Images of Indians is a five-part documentary that shines a light on Hollywood stereotypes of Indians.

Part One, “The Great Movie Massacre” (29 minutes) This first part examines how much of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show was real and how much was just show. The West as a mythic realm envisioned by revered Western director John Ford is compared to reality.

Part Two, “How Hollywood Won the West” (30 minutes) This second episode examines how U.S. history as wrought by Hollywood has enshrined the 19th century racist philosophy known as Manifest Destiny -- the notion that God intended for the United States to extend from sea to shining sea for white people. Highlights include numerous cowboy-and-Indian battle scenes from various movies.

Honor for All (Phil Lucas, 1986, 57 minutes)

It began with their seven-year-old daughter telling them she didn't want to live with them any more. Using interviews and dramatic reenactments, this 1986 two-tape documentary tells the story of the how alcoholics Phyllis Chelsea and her husband Andy Chelsea stopped drinking and then led the Alkali Lake Indian Band on a years-long, but ultimately successful struggle out of alcoholism that had been devastating the community of the Shuswap Reserve in British Columbia. This television production won the prestigious international public television INPUT award and inspired native recovery movements around the world. 

Friday, November 16th, 2007

10:00 – 10:30

10:30 – 12:20
Carlson Theater

Opening Ceremony with Jessy Lucas (Choctaw)

Seeds of Life, Red & White (2006, 2007, 10 minutes)
"Seeds of Life" presents one man’s story as an agent of ethical change and how he impacts his community through his connection to spirit, identity and place. 
"Red and White" shows the filmmaker’s struggle to reconcile being half white and half Cherokee.

Filmmaker Karen Brioso (Cherokee) will accompany her films with a Q&A session to follow.

Sacred Salmon – Restoring the Balance  (90 minutes)
This is the second of a two-part series focusing on the health of fish and the physical condition of the Columbia River.
The peoples of the four salmon treaty tribes, the Yakama, Umatilla, Nez Perce and the Warm Springs, observe the changes in the habitat and the effects of pollution on the salmon, their primary protein source. Restoring the Balance paints a reflection of hope for the environment and the salmon by examining ways to restore the balance of life in the Columbia River drainage.
Presented by Carol Craig (Yakama), who will facilitate a Q&A following the film screening.

12:30 – 2:00
Carlson Theater

Finding Dawn (2006, 73 minutes)
This is an epic journey into the dark heart of Native women’s experience in Canada. From Vancouver’s skid row, where more than 60 women are missing, we travel to the “Highway of Tears” in northern British Columbia, and onward to Saskatoon, where the murders and disappearances of Native women remain unresolved.

 Filmmaker Christine Welsh will accompany her film with a Q&A session to follow.

2:30 – 3:30
Carlson Theater

Meet The Filmmakers Community Potluck!
Please join the AIFF Filmmakers and planning committee for a community potluck before the next session with Keynote speaker John Trudell.  Bring something to share if you would like!

3:30 – 4:00
Carlson Theater

Performance by Swil Kanim (Lummi)
Swil is a world class virtuoso violinist who advocates
self-expression to create stronger community.

4:15 – 7:30  Carlson Theater

FEATURED EVENT! Trudell: The Movie, followed by KEYNOTE SPEAKER JOHN TRUDELL

TRUDELL (Dir. Heather Rae 2004, 90 minutes)   follows the life work of Native American poet/activist John Trudell. Filmmaker Heather Rae has spent more than a decade chronicling his travels, spoken word and politics in a poetic and naturally stylized manner.  The film combines archival, concert and interview footage with abstract imagery mirroring the coyote nature of Trudell himself. 

 Suggested Donation $10.

Thanks for our sponsors: the TRIO program, Social Sciences Division, BCCAHE, KBCS, Arts and Humanities Division, Business Division, Associated Student Government.
Contact:  Sara Sutler-Cohen ssutler@bcc.ctc.edu