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12-20 OCTOBER, LONDON, UK — The 13th annual Native Spirit Film Festival returns with 87+ films across 6 venues – Launching on Indigenous Peoples Day (Americas), Saturday 12th October with morning, afternoon, evening events – at SOAS Brunei Theatre, Bloomsbury. Founded by Mapuche filmmaker Freddy Treuquil in 2005, Native Spirit Film Festival is the UK’s first and only Independent annual festival promoting contemporary Indigenous Cinema, MediaMakers and Artists and are event participants with UNESCO International Year of Indigenous languages IYIL2019.org.
Programme Highlights
2-4PM Sat 12 Oct at SOAS Brunei Theatre – Sebastián Gerlic, Dir. Thydêwá and acclaimed curator Dr Thea Pitman bring award-winning INDIGENOUS ELECTRONIC ARTS (AEI): REFLECTIONS and live interactive DIGITAL BODYPAINTING to demonstrate the use of digital technology by Indigenous visual-artists, creating avant-garde art – enhancing intercultural communication and diminishing prejudices. GUARDIANS OF THE FOREST (d. MAX BARING and KARLA MENDES) joins the Guajajara volunteer task force on the front line defending their territory against illegal logging in the Amazon. Director Q&A, and Survival International talk.
5-9PM Sat 12 Oct at SOAS Brunei Theatre Live performances from poets ZENA EDWARDS playing Afro Blue on !Xuma mouthbow from the Kalahari desert in memory of her grandfather; and KỌ́LÁ TÚBỌ̀SÚN sharing musical and poetry pieces from his native Yorùbá. Dance and Music Shorts from Sami, Sundance Institute and Tampere Festival award-winning BIRDS IN THE EARTH d. MARJA HELANDER; learn the real history of Indigenous Caribbean with DocuShorts by Jazz Professor ETIENNE CHARLES – CARNIVAL: THE SOUND OF A PEOPLE; BAMBOO and JAB MOLASSIE; Main Feature film in T’boli (Philippines) K’NA THE DREAMWEAVER, presented by Filipino Director IDA ANITA DEL MUNDO
2PM Sun 13 Oct at The Horse Hospital – DECOLONIAL LOVE: 2-SPIRIT AND INDIGIQUEER Special guest Whitney Biennial Cree artist THIRZA CUTHAND joins us from Canada to present her Retrospective followed by award-winning stop motion BIIDAABAN (THE DAWN COMES) Michif artist d. AMANDA STRONG.
6PM Mon 14 Oct at Senate House – ENTRE SANTOS CHOLAS Y MORENOS (d. OKIE CÁRDENAS) Bolivian Aymara docu-fiction investigates religious patron festivities, the process of preparation, economic investment and the human stories behind them. Q&A with Aymara speaker tbc
7PM Tue 15 Oct at Pushkin House – 24 SNOW (d. MIKHAIL BAKHTIN) Yakutian horse-breeder Sergey give us insight into his daily life of as he battles against the exhausting tundra climate of northern Russia to look after his herd of horses and provide a living for his distant family.
Shorts programs during the week include: Sami and Arctic films: FIGHTING FOR LAPLAND Director Q&A ERIKA BENKE BBC World Service; Māori filmmaker TARATOA STAPPARD presents his Swaziland drama EMKHATSINI (BETWEEN); MAASAI LIVING CULTURE (d. SAMWELL NANGIRA) Maasai leaders visit the UK to change the way their unique culture and sacred objects are stored and represented in museums.
3.30PM Sat 19 Oct at Dalston’s Rio Cinema – URBAN NDNZ Triple-bill with MYSTERY OF NOW (d. AUDREY BUCHANAN) about Apache Skateboards founder Douglas Miles, LEGACY OF EXILED NDNZ by Navajo Photographer/Filmmaker PAMELA J PETERS, and 60s classic THE EXILES by KENT MACKENZIE.
6.30PM Sat 19 Oct at Latin American House – First Aymara feature film from Peru WIÑAYPACHA, (d. OSCAR CATACORA), follow Willka and Phaxsi, an elderly couple living in the seclusion of the Peruvian Andes, as they face the inclement passage of time, praying for the return of their long-lost son. Q&A Miguel Choque, Aymara.
