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Indigenous focus: Smithsonian highlights Native American life through film
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The Smithsonian鈥檚 National Museum of the American Indian returns to Santa Fe for its Native Cinema Showcase.
The museum鈥檚 24th annual celebration showcases the best of Indigenous film from Thursday, Aug. 15, through Sunday, Aug. 18, at the New Mexico History Museum, 113 Lincoln Ave. in Santa Fe. Screenings are free and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Indigenous focus: Smithsonian highlights Native American life through film
The schedule includes 鈥淣ative Cinema Trailblazers鈥� at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15; 鈥淚鈥檓 Just Here for the Riot鈥� at 1 p.m., 鈥淯proar鈥� at 3 p.m. and 鈥淕oosebumps Shorts Program鈥� at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 16; 鈥淔uture-Focused Shorts Program鈥� at 11 a.m., 鈥淭he Electric Indian鈥� at 1 p.m., 鈥淏elonging Shorts Program鈥� at 3 p.m. and a special performance by DJ Shub at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17; and 鈥淩ise Above Shorts Program鈥� at 11 a.m. and 鈥淪inging Back the Buffalo鈥� at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 18.
The showcase is free to the public and funded in part by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and received support from the Smithsonian initiative, 鈥淥ur Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past.鈥�
The films explore the challenges that Indigenous people continue to face on various fronts that include sports, missing and murdered Indigenous women, intergenerational trauma and the rematriation of the land with buffalo.
鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted that we鈥檒l be screening 38 films from 34 Native nations, so it鈥檚 quite diverse as it usually is,鈥� said Cindy Benitez, film program manager, for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. 鈥淲e鈥檙e celebrating our 24th anniversary and we鈥檙e very excited about that. Can鈥檛 believe it鈥檚 24 years. Our theme this year is 鈥楲ooking Back and Moving Forward,鈥� which is to celebrate our (Washington,) D.C. museum鈥檚 anniversary, which is celebrating (its) 20th this year.鈥�
There is an intricate process in selecting what films will appear during the Native Cinema Showcase.
鈥淲e do three things, we go to film festivals to meet the filmmakers, to watch these films that we might be interested in,鈥� Benitez said. 鈥淲e also do some diligent research and we also have filmmakers that we do know and they send us their films or even sometimes on a rolling submission basis where a filmmaker that we鈥檝e never heard about will just submit.鈥�
The preference is to screen films that are either directed or produced by Native filmmakers, since there are an abundance.
鈥淣ative people that are telling their stories in their own voices,鈥� Benitez said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 really have a specific criteria. You can submit your film. There鈥檚 the music video, short, drama, anything, and we鈥檒l take a look. And this year, we had about 200 films that our programming team had to look through. So you can imagine the diligent process of trying to narrow it down.鈥�
Benitez said a variety of thought-provoking themes turn up each year when it comes to film submissions.
鈥淪ometimes, a film will pop out, and then you鈥檒l see variations of the same kind of theme,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what happened this year. A lot of the films this year were taking a look at either missing and murdered Indigenous women, or in sports, celebrating what was the past and what is the present. We have a wonderful (documentary) that celebrates rematriation of the buffalo on the land. So it was all these variations that we got to look at it and say, 鈥極kay, well, this looks like a very strong theme this year.鈥� So, that鈥檚 how we present what we do every year.鈥�
Benitez said the Smithsonian likes to branch out when it comes to the Native Cinema Showcase.
鈥淲e鈥檙e located on the East Coast and our mission is always to go out and bring films, bring programs to other indigenous communities outside of our museum location,鈥� she explained. 鈥淪anta Fe has always been central to Native art, Native artists. And you know, film is another form of art, a contemporary one. And we thought, wouldn鈥檛 it be wonderful to present films during Indian Market. And here we are, 24 years later.鈥�
Benitez said there have been variations of the showcase over the years.
鈥淲e鈥檝e grown,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 gone bigger and now we鈥檙e here central to the Indian Market at the New Mexico History Museum. For the past 24 years, our programs are also free, so people can come in and not have to pay and can sit down and watch these incredible films.鈥�
Indian Market takes place Saturday, Aug. 17, and Sunday, Aug. 18, in Santa Fe. The event, which showcases a wide range of traditional and contemporary Native American art, draws thousands each year to Santa Fe.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 like the perfect audience for people who normally wouldn鈥檛 watch Native film or even really know about it to come and have this opportunity,鈥� Benitez said. 鈥淲e always get very excited to see these different audiences come. Sometimes they鈥檙e regulars that come every year for (Indian) Market and they come every year to our showcase. It varies. It鈥檚 just exciting, especially to see the youth and these emerging filmmakers come out and go, 鈥楬ey, you know what? I didn鈥檛 know about this showcase, but I鈥檓 so excited. I have a film. I鈥檓 gonna send it to you.鈥� So we also have that. It runs the gamut.鈥�
Benitez said she expects an exciting showcase this year.
鈥淲e鈥檙e doing an opening night panel with some top-notch, veteran Native actors,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat really just kicks it off. We have, Tantoo Cardinal (Cree/M茅tis/Nakota), Graham Greene (Oneida), Wes Studi (Cherokee), Gary Farmer (Cayuga). So we鈥檙e very excited to get all four of them in one area, one venue, for one program. And just to kind of hear them talk about their career journey, their experiences, and what they think about Indigenous representation now and in the future, I鈥檓 delighted that we鈥檙e able to bring those four people and to have our moderator be Sierra Teller Ornelas (Navajo), who is one of the showrunners for (Peacock TV series) 鈥楻utherford Falls,鈥� it鈥檚 going to be a really great intro to what the rest of the showcase will be about.鈥�
