2010 Sundance Film Festival Reports OnNativeGround!

Last night at the Filmmaker Lodge, the Native Forum at the Sundance Film Institute hosted the reception of the week. It was filled with people of all tribal nations as well as a global community of filmmakers [ONG's Exec Prod JACK KOHLER attended], writers, producers, directors, publicists [MICHELLE SHINING ELK was repping it for ONG and Shining Elk Entertainment] talent, film crews...and the Native community showed up to support them all! [Tina Reszler of Mooretown Rancheria and yours truly, me.]

The ONG youth reporters were too young to enter this over 21 venue; however, they were checking out the animation spotlight [w/BR AD TAYLOR, cimc vista] at the Holiday Village Cinema III.

Earlier, we began our day with a hearty breakfast at Pizza n Noodle on Main Street. Next, we moved on over to our launching pad, "The Filmmakers Lodge," and we walked up the three flights of stairs anticipating our first face-to-face introduction to SHIRLEY SNEVE, Executive Director at the Native American Public Telecommunications [http://www.nativetelecom.org/]. As we headed out to the Native Forum workshop at the New Frontier, we met up with a talented band "Bramble" [banjo, charango, guitar, accordian, percussion.] performing on Main Street. ONG reporter Nick Ortiz interviewed BRAMBLE and then ONG headed out to the New Frontier where we met up, once again, with SHIRLEY SNEVE to attend:

Making Indigenous Shortfilms: Featuring Shímásání by Blackhorse Lowe

Shímásání (in Navajo with English subtitles is a short,b/w) and N. BIRD RUNNINGWATER, director of Native American and Indigenous Programs for the Sundance Institute, hosted the screening/discussion with BLACHORSE LOWE. This short is absolutly beautiful! All the youth and mentors enjoyed Shímásání. The title translates to "Grandmother" in the Dine language. This film projects the perspective of a young woman during the 1920s who longs to attend school w/her older sister (who keeps running back home only to be returned by their Grandmother); however, her Grandmother tells her to stay back and tend "her sheep and her land" and in a very powerful tableau (freeze frame) at the end of at least two scenes made me feel that the young girl's dreams froze. Will she go to school? Or will she stay back and tend "her sheep and her land..." and take care of her Shímásání .

The day faded into an evening of watching "The Dry Land". A story of a soldier coming home to small town Texas from Iraq only to find that it is not possible to pick up where he left off. Due to the reality of post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), the soldier seeks to find the answer to 'what happened' in a hit made on his unit. sundance.bside.com

[1/29/10 will continue this blog later...off to the Sundance Headquarters to meet up with Publicist Michelle Shining Elk to conduct interviews with Jason Ritter (Dry Land, The), Bird Runningwater, and Heather Rae (Dry Land, The)] -patricia

Okay, it is now 10:24 p.m. and let's get the blog on the road...As I mentioned above, let's unfold Day 3. Tomorrow. -patricia