| ETIENNE CHARLES: CARNIVAL THE SOUNDS OF A PEOPLE 12 October, 5 pm SOAS Brunei Theatre Three DocuShorts from jazz professor Etienne Charles and Maria Nunes looking at the real history of Indigenous Caribbean and Carnival: CARNIVAL: THE SOUND OF A PEOPLE, BAMBOO and JAB MOLASSIE. Arising from Etienne Charles’s research as part of his newest album “Carnival: The Sound of a People”. The footage was recorded to aid Charles’ composition process, before being reconstructed to highlight the evolution of sonic identity in Trinidad & Tobago due to suppression by the British Colonial Authorities, and to showcase the inspirations behind the musical creation. etiennecharles.com | |
| K’NA THE DREAMWEAVER 12 October, 5 pm SOAS Brunei Theatre Dir. Ida Anita Del Mundo,T’boli language with English subtitles | Philippines | 2014 | 1h 25 min Celebrating UNESCO International Year of Indigenous Languages in partnership with SOAS World Languages Institute, K’na, The Dreamweaver is an enchanting period piece about the T’bolis of South Cotabato in the Philippines. When K’na, a young T’boli princess of Lake Sebu, inherits the gift of dreamweaving the sacred t’nalak fabric, she has the chance to weave together her village’s warring clans. But, will she give up true love to do so? This screening will be introduced by writer and director Ida Anita del Mundo who made K’na as her first film. Film website Trailer: K’NA THE DREAMWEAVER | |
| THIRZA CUTHAND – RETROSPECTIVE 13 Oct, 2-5pm pm The Horse Hospital HELPLESS MAIDEN MAKES AN “I” STATEMENT; SIGHT; JUST DANDY; 2 SPIRIT INTRODUCTORY SPECIAL $19.99; 2 SPIRIT DREAMCATCHER DOT COM ‘; THIRZA CUTHAND IS AN INDIAN WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE INDIAN ACT; RECLAMATION ; *Mature Content* LESS LETHAL FETISHES. thirzacuthand.com/ Discussion/Q&A with Iris Wakulenko & Thirza Cuthand OCHISKWACHO & OSHKIKISHIKAW: A NEW DAY d. Jules Koostachin, Cree, Canada BIIDAABAN (THE DAWN COMES) Amanda Strong, Michif, Canada | |
| 24 SNOW / 24 СНЕГА 15 October, 7 pm Pushkin House Dir Mikhail Barynin, Yakut language with English subtitles with English subtitles | Russian Federation | 2016 | 1h 30 min. 24 SNOW tells the story of Sergey, a horse-breeder who lives most of the year in the tundra looking after the herd. With each year, Sergey spends more and more time away from the village, meeting his family just a few times a year for the horse-breeders’ feast and to bring the meat home. Feeling like a stranger in his own home, Sergey is losing his connection with his family and missing the chance to see how his children to grow up. Film website Trailer 24 SNOW | |
| URBAN NDNZ Triple Bill 19 October, 3:45 pm Rio Cinema, Screen 2 THE EXILES – Dir Kent Mackenzie | USA | 1961 | 72 min. Chronicles one night in the lives of young Native American men and women – exiles from the Southwest reservations – living in the Bunker Hill district of Los Angeles. THE MYSTERY OF NOW – Dir Audrey Buchanan | USA | 2019 | 16 min. Trailer THE MYSTERY OF NOW Docushort focusing on founder of Apache Skateboards Douglas Miles, whilst examining socio-political culture of life on the San Carlos Reservation where it all began. LEGACY OF EXILED NDNZ – Dir Pamela J.Peters | USA | 2014 | 14 min Film website Trailer LEGACY OF EXILED NDNZ A tribute to the first generation of relocated (exiled) Indians as mandated by US Congress through the Relocation Act, examining the impact it has on the lives of contemporary Native American youth. |
Filmmakers, Speakers, Artists
DR THEA PITMAN, Contemporary Latin American digital cultures and cultural production
SEBASTIÁN GERLIC, NGO Thydêwá
GABRIELLA RUTHERFORD, Research and Advocacy Officer, Survival International
IDA ANITA DEL MUNDO, Filmmaker, Writer (Philippines)
ZENA EDWARDS, Spoken word performance artist
KỌ́LÁ TÚBỌ̀SÚN, Yoruba Linguist (Nigeria)
LAURA SAMPSON, Shoot the Breeze presenter, Resonance FM
THIRZA CUTHAND Filmmaker, Performance Artist, Writer (Cree, Canada)
ERIKA BENKE, Filmmaker, Journalist, BBC World Service
TARATOA STAPPARD, Filmmaker (Māori, New Zealand)
Venues
SOAS Brunei Theatre, SOAS KLT, Senate House, The Horse Hospital, Rio Cinema, Pushkin House, Latin American House
Sponsors
Canadian Council for the Arts. Wellcome Foundation. Waitrose
Further Information
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/NativeSpiritUK/events
Twitter / Instagram: @NativeSpiritUK
Website: www.nativespiritfoundation.org
Email: nativespiritfilms@gmail.com
Phone: 07779 529589
“It’s a celebration of film – past present and future. So, it’s a chance to relive and enjoy past glories, but also to see what’s happening in film right now, and reveal new talents who will shape the future of cinema. A good example of that is a chap who had his student short selected for the programme here back in 1996, named Christopher Nolan. Apparently he’s done quite well since! Of course it’s also a chance to see films from around the world, from other countries and cultures, many of which we might not otherwise come into contact with. And it’s all brought to our doorstep.
“It brings the people who make the films here, too, of course, so it’s a chance to meet and put your questions to actors, writers and directors. What makes Cambridge different from other Festivals is that it attracts big names but is nonetheless intimate and approachable. There are no red carpets, no banks of flashbulbs going off, and the chances are the acclaimed director of the much anticipated new film you’re about to see is happily hanging out in the bar, just like you! Our audiences like that – the filmmakers actually love it, too.” (Festival Director Tony Jones)
Click here for the full programme.
Pictured: System Crasher.
The London East Asia Film Festival (LEAFF) will run 24th October to 3rd November with multiple UK and International premieres will showcase enchanting stories, insightful discussions and diverse filmic voices from the likes of South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, China and Southeast Asia.
Click here for more information about the event.
Click here to buy Early Bird Passes: available until 11am on 18th September prior to our programme launch.
Full programme announced after 18/09.
The London Korean Film Festival (LKFF) will run 1 – 14 (?) November.
To be followed by 10 (?) days of films touring the UK.
Click here for more information about the event.
Full programme announced after 16/09.
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