'The Sundance Indigenous Shorts Tour' at The Beverly Theater

This week we review the Sundance Indigineous Shorts Tour, Nov. 1-3 at The Beverly Theater. Check out this 83-minute theatrical program featuring eight short films from Indigenous filmmakers: four from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival program, three from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and one short film from the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Started in 2021 as a virtual presentation in conjunction with our friends at museums, Native cultural centers, and arthouse cinemas, the 2024 tour continues as an in-person exhibition with partnered screenings in June and the program available to rent from July 2024 to March 2025. The curated selection reflects a variety of Native stories and showcases inventive, original storytelling from indigenous artists previously supported by the Festival. Sundance Institute has a long history of supporting and launching talented Indigenous directors including Erica Tremblay, Taika Waititi, Blackhorse Lowe, Sterlin Harjo, Sky Hopinka, Caroline Monnet, Fox Maxy, and Shaandiin Tome. Support for screenings is provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.


Credits:
Email us: [e-mail]
 
HOSTS - Davey Parks, Simona Grigonis, Jeff Wallitsch
 
Production Assistant - Angelica-Rose Keenum
Production Sound Mixer - Amber Harris

Co-Producer/Editor - Lilly Richie

PRODUCERS - Tom Bjelic, Sam Decker

EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY - Adam Paul, Roudi Boroumand 

To read the hosts' reviews, head over to substack.com/thefilmdeptpodcast
 
This semester, The Film Department has teamed up with the mad geniuses of The Beverly Theater. Imagined by The Rogers Foundation, The Beverly Theater brings cinematic connectivity, novel collaborations, live happenings, cultural portals, and a zest for independent spirits to DTLV. With a mission to stage uncommon cinematic, literary, and live experiences, The Beverly Theater is Las Vegas’ first and only independent film house, storytelling arena, and live music venue.
For the latest screenings and events at The Beverly, visit thebeverlytheater.com
 
The Film Department Podcast is supported by UNLV Film. At the film department of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, every story has a beginning.With degree programs for undergraduates and graduates, state of the art equipment and facilities, incredible professional internships around the world, and expert guest speakers, students discover the power and potential of cinema as they prepare for the film and television industry… and beyond.
 
Learn more at UNLV.EDU/FILM UNLV Film. Find your voice. Tell your story.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
The Film Department is supported by UNLV Film.

(00:04):
At the Film Department of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, every story has a beginning.
With degree programs for undergraduates and graduates,
state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, incredible professional internships around the world,
and expert guest speakers,
students discover the power and potential of cinema
as they prepare for the film and television industry and beyond.

(00:27):
Learn more at UNLV.edu/film.
UNLV Film. Find your voice. Tell your story.
Welcome listeners to the Film Department,
the official movie review podcast of UNLV Film.
This semester, we'll be talking about film screening at the Beverly Theatre,

(00:51):
Las Vegas' only independent film theater and performance venue.
I'm Davey Parks, a fourth-year film student,
typically joined by our friend, Jeff, who is out this week. Jeff, we miss you,
and we look forward to hearing your thoughts on today's screening.
And I'm also here joined by...
Simona, hello guys. I'm back this week.
It was not here last week, unfortunately, for Halloween.

(01:13):
But I'm excited to discuss this absolutely amazing collection of short films we have today.
And we have a lot to say about some really exciting films.
But before we get to that, I just want to go ahead and remind you listeners who are out there to go out and vote.
Voting is a very important process in engaging in the United States civil system.

(01:37):
So go out and vote. Do it. I will be very angry if you don't.
This election is very important, and it'll be decided by...
I'm talking to our women listeners. I'm talking to Mijante Latino.
The voters of color listening to this podcast.
It is your civic duty. It is your right, and be sure to go exercise it.
But other than that, Simona, do you have anything to say?

(02:00):
Guys, I'm a first-time voter. I'm very excited to vote.
And yeah, everyone go out there, vote.
And do your voices be heard in the past?
Yeah, right. Like, I don't want to dwell on it too much.
But really, if you have an opinion, it's essentially pointless unless you go out and you take the steps to make your voice heard.

