By Marja B l Nango
For Indigenous artists, a component of the creative process is to commune with our ancestors as well as with descendants that are yet to come. Merata Mita understood this when she endeavored to realize her film, 1988's Mauri. In seeing her work through, she became the first Indigenous woman - and the first M ori woman - to solely write and direct a dramatic feature film. Her legacy is one of fearlessness, a dedication to her people and a cornerstone of Indigenous Cinema.
Named in her honor, the Sundance Institute's Merata Mita Fellowship cultivates a stage for Indigenous women worldwide to tell their stories and offers a year-long continuum of support, mentorship, and a trip to the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Applications for the 2022 Merata Mita Fellowship are now open; submit your materials by Monday, October 11, for a chance to be considered.
In January, during the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, filmmaker Marja B l Nango (Sami) - writer and director of award-winning shorts like 2019's The Tongues - was announced as the recipient of this year's Merata Mita Fellowship. Below, hear what Nango had to say during the 2021 Festival.
I'm honored to be taken under the wings of Merata Mita's name as a fellow at Sundance. To have my name intertwined with Merata Mita's is not only a honour but a responsibility I take seriously, as she embodies the strong Indigenous woman in every sense of that saying - in her filmmaking, but also in how she powered through challenges in her personal life and still managed to make great films.
The ownership of S mi stories - all Indigenous stories - should and shall be with us.
-Marja B l Nango
Her life on earth ended before my life as a filmmaker even started, but we - the Indigenous people - are all intertwined. We are intertwined by our common history of colonization that unfortunately looks all too familiar, whether it be in S mpi, New Zealand, or the USA. That also makes the history of filmmaking somewhat similar.
To use Merata's words, I've always felt strongly that our land gets taken, the fisheries and forests taken, and in the same category is our stories.
Our land was colonized, and now our stories are in line. That goes for all our Indigenous stories across the world. In some countries, they have set policies of inclusion to get financing for Indigenous stories on film: They have to have Indigenous advisers, Indigenous key creatives, or even partly Indigenous ownership.
In S pmi - the area of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia - we have no such inclusion policies. After the success of Amanda Kernell's narrative feature S mi Blood in 2016, the non-S mi saw how it was critically acclaimed, and a hunger for S mi stories arose. Suddenly our stories had value, after being recognized by the leading film festivals in the world.
But the institutions want our stories in the hands of non-S mi. They have proven this over the years by not granting S mi filmmakers finances to produce narrative features. The last S mi narrative feature directed by a S mi filmmaker and produced on the Norwegian side of S pmi was 13 years ago. The total of narrative features with mainly S mi content directed by a S mi in all four countries in total is only four - only four films in the span of a 30-year-long narrative S mi film history.
The ownership of S mi stories - all Indigenous stories - should and shall be with us.
As I work on my first feature, I Love My Guo oheaddji, I want to change the structure of how films are produced. I want the majority of ownership of our filmmaking to lie within our people. I can sometimes feel the burden of this goal, but I remind myself of all the Indigenous filmmakers who once were the first to do something.
I humbly step down the paths that other Indigenous filmmakers have tread before me, such as Merata Mita - trailblazers clearing the road for us to come behind. If not for them, the road would still be unpaved. And I hope that one day someone can walk in the new paths I have tread.
When Merata Mita explained why she, as an Indigenous woman, was to the one to tell a story on film versus a non-Indigenous filmmaker, she said, The reason they gave me for wanting me to make the film, rather than, say, television or other people in the media, was that they felt it was important that, for once, the story should be told as it is felt by M ori people.
Her work and words remind me of how connected the Indigenous film community is, as her words ring true to this day. And I want to end by borrowing her words: For once, the story should be told as it is felt by S mi people.
UP NEXT:
Sundance Institute Announces Marja B l Nango as 2021 Merata Mita Fellow
Leya Hale on the Legacy of the Late M ori Filmmaker Merata Mita
Perspectives: Cousins Directors Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace-Smith on Making Films - and Making History
Most recent headlines
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Inducts 10 Industry Icons During Unforgettable ...
17/12/2025
ESPN to Debut MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, a New AI-Driven NFL Data-AltCastThe series, powered by Adrenaline TruPlay AI, launches Dec. 22 and runs through ...
17/12/2025
Inaugural Optum Golf Channel Games Debut Under the Lights' in Primetime on ...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Audiences Watched Over 103 Billion Minutes of TV on Thanksgiving Day
NFL Games ...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Stars Visit Berklee for Weeklong Celebration Andrew Choi and EJAE, who voiced the film's main characters and contributed to its soundtr...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Inside The Unseen World Of Indian Customs: Netflix Reveals The...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix announces PAPARAZZI KING: the docu series coming to Ne...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First Look at Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole Pr...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Welcomes Warner Bros. Discovery Board Recommendation
Business
17 December 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
After Careful Revi...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
The Hao AI Lab research team at the University of California San Diego - at the forefront of pioneering AI model innovation - recently received an NVIDIA DGX B...
17/12/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From Th...
15/12/2025
Top L-R: La Tierra Del Valor (The Home of the Brave), Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawe...
15/12/2025
L3Harris will leverage 15 years of experience supporting the E-4B Nightwatch and...
By Marja B l Nango
