Sundance Institute Celebrates 0 Anniversary of its Native American and Indigenous Program

Sundance Institute Celebrates 20th Anniversary of its Native American and Indigenous Program Programs Include Screening Series at New York's Museum of Modern Art, Sante Fe's Jean Cocteau Cinema, Museum of Contemporary Native Arts and Museum of Indian Arts and Culture

Artists and Advisors Selected for 2014 NativeLab in New Mexico, May 19-23

Posted May 14, 2014

Park City, Utah Sundance Institute marks the 20th anniversary of its Native American and Indigenous Program with a series of events around the country for Native artists and the public. The Institute also announced today the four artists selected for the 2014 NativeLab Fellowship, which is the centerpiece of the Institute's year-round work with the Native community and is one of 10 residential labs the Institute will host for artists this summer, collectively representing the most promising new independent film and theatre projects.

True to founder Robert Redford's original vision, the Institute maintains a strong commitment to supporting Native and indigenous filmmakers. The Native program has built and sustained a unique support cycle for indigenous artists through grants, labs, mentorships, a fellowship program at the Sundance Film Festival, and screenings for Native communities to inspire new generations of storytellers. Currently operating programs in the United States, Canada, and formerly New Zealand and Australia, the Institute has established a rich legacy of work by supporting more than 300 Native and indigenous filmmakers, including Taika Waititi, Sterlin Harjo, Billy Luther, Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, Aurora Guerrero, Sydney Freeland and Yolanda Cruz.

Native American and Indigenous filmmakers are rooted in a long and deep tradition of storytelling, said Sundance Institute president and founder Robert Redford. I am proud of the work that Sundance Institute has done over the past 20 years to encourage Native American artists to share their stories, take risks with their work, and to both share with their communities and to give of their time and expertise to encourage younger Native American artists to do the same. Their stories enrich and inspire us all.

Bird Runningwater (Cheyenne/Mescalero Apache), Director of the Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Program, said, I am honored to be celebrating 20 years of support for some of the most creative and impactful Native American and indigenous voices of our time. Over the course of the next year I look forward to paying tribute to some of our distinguished program alumni and also fostering the next generation of Native American filmmakers.

The NativeLab Fellowship is a a two-stage development program that provides continuous and direct support to Native American, Native Hawaiian and Alaskan Native film artists. For the first stage, filmmakers participate in an intensive four-day workshop (May 19-23) on the homelands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico. The second stage will bring Fellows to the Native Forum during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in January and provide opportunities for them to meet and hear from film industry professionals.

The artists and projects selected for the NativeLab Fellowship are:

Missy Whiteman (Northern Arapaho/Kickapoo) / The Coyote Way Trilogy (Going) Back Home

Reality and ancient lore merge in a vivid, dream-like voyage for a Charlie, a young boy and his time traveling bicycle on a quest for his identity as Coyote the Trickster.

Daniel Flores (Yaqui) / Viva Diva

Two trans women pack up and leave their hometown with hope for a better future.

Carmen Tsabetsaye (Zuni / Zia Pueblo) / Puebloan in Praha

After moving to the Czech Republic, a young pueblo woman learns that her brother has died and her family is torn apart, through new found friendships she cultivates a new sense of family.

Christopher Kahunahana (Native Hawaiian) / Karaoke Kings

A suicidal homeless Hawaiian singer struggles to survive on the deadly streets of Honolulus Chinatown long enough to compete in the KARAOKE KING competition, -- the everyman bar version of American Idol. This could be his only shot at fame, redemption and most importantly, love.

Creative Advisors for the NativeLab are Ligiah Villalobos (La Misma Luna), Catriona McKenzie (Sattelite Boy, Mr. Patterns) Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals,Skins, Edge of America) and Andrew Maclean (Sikumi, On the Ice).

In addition to the NativeLab, the Institute will partner with Longhouse Media in 2015 to host a series of workshops in Seattle for Native American and indigneous artists as part of a new initiative called 4th World.

The Institute invites the public to attend the following events celebrating the 20th Anniversary of its Native American & Indigenous Program:

Carte Blanche: Sundance Institute's Native American and Indigenous Program

Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; July 10-21, 2014

This exhibition consists of nine programs of dramatic features and documentaries eight features and 10 shorts in total by Native American and indigenous directors from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Filmmakers attending the screenings at MoMA for guided discussions and artist conversations include Taika Waititi (Te Whanau a Apanui) (Boy, 2010), Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho) (Smoke Signals, 1998) Heather Rae (Cherokee) (Trudell, 2005), Andrew Okpeaha MacLean (Inupiaq) (On the Ice, 2011), and Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Creek) (This May Be The Last Time, 2014) and Sydney Freeland (Navajo) (Drunktown's Finest, 2014)

Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Screening Series

Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe, New Mexico; August 20-24

In conjunction with the Santa Fe Indian Market, Sundance Institute will screen 6 feature-length films and 2 short films by Native American and indigenous filmmakers. Films in the series include: Drunktown&

LINK:	http://www.sundance.org/press-center/release/native-american-and-indig...
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