(02:24):
Not just on the presidential ballot, either.
Look at the ballot questions. Look at your down ballot races.
And really do your research. Look into the candidates and pick whoever best fits your needs.
And don't just do it because people are telling you to do it because you want to engage with politics.
It's very important.

(02:46):
Let's dive right into it. This week we're talking about the 2024 Sundance Institute Indigenous Shorts collection.
For those who don't know, Sundance does a really great job of including Indigenous filmmakers in their curation of films for their festival.

(03:10):
And what they do essentially is they compile a selection of works from this year, previous years, all the way going back to 2005.
And essentially does a tour run of them throughout different cities.
As a precautionary measure, I will say there are some very important names in here who I want to do the best that I can to respect and try to pronounce them as best I can.

(03:34):
I may mess up and if I do please, you know, politely be sure to tell me how to actually pronounce them because that's very important.
And we want to be sure to give the filmmakers that we are talking about the proper credit that they deserve.
So, Simona, what did you think about the selection?
I thought it was an absolutely amazing selection just to say that first and foremost.

(03:57):
I'm typically someone that doesn't engage with short films as often as I should no matter how important they are.
And especially with Indigenous filmmaking, I have yet to explore it further and this has been a great introduction to that for me especially.
Yeah, totally.
I want to shout out a good friend of mine, Zinnif and Rogers, who was one of the first people who really walked me through this idea of fourth world cinema.

(04:24):
If Hollywood is first world cinema, we think big Hollywood studios, second world cinema is more like Europe and Japan.
These big or non-Hollywood film industries outside of the United States.
And third world cinema starts to be cinema, not third world but global south.
We're talking about Latin America, Africa, the Middle East.

(04:46):
Fourth world cinema would be that of those who have been disenfranchised by colonial practices, by maybe imperialism.
And it's really not an area of film that I really see represented quite often.
I don't know about you, but it's really something that I feel has left out of the conversation often times.
Yeah, I completely agree.

(05:08):
I mean, looking at these short films, I went on to see what other Indigenous cinema I had engaged with in the past.
And it seems like I hadn't explored any of that or been necessarily introduced to the world of Indigenous cinema.

(05:29):
And so, yeah, definitely is very underrepresented, underappreciated, and there's so much that goes into it that I think needs to be recognized.
Yeah, you know, I want to plug and shout out the Beverly Theatre and the Sunday Institute for really going out of their way to include these films in their programming.

(05:53):
You know, it's really important that these movies not just be made by that somebody cares enough to curate them and show them to people.
And you know, if you're listening to this podcast and you're curious about whether or not, you know, this might be worth the price of a ticket to go see it.
Go see it. You know, if you're a lover of cinema, which I'm imagining you are for listening to this podcast, you grow your love of cinema and your knowledge of cinema by watching more things.

(06:17):
And you really learn more about what it means to be a filmmaker, what it means to be a casual film audience goer by watching more and different kinds of films.
And you really get the sense with that. I really enjoyed the vastness of content that they include in it.
I hate the content, but you know, the kinds of films including this curation, we have experimental films, documentary films, narrative films.

(06:45):
How did that kind of run for use, Mona, going in between these different sort of primary mediums in film and seeing the sort of breadth that they include in this curation?
That is what initially stood out to me the diversity in storytelling techniques and genres and different forms of film that were included in this curation.

(07:12):
You know, we have like poetic essays, something that's more based on, based on like experimental film and then like you mentioned like documentary and more traditional narratives as far as short films go.
And so I thought that that inclusion of all of those different forms is very valuable as far as it goes for displaying all that indigenous cinema has to include in all the different voices.

(07:54):
Yeah, no, no, I get what you mean. For me what was really interesting was watching this, you know, talking about cinema made by indigenous peoples.
I found it really interesting and somewhat embarrassing on my part that I would be watching these things and I'd be like, wow, you know, this reminds me a lot of this movie or this movie that you know maybe talks about the plight of Native and indigenous peoples or their stories.

