Native Cinema Winter Showcase, Santa Fe

November 13, 2009
CONTACT: Gabe Gomez
(505) 983-5220 x229
ggomez@swaia.org
www.swaia.org

Winter Focus
SWAIA Introduces Native Cinema into the 4th Annual Winter Showcase

Who: The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA)
What: Native Cinema Showcase at the 4th Annual SWAIA Winter Showcase
Where: Santa Fe Convention Center: 201 W Marcy St. Santa Fe, NM
When: Saturday, November 28 and Sunday, November, 29
How Much: Films are free with purchase of $5-$10 General Winter Showcase Ticket.

(SANTA FE) Four years ago, the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) embarked upon a new venture based on the success of the Santa Fe Indian Market, whose near century of existence supports traditional and contemporary Native art forms like no other event or organization in the world. This year SWAIA is introducing film into the Winter Showcase as part of its growing programs.

Films that were part of the Native Cinema Showcase at the 2009 Santa Fe Indian Market make up the Winter Showcase series. This program is an extension of SWAIA's partnership with the Center for Contemporary Art (CCA) and the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.

The feature film for the series is the documentary Summer Sun Winter Moon. The film exposes viewers to the reality of the American Indian perspective of Lewis and Clark's legendary "Corps of Discovery" mission, is scheduled for broadcast on PBS during November 2009. The featuring of the film strategically aligns with the programming goals of PBS and its network of broadcast affiliates for National American Indian Heritage Month.

Executive Producer Cynthia Newport and award-winning director Hugo Perez bring to the national viewing audience Summer Sun Winter Moon's inherent declarations of truth, proving to be important and timely in what it tells us about ourselves, about our place in time, and about the choices we have to make moving forward. While there are two sides to every story, viewers are left haunted by the words of two storytellers with one story that can only be interpreted by each individual.

The Fourth Annual SWAIA Winter Showcase is a three-day celebration of Native art. The Winter Showcase will feature beautiful artwork for sale from 175 Native artists; artist demonstrations from such luminaries as the 2009 Santa Fe Indian Market Best of Show Winners Rebecca and Darryl Begay; a holiday performance by Robert Mirabal, kids activities with the inimitable Teri Greeves and a book booth from Clearlight Books.

Winter Native Cinema Showcase Film Schedule and Descriptions
Saturday, November 28
We Shall Remain: Trail of Tears 11:00 am

By telling Native American history in Native American voices, WGBH's landmark We Shall Remain series opened the doors for new insights into our shared past. Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho), who directed three of the five films in this highly acclaimed series, returns to the showcase with the moving, wise and balanced Trail of Tears, the story of how the Cherokee, though they embraced "civilization" in the mid-1800s and were recognized as a sovereign nation by the U.S. Supreme Court, were forced to march from their eastern homelands to present-day Oklahoma. Weaving contemporary voices, archival materials and richly textured recreations, Eyre revisits a tragic but revealing chapter in American history. Starring Wes Studi (Cherokee). (U.S., 2008, 74m)

Four Sheets to the Wind 12:45pm

After his father's death, Cufe (Cree actor Cody Lightning) finds himself grieving and in search of more than he has found at home. Leaving the reservation, he heads to Tulsa, where his sister Miri (Saulteaux actress Tamara Podemski) is drinking heavily and looking for love in all the wrong places. Cufe too, far from home and eyes opened wide, is taking his first steps toward finding love. This sweet, smart and restrained first feature from Sterlin Harjo (Seminole/Creek) was one of the hits at the Sundance Film Festival, where Podemski won an acting prize (U.S., 2007, 91m).

Christmas in the Clouds 2:30pm

Kate Montgomery's film pays tribute to a familiar genre-the Hollywood screwball comedy-but sets her story in an unfamiliar milieu: a struggling, Native-owned ski resort. Ray Clouds on Fire (Choctaw actor Tim Vahle) is the well-educated but overly conscientious manager who finds that a critic has booked a suite for the weekend. Ray's chef (Graham Greene) doesn't want to cook meat, much of the staff brings their kids to work, the local handyman spends his time wooing the ski bunnies and his assistant (Sheila Tousey) is obsessed with romance novels. When Tina arrives from New York, she's mistaken for the critic, while the real one (M. Emmet Walsh) finds all kinds of problems. With performances by Rita Coolidge and Wes Studi, this is a memorable joy ride of a movie. (U.S., 2001, 90m).



Sunday, November 29

Weaving Worlds + Share the Wealth 11:00 am

Two films by Benny Klain (Navajo). In the poignant, ironic drama Share the Wealth, a Native woman (played by Casey Camp-Horinek) on an urban street encounters stereotyped misunderstanding. (U.S., 2006, 7m). Weaving Worlds is an insightful exploration of the intricate relationships between Navajo rug weavers and reservation traders reveals the delicate balance many Native artists struggle to maintain: how to retain one's cultural traditions, ensure economic survival, and find artistic validation? (U.S., 2008, 57m)

Summer Sun Winter Moon 12:30 pm

Celebrated composer Rob Kapilow, commissioned to create a symphonic work about the enduring legacy of the Lewis and Clark expedition, finds an untold story: the devastating impacts of their "discoveries" on indigenous peoples. The opera becomes a collaboration with Darrell Robes Kipp (Blackfeet), who set out to retell the story "from the river bank, not the boat." As Kipp, a poet and educator says, "There's nothing to celebrate-not for Indian people," in reference planned events for the celebration of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. Enlisted by Kapilow, Kipp agrees to author the libretto for the symphony project, offering his own hand to the composer who dared to reach across the divide. (d. Hugo Perez, U.S., 2009, 56m)

Animation Celebration 1:45pm

Terrific films from the NMAI collection: North Peak tells the Stoney tale of a mouse who wishes to become an eagle (d. Jarrett and Trent Twoyoungmen (Stoney), Canada, 2008, 4m). In Raven Tales: Raven and the First People, Raven, Frog, and Eagle discover the first humans in a giant clamshell washed up on the beach (d. Chris Kientz (Cherokee) and Simon James (Kwakwaka'wakw), U.S./Canada, 2005, 25m). Wapos Bay: The Elements follows a near-disaster after three children assist their mushom (grandfather) setting up a cultural camp (d. Melanie Jackson (Cree), Canada, 2006, 24m). The Creation: A Blackfoot Legend describes the genesis of the earth and the beginning of man. (d. Keith Carter (Blackfoot), produced by NMAI, U.S., 2007, 4m). The ancient beings in Los Chulpas existed in Chile's Atacama Desert in the days before the sun (d. Alex Moya, Spain, 2007, 7m, English subtitles). A young man experiences a special journey in The Old Man and the River (d. Steven Chilton (Attikamek), Canada, 2007, 5m). In The Little Prince, a young man recounts his difficulties as a boy (d. Vincent Papatie (Algonquin), produced by Wapikoni Mobile, Canada, 2007, 6m, English subtitles).


For more information, please call Gabe Gomez at (505) 983-5220.



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The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, a non-profit organization, is an advocate for Native American arts and cultures (particularly those in the Southwest). SWAIA creates economic and cultural opportunities for Native American artists by: producing and promoting the Santa Fe Indian Market as the finest Indian art event in the world, cultivating excellence and innovation across traditional and non-traditional art forms, and developing programs and events that support, promote, and honor Native artists year-round. SWAIA is located at 141 East Palace Avenue in Santa Fe, N.M.; telephone number 505-983-5220; www.swaia.org.