Keynote Speaker:

Tracy Rector

Executive Director, Longhouse Media

Thursday, Friday, Saturday. November 5^th, 6^th, & 7^th 2009

Special Saturday Schedule: Longhouse Media’s Native Lens Program

 Schedule Subject to Change

 (For directions: http://bellevuecollege.edu/about/around/directions/main/)

 All film events held at Bellevue College’s Carlson Theater

Potlucks held in Room A265

Thursday, November 5^th

12:30 – 2:40:

 
Opening Ceremony:

Jessy Lucas (Choctaw)

Welcoming Speech:

Hon. Cecile Hansen, Chairwoman, Duwamish Tribe

Introduction to the 7^th Annual AIFF:

Film Festival Executive Committee
Sara Sutler-Cohen, Programming Director
Justin Hart, Budget Coordinator
Agnes Figueroa, Webmaster

AIFF Featured Shorts Series

Shi-Shi-Etko

Director: Kate Kroll

12 Minutes ~ 2009 ~ Canada ~ Dramatic Short

Writer/Producer Marilyn Thomas (Salteaux/Cree)

will be present for discussion

SHI-SHI-ETKO, a six-year-old Native girl, has only four days before she is taken to residential school.  Each of these days she spends with a family member – her mother, her father, and her Yayah (grandmother).  Knowing what’s in store, each of them reminds her of the beauty of her culture, who she is and most importantly to never forget.

The Boundary of Moab

Director: Honey Dawn Karima Pettigrew (Cherokee)

5 Minutes ~ 2009 ~ USA ~ Poetic Short

THE BOUNDRY OF MOAB is a poignant depiction of the Trail of Tears as presented through an original poem from Pettigrew’s Nammy-nominated cd, The Worship of Angels.

Awakening of the Spirit

Director: Steffany Suttle (Lummi)

7 Minutes ~ 2009 ~ USA ~ Documentary

Steffany will be present for discussion

AWAKENING OF THE SPIRIT is a portrait of Master Carver Robert Peele (Tsimshian-Haida).  Peele is now known by the traditional name that was given to him, Saaduuts.  He has devoted years to teaching the youth of the  Seattle, WA area, Native and non-Native, the traditional way of carving a canoe.  As a boarding school survivor he has overcome many challenges over the years.  Saaduuts now looks forward to the future, enjoys spending time with this grandchildren, and passing down the traditional ways of carving ensuring that it will live on for many years.

What Did You Do Boy?

Director: Chris Bose (N’laka’ pamux)

6 Minutes ~ 2009 ~ Canada ~ Poetic Short

Janet Rogers (Mohawk) will be present for Discussion

WHAT DID YOU DO BOY? is a dark yet colourful story-poem; a dreamy nightmare of events gone wrong.  Do your best to keep up with the urgency inside the ultimate journey of a timeless road trip.  Tensions are balanced with a haunting angelic soundtrack by Metis cellist Cris Derksen.  The question to follow “what did you do boy” is “what will you do now boy”?  Do you follow fate or do everything in your power to re-direct her?  Give over to choice and live endings unresolved or intervene, in this, your greatest defining moment.  Penned in the mountains of Banff, Alberta by Mohawk writer Janet Rogers, recorded as a spoken word CD “Firewater” in Vancouver, BC.  What Did You Do Boy? is brought to life by the mysterious and magical aesthetics of N’laka’ pamux multi-media artist Chris Bose.

3:00 – 4:15

When Your Hands are Tied

Director & Co-Producers:

Mia Boccella Hartle & Marley Shebala (Diné/Zuni)

56 Minutes ~ 2006 ~ USA ~ Documentary

WHEN YOUR HANDS ARE TIED is a documentary film that explores the unique ways in which young Native Americans are finding to express themselves in a contemporary world while maintaining strong traditional lives. Since native youth do not often see reflections of themselves or their communities in mainstream media, we wanted to make a film that features native young people and role models who are finding exciting and positive ways to direct their lives. We also wanted the youth to learn the importance of self-motivation in combination with traditional teachings to help prepare for the challenges of everyday life.

4:30 – 6:00

For The Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska

Director: Phil Lucas (Choctaw)

60 Minutes ~ 2009 ~ USA ~ Documentary

Presented by Producer Jeff Silverman of Blueberry Productions

FOR THE RIGHTS OF ALL is the largely unknown story of the Alaska Native struggle for equality in the first half of the 20^th Century and the central role in it played by an extraordinary Tlingit Indian woman, Elizabeth Peratrovich. Her relentless efforts and compelling Territorial Senate testimony resulted in the passage of the Alaskan Anti-Discrimination Bill, the first civil rights bill enacted in the United States since the Civil War—one decade before “Brown vs. Board of Education.”