(08:19):
And I think for some reason, well, you know, that was directed by a white guy, you know, like I would watch something and be like, oh, you know, this really reminds me of this scene from killing of a sacred year.
Like, well, that's directed by Scorsese.
Yeah.
You just really makes me think of the Robert wire fans.
Like, well, that's a movie, you know, made in Australia by who I think is, you know, a white director.
And that really takes away a lot of it. You know, we're talking about stories about people by the people who it's their story.

(08:45):
Yeah, exactly.
And I really encourage people who are listening this to go see it in the theater so you can really sit with that.
Were there any specific shorts that really stood out to throughout the curation?
Are there really kind of things that you think?
I mean, for me, I really enjoyed the more experimental shorts, such as Bay of Harons and some Flower Siege engine, those in particular.

(09:10):
I found them to be similar in some ways. I mean, structurally, they were both more based on, as like a poetic treatment.
And I found it interesting how they both developed into such individual stories.
Yeah.
I'm really glad you brought up Bay of Harons because that one really struck me and I think it's really powerful as a choice for the first short.

(09:36):
Yeah.
And the curation, because you know, they're talking a lot about the destruction of these people's ancestral lands and the removal of these people.
And it's really communicated through these like really gorgeous shots of nature and scenery void of humans.
And I was thinking about it and I was watching it and I was like, wow, you know, like this is really good.

(09:59):
And then I had that moment of realization. I was like, well, that's really powerful.
And we're talking about the removal of people. We're talking about genocide essentially.
And we're talking about that through the lens of seeing these spaces where people were and should be, but they're not there anymore.
And I found that to be really powerful and talking about how a lot of the times that we talk about native stories, we talk about them in the past tense.

(10:28):
And I think that's really, really upsetting because you know, I grew up in Northern Nevada and I had the privilege to go to school and live essentially on the border of the Washoe Tribe reservation.
And that was something I didn't even realize was a privilege that I had until I moved down here and I would talk to my boyfriend or my friends about what it was like growing up with native Americans and the sort of cultural traditions that they would bring and realizing that you know, for a lot of people in urban areas that that's a experience that they don't really have.

(11:02):
That's a whole walk of life that they don't really encounter. And that almost gets talked about a bit in winding paths, the documentary selection.
Yeah. And I really found that one really interesting too. What do you think about that one?
I think that one in particular was maybe the most emotionally effective for me.
It really tackled a lot of intergenerational issues that come up when talking about indigenous communities, I think.

(11:34):
And I thought it was valuable to touch on that as well.
Yeah. And you know, I think for a lot of listeners who might be tuning in, this might sound like something that's very narrow.
And I think that's what I think is really important to talk about in indigenous stories. You know, there are stories about, you know, that are often very specific to these people's struggles.
But I think it's important to watch these stories because a lot of them are very vastly relatable. You know, I think when you watch, you know, foreign cinema, cinema made by indigenous filmmakers, you might have this expectation that you're sort of watching it from an outsider's perspective with the goal of like kind of learning more about a different culture.

(12:14):
Really, you learn a lot more about yourself. And, you know, I'm not sure if you experience this, but I definitely did where I would be watching things and they would say something about maybe loss or, you know, the feeling of not being able to connect to a grandparent or something.
Maybe there's a language barrier. I know, you know, you're from Lithuania, like you probably have that sort of same experience that I have with my parents and my grandparents from Honduras, where, you know, sometimes I feel sad

(12:43):
that I can't connect with them that way. And I think that's something that a lot of these stories really connect with.
Yeah, there were certain things that I definitely noticed in some of these short films and winding paths specifically and Ekba, that one as well, that I felt that kind of cultural relation to as well with what you were talking about how, you know, viewing these indigenous films from an outsider's perspective.

(13:12):
It's one thing, but there's also that aspect of relatability that can go into it as well.
Yeah, and I think Ekba specifically has this really powerful thing where we're talking about, you know, narrative film, experimental film, documentary film, Ekba has one of the great powers of cinema and it serves as a record.

