Gay films at AIFF

Queer & Native American lives

The 33rd annual American Indian Film FestivalThe San Francisco cinema season concludes with the American Indian Film Festival (November 7-12 at Landmark's Embarcadero Cinema Center, November 13-15 at the Palace of Film Arts, and additional native-youth screenings at Theatre 39 at Pier 39). The 33rd edition of the AIFF includes over 80 films with a mix of fiction features, documentaries, live and animated shorts, and music videos. Our report concentrates on three queer-themed short subjects.

Two Spirits, One Journey

"Let's get off the rez."

"I told you I'm not going anywhere."

"How do you think it makes me feel, you hanging out with all those rez rats, hanging out with your bully friends?"

Byron Chief-Moon: Grey Horse Rider

In this engrossing memoir, Philip Szporer and Marlene Millar take us through the multiple identities of a Native man known to his fellow Canadians as a feature film/TV star; to the dance community as the practitioner of a unique blend of Native and Western idioms; to his male life-partner as the co-father of a brood of three adopted kids; and to his birth-family as an untamed spirit who has carved out a star's role in the white man's world.

Deb-we-win Ge-am-aan, Our Place in the Circle

Lorne Olson takes us on his journey to discover the meaning of his being a "two-spirited person," the traditional Native term for persons who in the modern world have been taught to identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or simply queer.Comment:  For more on Two Spirits, One Journey, see Creative Spirit Film Competition. For more on films in general, see The Best Indian Movies. For more on gays and Indians, see Homosexuality Isn't a Choice.