March 02, 2009

The next Slumdog Millionaire?

Native film bringing home 17th award

Written by Michelle Shining Elk

‘Older than America’ tells the story of boarding school atrocities.Native American director/producer Georgina Lightning is the co-founder and director of Tribal Alliance Productions, and the director of the highly acclaimed independent film “Older than America.” Lightning along with her Tribal Alliance business partner and executive director, Audrey Martinez, teamed up with award winning producer Christine Kunewa Walker (“Foctotum” “Head of State”) to make “Older than America,” which has won 16 awards to date and showing signs of more awards to come. On Sunday, March 8, 2009, “Older than America” will receive its 17th award with the coveted “Aloha Accolade Award,” an award given for excellence in film making, from the Honolulu International Film Festival during the festival’s awards ceremony. “Older than America” could very well be the next little indie film “that could” just as “Slumdog Millionaire” did.

“Older than America” is the story of a woman’s haunting visions that reveal a Catholic priest’s sinister plot to silence her mother from speaking the truth about the atrocities that occurred at a Native American Indian boarding school. “Older than America” is a suspenseful contemporary drama that delves into the lasting impact of the cultural genocide that occurred at Indian boarding schools across the United States and Canada.
Comment:  Except for Slumdog Millionaire's life-affirming singing, dancing, and romance and Older than America's "sinister plot" about "cultural genocide," Shining Elk has a point. Older than America could be the next Slumdog Millionaire.

For that matter, it could be the next My Big Fat Greek Wedding or Titanic. You just never know with sweeping romances or grim stories about genocide.

This may surprise you, but Shining Elk is the publicist for Older than America. That means she may not be totally unbiased about the film.

I haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire or Older than America yet. But if someone sent me a copy of Older than America, I could review it (hint).

For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

5 comments:

  1. "Older than America" has been around for a while. We had it in my town last summer. I think if it was going to explode into the next "Slumdog Millionaire", it would have by now.

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  2. You may be right. On the other hand, it may need just one or two more awards to push it over the top.

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  3. Unfortunately, I haven't seen either of them yet.

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  4. Anonymous6:42 AM

    ...and it needs that critical theatrical distribution deal...Slumdog started with a distributor, went close to being straight to DVD, before it was resurrected for a theatrical release by the company that picked it up...you have to get a good theatrical to make it big like Slumdog. Plus is doesn't hurt at all to have Danny Boyle directing...no straight to DVd or self-released film will ever get as big as Slumdog.

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  5. Thanks Rob for posting a couple of paragraphs from the press release that went out earlier this week regarding "OLDER THAN AMERICA."

    "OLDER THAN AMERICA" is screening at the Agua Caliente Festival of Native Film & Culture this weekend, Sunday, March 8th, 2009, in Palm Springs. I encourgage you and any of your readers in the area to support the festival and Native filmmakers by attending the screening.

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