11 Native films at Sundance

Sundance Institute Announces Native Filmmaking Highlighted at 2011 Sundance Film Festival

Seven Short Films and Four Feature Films Mark Record Number of Screenings from Native FilmmakersSundance Institute announced today details for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival’s presentation of films by Native filmmakers and the annual Native Forum. A gathering of Indigenous filmmakers from around the world, the Native Forum provides a platform for artists to share their expertise and knowledge through an Indigenous ShortsLab, panels, networking events and special screenings. This year’s Festival will provide a world stage for Native filmmakers whose works include seven short films and four feature films from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. In all, 11 Native communities will be represented: Tsilhqot'in, Métis, Ngāti Rangi, Atihaunui a Paparangi, Navajo Nation, Hopi, Laguna Pueblo, Iñupiaq, Taranaki/Ngati Tama Ngati Mutunga, Native Hawaiian and Māori. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

“This year the Native Forum continues to raise the profile of Native Cinema and provides a stage for these talented filmmakers,” said N. Bird Runningwater, Associate Director, Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Initiative. “The Native Forum connects these filmmakers and their films with the marketplace of independent film. Through the Film Festival as well as the labs, workshops and other programs, Sundance Institute brings together the writers, directors and producers of Native and Indigenous Cinema as part of a global filmmaking community.”Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Rocket Boy at Sundance.