The International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management, Denver American Indian Commission and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science are pleased to present another year of programming from the Indigenous Film & Arts Festival.  Join us the 2nd Wednesday of the month for a film screening and discussion. The event is free (suggested donation $5).

Please join us on Wednesday, January 8 for A Showcase of Animated Films in the Museum’s Phipps Theater, 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver 80205. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., and the program begins at 6:30 p.m.  Please use the Evening Entrance on the East side of the Museum.  Parking at the Museum is free.

Difficult Topics:
In the Rubbish Tin, from Director Riwia Brown (Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui). Abandoned on her birthday, Pippa escapes into an imaginary world with her best friend Chubby. (2014, 4 min.).
The Grandfather Drum, from Director Michelle Derosier (Anishinaabe), tracesthe story of Naamowin’s drum, revered for its healing powers by the Anishinabek of the Upper Berens River, and the forces of Christianity and government that disruptedthe delicate balance between the sky-world and the underworld. Today, Naamowin’s drum resides in the Red Lake Museum in Northern Ontario. It is still waiting to go home. (Thunderstone PicturesInc., 2015, 15min.).

Tribal Stories & Traditions:
The Story of Priest Point, Directed by students of Tulalip Heritage School. Killer whales rescue the residents of Priest Point from starvation in this animated version of a traditional Tulalip story. (Longhouse Media, 2010, 2 min.).
Ogress of the Gravelbank, from director Neil Christopher. A supernatural creature from Inuit oral history, the Ogress of the Gravelbank lures children into her cave. All that perish in the cave remain there as spirits and animated corpses. (Taqqut Productions, 2015, 3 min.).
Shaman, from director Echo Henoch (Inuk). Usinghand-drawn animation, Henoche shares her favorite story, told to her by her grandfather, of the legend of the Polar Bear in the Rock (the white stone atop Mount Sophie across the harbor from her home in Nain, Nunatsiavut, on the North Coast of Labrador. (National Film Board of Canada, 2018, 5 min.).
Little Thunder, from directors Nance Ackerman, Alan Syliboy (Mi’kmaq). In this animated short, inspired by the Mi’kmaq legend The Stone Canoe, we follow Little Thunder as he reluctantly leaves his family and sets out on a cross-country canoe trip to become a man. (National Film Board of Canada in collaboration with APTNVistas series, 2009, 3 min.).

Contemprary Stories:
The Fox of Shichigorosawa, from director Tune Sugihara. In this ecological fable, a mother fox must venture into the city to find food when illegal dumping destroys her habitat. In Ainu with English subtitles. (Koji Yuki (Ainu) and Masaya Honda, 2014, 14 min).

Identity:
Walk-in-the-Forest, from director Diane Obomsawin. This animation follows medicine man Walk-in-the-Forest on a walk in the woods that reveals an intriguing secret world. (National Film Board of Canada in collaboration with APTN Vistas series, 2009, 3 min.).
Traditional Healing, from director Raymond Caplin (Mi’gmaq). Using dance as metaphor, this animation shows us the beauty of the world when the culture is strong. (Wapikoni Mobile,2014, 2 min.).

Experimental Film:
Thunderbird Strike, from director/animatorElizabeth LaPensée (Anishinaabe/Metis/Irish). This experimental animation follows a thunderbird flying from the Tar Sands in Alberta to the Straits of Mackinac in the Great Lakes, protecting the land and waters. (Elizabeth LaPensée, 2017, 2 min.).
Euphony, from director Kristina Bad Hand. Animated dancers. (3 min.).

Humor:
Grandfather on the Prairies, from director Andrew Genaille (Upper River Salish and Anishnaabe) explores the difficulties hefaces belonging to two tribes. His Anishnaabe ancestor(on his father’s side)does not seethe young man’s skill as a fisherman (his mother’stradition). The ancestor only knows that by Anishnaabe standards, this grandson of his grandson simply is not a hunter. (Sir Perphoulous Films Inc., 2018, 3 min.).

Additional titles to be announced.