(13:36):
It's a permanent record of these people's lives, of their way of life, of their dialect, like listening to them speak French and going in between their native tongue and French and English and the cultural specifics that they hold in these dialectical manners is so interesting.
And I'm so glad that it's been put to film and put to sound and recorded for permanent existence because a lot of these stories talk about the fading languages of a lot of these tribes.

(14:07):
Yeah.
And I'm so glad that someone has preserved these for us to watch and for future generations to watch, because I think that's really important.
Yeah, I think it's a really big learning thing for a lot of people, a big introductory thing for a lot of people that I think needs to be experienced.
It needs to be explored and not kind of put to the side as much as indigenous cinema has been in the past.

(14:32):
Building off of that, like I think, you know, for film students, and I know a lot of people listening to this are film students, it's incredibly important to watch things that are different than what you usually consume.
Because if you go into everything with the expectation that you're going to like it, that it's something that you are comfortable with that's familiar to you, you're not going to learn anything.

(14:55):
And I think by watching these shorts and watching shorts, a lot of people who come from diasporas who maybe are economically challenged, who don't have the same privileges that a lot of other groups have socially or economically, or just in different ways,
you're watching how people approach film and cinema as both a technical art form, as a technical form and an art form, and how they go about it in really creative and inventive ways.

(15:25):
How how Aikki is the short from New Zealand, from Nova Paul, who I really enjoyed that one, what he did with it.
It really, you know, goes back to what we were talking about with watching something from an outsider's perspective, but learning more about yourself and just watching it reminded me a lot of growing up as a kid, and the way that kids play.

(15:47):
And it really evokes this idea that like, you know, there's that joke that, oh, you know, children yearn for the minds, but really like when children are playing, they love to play work, and they like to build things, and they like to have community.
And I thought that that was really interesting, that that's what we're really watching throughout this short is how people go through as children and create things in a create community, and that's not just, you know, something that's limited to one cultural group, it's something that's almost universal, and it's really humanizing to watch that.

(16:19):
Yeah, I absolutely love that short.
It reminded me a lot of my childhood, and I think the one that really stood out to me as terms of what I would probably call my favorite was the last short in the curation, Good Night, I Read, my director, Strow and Harja, who's, you know, now come to prominence for their episodes that they've directed, Reservation Dogs.

(16:42):
Reservation Dogs, yes, sorry.
I really enjoy watching it, I think it's really cool when you get to see something that maybe is like the debut of a director, and you get to put it in the context of what they've gone on to film, and you get to sort of see, you know, what are things that have been through lines, or their entire career, and, you know, I think for Strow and Harja, what you're seeing a lot of is their sense of humor and their sense of humanity.

(17:10):
I really specifically thought this one was so heartwarming, and, you know, heartbreaking at the same time, these conversations that these characters have are so fascinating and grounded in reality, and they remind me a lot of the conversations I would hear growing up surrounded by native people, you know, talking about scarcity of resources, removal from, you know, medical resources, food insecurity,

(17:39):
and doing that, but with this sort of, brevity and humor that I really thought was really cool seeing put to screen.
Yeah, I think that displaying that in a short film you can still involve so much, so many of those elements, and especially with, you know, talking about all of those,

(18:07):
kind of issues that indigenous communities have had to deal with throughout history, and I think Strow and Harjo's short was able to involve a lot of those, and communicate them through cinema in both a clear and accessible way that is, you know, easy to understand, it's, you know, interesting to watch, but also in a very...

(18:35):
I guess, just in encapsulating way that just kind of...
Yeah, and I thought it was interesting, was a lot of these, you know, are from, you know, maybe different countries, or, you know, they're made by directors who, maybe, you know, didn't go to film school, or they aren't being really inspired by traditional western cinema,

(19:01):
but they all kind of still have that, like, Sundance look, which I thought was really interesting, especially Goodnight Irene, there were shots in it that reminded me of, like, Little Miss Sunshine, and Napoleon Dynamite, like the shot specifically of, um, filling out the form, and you see the blood droplets down onto them, or the shot of their feet, and it's like this camera pan, and it just, it was really interesting how, um, these visual styles kind of get,

