Please join us online for an evening of short films curated by American Indian Film Institute. The theme of the evening is: “The Land Back Movement.” The program is part of Spring 2023 film series by Creatively Speaking Films at IRPPE called, "World Humanity & Economy: Dreams Deferred But Not Forgotten." Guest curator: Mytia Zavala
Pre-Screener Film
This film will be available to watch the day before the event. Must register to view.
Bring The Salmon Home – TRT 13:44
Bring the Salmon Home captures the emotions, courage, and determination of Klamath River tribal communities as they host a 300+ mile run from ocean to headwaters to cultivate support for the biggest river restoration project in history – the removal of four Klamath River dams.
Schedule:
Evening Film Program & Q&A
6-8 pm
Part I:
No More Pipeline Blues
Pomo Land Back: A Prayer from the Forest
Rename Sq**w Valley
Killing the Klamath
20 minute Talk back with Evan-Marie Petit
Georgia Band of Eastern Cherokee) – Director of “Pomo Land Back” & Moderator – Barbara Mumby-Huerta
Part II:
Good Fire
Without Water
Unlord the Land
20 minute Talk back with Erica Tom – Director of “Good Fire” & Moderator – Barbara Mumby-Huerta
Films Description:
No More Pipeline Blues (On This Land Where We Belong) - TRT: 5:00
Director: Kerry Pickett
Indigenous mothers, grandmothers and others team up in song, spoken word and video to push back against a new toxic, highly polluting tar sands oil pipeline.
Pomo Land Back: A Prayer from the Forest - TRT: 7:00
Director: Evan-Marie Petit
In this short film a Prayer from the Forest aims to honor the vital movement towards indigenous-led stewardship and rematriation of California forest lands.
Rename Sq**w Valley - TRT: 1:00
Director: Kyle Lowe
We strive for the acknowledgement and recognition of a complete history. We want people to know we don’t want any part of it to be lost, including the worst of times. Acknowledging the part of history that is historical trauma, passed down from generation to generation, is the first step forward. We can’t fix a problem if we don’t acknowledge that there is one. The S-word contributes directly and perpetuates the MMIW plight afflicting our communities today.
Killing the Klamath – TRT: 21:23
Director: Jeff Ostenson, Charles Atkinson
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.
Good Fire – TRT: 5:00
Director: Erica Tom Cast: Ron W Goode
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.
Without Water – TRT: 20:00
Director: Jonathan Hyla
"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.
Unlord the Land – TRT: 9:59
Director: Yvan Iturriaga
A young Native artist gets caught in a struggle over land and blood ties when his brother – a rich real estate agent – makes a deal to flip their family’s apartment building in rapidly gentrifying Oakland.
The American Indian Film Institute (AIFI) - www.aifisf.com
AIFI is a non-profit media arts organization founded in 1979 to foster understanding of the culture, traditions and issues of contemporary Native Americans. American Indians have had an uneasy relationship with the media industry since the origins of film over 100 years ago. The quintessential 20th century art form has created and perpetuated enduring stereotypes that are at best tedious, and at worst profoundly erosive to the self-image of generations of Native Americans. Yet the ability of this art form to weaken and erode is matched by its power to heal and strengthen. In film we find a tool to preserve and record our heritage, and a vehicle for Indians and non-Indians alike to “unlearn” damaging stereotypes and replace them with multi-dimensional images that reflect the complexity of Native peoples.
Our organization’s roots stretch back to 1975 when the first American Indian Film Festival was presented in Seattle. In 1977, the festival was relocated to San Francisco, where it found its permanent home. The American Indian Film Institute was incorporated in 1979, with the late actor Will Sampson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) among its founding members. Today, AIFI is the major Native American media and cultural arts presenter in California, and its festival is the world’s oldest and most recognized international film exposition dedicated to Native American cinematic accomplishment.
The goals and mission of AIFI are inherently educational: to encourage Native/non-Native filmmakers to bring to the broader media culture the Native voices, viewpoints and stories that have been historically excluded from mainstream media; to develop Indian and non-Indian audiences for this work; and to advocate tirelessly for authentic visual and work-force representations of Indians in the media.
Presented by Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy in partnership with the American Indian Film Institute at The New School.