Through extensive reenactments, historic footage and photographs, the non-violent struggle for Alaska Native justice unfolds in For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska. After the United States purchased the Alaska territory from Russia in 1867, it became clear to the indigenous peoples living there that the Bill of Rights and other cherished constitutional protections did not apply to them. Led by one of America’s oldest Native organizations, the Alaska Native Brotherhood, Alaska Natives won citizenship, voting rights, and school desegregation before turning to public discrimination.

10:30 – 11:20

Opening Ceremony:

Jessy Lucas (Choctaw)

Introduction to the 7^th Annual AIFF:

Finding Our Talk 3: Hawai’i

Director: Tracey Deer (Mohawk)

24 Minutes ~ 2009 ~ Canada ~ Documentary

FINDING OUR TALK 3 (HAWAI’I) examines the incredible rebirth of the Hawai’ian language on the islands of Hawai’i. Parents, teachers and administrators came together to create the first language nest in 1984.  Overcoming multiple challenges over the  years, the ’Aha Pūnana Leo is now the leading entity in Hawai’i and the United States for Indigenous language revitalization.

11:30 – 12:20

AIFF Featured Shorts Series

Shi-Shi-Etko

Director: Kate Kroll

12 Minutes ~ 2009 ~ Canada ~ Dramatic Short

Writer/Producer Marilyn Thomas (Salteaux/Cree)

will be present for discussion

SHI-SHI-ETKO, a six-year-old Native girl, has only four days before she is taken to residential school.  Each of these days she spends with a family member – her mother, her father, and her Yayah (grandmother).  Knowing what’s in store, each of them reminds her of the beauty of her culture, who she is and most importantly to never forget.

The Boundary of Moab

Director: Honey Dawn Karima Pettigrew (Cherokee)

5 Minutes ~ 2009 ~ USA ~ Poetic Short

THE BOUNDRY OF MOAB is a poignant depiction of the Trail of Tears as presented through an original poem from Pettigrew’s Nammy-nominated cd, The Worship of Angels.

Awakening of the Spirit

Director: Steffany Suttle (Lummi)

7 Minutes ~ 2009 ~ USA ~ Documentary

Steffany Suttle will be present for Discussion

AWAKENING OF THE SPIRIT is a portrait of Master Carver Robert Peele (Tsimshian-Haida).  Peele is now known by the traditional name that was given to him, Saaduuts.  He has devoted years to teaching the youth of the  Seattle, WA area, Native and non-Native, the traditional way of carving a canoe.  As a boarding school survivor he has overcome many challenges over the years.  Saaduuts now looks forward to the future, enjoys spending time with this grandchildren, and passing down the traditional ways of carving ensuring that it will live on for many years.

What Did You Do Boy?

Director: Chris Bose (N’laka’ pamux)

6 Minutes ~ 2009 ~ Canada ~ Poetic Short

Janet Rogers (Mohawk) will be present for Discussion

WHAT DID YOU DO BOY? is a dark yet colourful story-poem; a dreamy nightmare of events gone wrong.  Do your best to keep up with the urgency inside the ultimate journey of a timeless road trip.  Tensions are balanced with a haunting angelic soundtrack by Metis cellist Cris Derksen.  The question to follow “what did you do boy” is “what will you do now boy”?  Do you follow fate or do everything in your power to re-direct her?  Give over to choice and live endings unresolved or intervene, in this, your greatest defining moment.  Penned in the mountains of Banff, Alberta by Mohawk writer Janet Rogers, recorded as a spoken word CD “Firewater” in Vancouver, BC.  What Did You Do Boy? is brought to life by the mysterious and magical aesthetics of N’laka’ pamux multi-media artist Chris Bose.

12:30 – 1:20

Ayaa: A Hero’s Journey

Director: Jason Margolis

48 Minutes ~ 2008 ~ Canada ~ Documentary

Writer/Producer Marilyn Thomas (Salteau/Cree)

will be present for discussion

AYAA: A HERO’S JOURNEY explores the connection of two individuals whose lives should have been worlds apart.  A Canadian Aboriginal soldier and a Dutch child.  However, one brief encounter in the middle of a World War II battlefield in Holland bonded them together forever, resulting in a series of unexpected miracles.