(19:29):
past along from filmmaker to filmmaker, regardless of cultural barriers, I wanted to bring up headdress, which kind of stands out in this one as one of the only comedic shorts in the curation, and I thought that was really cool, you know, not bringing down, or centering all of these stories on the tragedy of, you know, Indigenous people's lives, and making it this big, you know, thing of, you know, just sort of,

(19:58):
you know, just sadness, but I'm kind of finding humor in it, and I thought that was really cool.
Yeah, I think, like, when, when looking from the standpoint that there's such a diversity in the different, like, forms, again, of the, the short films involved in this curation, and involving, like, a comedy and, like, experimental films, I think it also strays away from that kind of easy route of, like, films focused on tradition and culture, and how can they, like,

(20:32):
and how they can just take a route, it's more like, focused on, like, informing people, and I think that had dressed, did a great job of, you know, involving those comedic elements into something that's still important to talk about.
Yeah, and I really enjoyed watching these short specifically as a film student, from, you know, the perspective of seeing these as something that people really made, maybe on a low budget, or maybe, you know, with limited crew, and getting to see what people make out of that, and, you know, it's really inspiring, and getting to see them, you know,

(21:15):
a film festival is one thing, but, you know, if you're in Vegas, and, you know, you're looking for something to do, like, go see it at the Beverly Theatre, like, sit in a theatre, and watch these shorts that are made by people, and maybe you'll get inspired, and maybe you'll go out and do something with your friends, or with a limited budget that you have, and you'll make something, and you'll submit it to a film festival, and maybe you'll get in, and maybe one day something that you made will be, you know, in a tour from city to city, going throughout, you know, being viewed by all these different people, and, you know,

(21:44):
you'll be viewed by all these different people who will then go on to make their own things, because you've then inspired them, and I think that's really the beauty of this curation, is it really does a great job of collecting all these different stories, all these different perspectives, and sharing them with the world, and I don't think there's any greater service that places like the Beverly, or Sundance Institute can do for cinema.

(22:08):
Yeah, and there are so many stories from various cultures that have yet to be shared, much like how Indigenous cinema, you know, like, this was one of my first introductions to true Indigenous cinema, and there's still so much that needs to be encountered with, like, different cultural cinemas as well, so with you, like, saying, you know, go out and seek this inspiration,

(22:37):
and think it goes hand in hand with.
Yeah, and in 20 years, we'll start talking about fifth world cinema. We'll see what that entails, but for now, you know, I think not only do filmmakers and film students have, I don't know, I really think they have a responsibility.
I think they have a responsibility to go out and see these, because these stories have been sidelined for so long, I'm thinking about sunflower seed engine,

(23:05):
and just the way it's composed and the way it's put together, the conversations about Alcatraz, and how, you know, growing up, that's not something that's really taught in history, as widely as it should be, and watching it, you know, I grew up in the Bay Area, I've been to Alcatraz, and that's something that, you know,

(23:30):
up until recently, didn't really talk about when you would go on tours Alcatraz, and I think that's so fascinating, and it really made me go back and think about, you know, how we were taught history and how for so long, you know, so much of our country's history in regards to Indigenous peoples was not included, and I think about how growing up, like, I was taught that Westward expansion was an objectively good thing,

(23:57):
and it wasn't until maybe my senior year of high school that my teacher was like, well, yeah, you know, you have to consider what it did to the people who were already living there, and I think watching these stories will really give you a breadth of information and perspective that might change your outlook on the world, and I think that's also important.
Yeah, yeah, cinema can do a great job of telling you and allowing you to learn about something that is otherwise kind of neglected or misunderstood or misrepresented, and yeah, with these short films, they do that exact thing, I think.

(24:35):
I just wanted to talk a bit more about whining path, I particularly connected with that one as someone who does, is an outsider to these experiences and viewing these experiences, and I particularly had a connection with this one in kind of the way that across cultures,

(25:04):
there are still prominent issues that, you know, can be related.
Yeah, I think for me what really struck me was just the filmmaking techniques that they used, like having these really candid takes, talking about the story at hand, and the way you can just tell by the way people deliver information, how much it affects them.