1:30 – 2:40

Finding Our Talk 3: Chitimacha

Director: Michelle Smith (Metis)

24 Minutes ~ 2009 ~ Canada ~ Documentary

FINDING OUR TALK 3: CHITIMACHA: The Chitimacha Nation of Charenton, Louisiana partners with Rosetta Stone, a language learning software company, to create teaching aids for a language that has no fluent speakers.  Piecing together the language from old, wax cylinder recordings, this 1,000 member strong community is relying on its determination and thriving cultural identity to awaken the Chitimacha language from its long slumber.

3:00 – 4:30

Way of the Warrior

Director: Patricia Loew (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe)

60 Minutes ~ 2007 ~ USA ~ Documentary

WAY OF THE WARRIOR uses personal stories to examine the warrior ethic in Indian Country and understand why military service is so highly valued.  These gripping stories weave a tapestry of positive and negative themes: the warrior ethic, prejudice and stereotypes, forced assimilation, poverty, cultural pride, redemptive acts and healing.
 

4:45 – 6:30

3^rd Annual Phil Lucas Memorial Potluck:

Meet the Filmmakers & Artist Reception

Artist Reception for Louie Gong (Mixed Blood Nooksack, Chinese, French, Scottish).

Please join the AIFF Filmmakers, Featured Artist & planning board members for a community potluck.  Bring something to share if you would like!  All are welcome.

6:45 – 9:30

FEATURED EVENT!

Opening Act:

LIVE PERFORMANCE

Onestaa

Powerful, Positive, Local Native Hip-Hop!

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Tracy Rector (Seminole)

Keynote address followed by a selection of Tracy’s short films.

Tracy Rector, Executive Director, earned her Masters in Education and Teacher Certification from Antioch University’s First Peoples Program. She specializes in Native American Studies, traditional plant medicine and documentary film. As the co-producer of the award-winning films Teachings of the Tree People and The Work of Bruce Miller for the Seattle Art Museum, Tracy has developed an awareness and sensitivity to the power of media and film as a modern storytelling tool. Her work has been featured at National Geographic’s All Roads Film Project and the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian and she is the recent recipient of the prestigious Native American Public Telecommunications Producers grant and Horace Mann Award. As a Native Education specialist, Tracy offers unique insight to her projects. Her vision is to bring traditional and contemporary education together on a foundation based in environmental stewardship. She is currently working with the Seattle Art Museum as an education consultant, as a Native Naturalist for the Olympic Sculpture Park and in planning for the new expanded Native American wing of the Seattle Art Museum and the international exhibition S’abadeb-The Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish Art and Artists. Tracy is also currently developing curriculum for IslandWood, an environmental education center. She is the Co-founder of Longhouse Media.

Documentary Film Screenings by Rector:

Bunky Echo-Hawk: A Proactive Artist (2009, 7 min)

SEATTLE PREMIER!  Unreserved: The Work of Louie Gong (2009, 15 mins)

Teachings of The Tree People (2006, 23 mins)

 Saturday, November 7^th, 2007

12:30 – 1:30

SCREENINGS (Native Lens Films)

Select films from Native Lens

1:30 – 2:00

PANEL (with youth filmmakers)

Join Native Lens filmmakers as they share their experiences with the camera and Longhouse Media!

2:15 – 3:00

SCREENINGS (Native Lens Films)

Select films from Native Lens

3:00 – 3:30

LIVE PERFORMANCE!

Onestaa

Power, Positive, Local Native Hip-Hop!

3:45 – 4:45

March Point

54 Minutes ~ 2006 ~ USA ~ Documentary

Screening followed by Q&A with Executive Director & Co-Founders

Tracy Rector and Annie Silverstein

Cody, Nick & Travis, three teens from the Swinomish Indian Tribe, wanted to make a gangster movie or rap video. Instead, they were asked to investigate the impact of two oil refineries on their tribal community. MARCH POINT follows their journey as they come to understand themselves, the environment and the threat their people face.

5:00 – 7:00

 Community Potluck:

Meet the Filmmakers & Artists Reception

Reception for Louie Gong, Onestaa, and Native Lens youth filmmakers

Please join the AIFF Filmmakers, Louie Gong, Onestaa, Native Lens filmmakers & planning board members for a community potluck.  Bring something to share if you would like!  All are welcome.

$10 Suggested Donation

KBCS 91.3 Community Radio is our media sponsor.

Contact: Sara Sutler-Cohen, sara.sutlercohen@bellevuecollege.edu, (425) 564-5722