(25:33):
Listening to this person's story about how they came into medicine, and how their lived experience as an indigenous person led to that, I thought was really fascinating.
Watching whining path, I think that one had a more intense emotional effect on me, like a physical kind of effect of sadness and hearing her story, and kind of realizing that her experiences

(26:01):
have also been prominent in indigenous communities all over the world, because of the intergenerational trauma and the historical context going into that, and what she dealt with, I think having a story more focused on that was very valuable for this showcase, especially, because I mean,

(26:29):
you can counter that with, like, more comedic side of, like, headdress and see the value that it brings, but I mean, focusing on something that is so directly emotional, and can relate to so many people on that kind of level, I think, is absolutely necessary.

(26:50):
Yeah, I mean, God, it's just, it's heartbreaking watching it, and seeing it in the context of the rest of these shorts, it really, I think contextualizes a lot of how people view these tribes as, you know, I remember growing up and hearing so many disparaging remarks about how people lived on their reservations, and people saying those things without taking into context, like,

(27:18):
the long and horrible history of how our country has stripped away resources from them, or made it harder to get resources.
Thinking about how the narrator's dad wasn't able to get adequate medical treatment, because there just wasn't a hospital nearby who would be able to take care of his heart, it's like, that's just so heartbreaking, and talking about cinema as a record,

(27:45):
I really think that, you know, we will see a better future, and I'm optimistic about that, and I hope that, you know, these problems will be solved for future generations, but the importance of this cinema exists as proof and evidence that, you know, we as a country have failed.
Our indigenous tribes, and I think that's important to, that these pieces of cinema exist to remind people in the future where we've been, what people have gone through, and why we can't, you know, go back, why we can't be, having conversations about, you know, people who live on tribes don't have, you know, nice houses, or horrible disparaging remarks, because it removes context that has been, you know,

(28:34):
that has been pushed down upon indigenous tribes from our government, and I think winding paths really does a good job of capturing that, and explaining how these, you know, horrible views and stereotypes, and, and, and removal of resources affect human lives and affect people on a very like individual level.

(28:57):
And winding path really puts all those things into perspective, and kind of sheds a different light onto them, and kind of instead of, you know, going with the stereotypes and kind of just relying on those to make up your perspective about indigenous communities as it has been for like so long, you know, so many, it's, all these communities have been misrepresented in so many different ways.

(29:26):
And I think winding path is just one of the, of the shorts that we have here that really, really dives deeper into that.
[Music]
Honestly, I don't think I have to ask you whether, you know, you'd recommend people go out and see the indigenous curation from the Sundance Institute, but I'm just going to make one more call for your listening to this, if you're on the, you know, maybe I should go, maybe I shouldn't go see it, you really need to, whether you're a foam student, casual foam go or just someone interested in indigenous peoples artworks, I really think it's something that will be worth your time.

(30:12):
And it's something that you'll think about after you leave the theater, because I know for sure after I finished watching these shorts, it was something that really stuck with me and something that I thought about and sort of mold over for a few days, I'm not sure if you had the same experience.
Yeah, absolutely. I definitely think everyone should go see this. It's, it's such an interesting and captivating display of all these different works, and there are so many stories to be told, and here are just a few of them.

(30:40):
I think if you have yet to explore indigenous cinema, this is an absolutely great introduction to that. And yeah, I'm definitely going to go see it, I think.
Yeah, so we'll see you there. Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Feel free to like, subscribe, share wherever you listen to your fine podcasts and come back for our next visit to Beverly Cinema.

(31:05):
Remember that these Undanced Institute indigenous shorts will be playing from November 1st to 3rd, so if you might miss it on one day, you have another chance to go see it be next.
This has been the Film Department, I'm Davie. And I'm Simone. And we'll see you next time.
Imagine by the Rogers Foundation, the Beverly Theatre brings cinematic connectivity, novel collaborations, live happening, cultural portals, and assessed for independent spirits to downtown Las Vegas.

(31:32):
With emissions of stage uncommon cinematic, literary, and live experiences, the Beverly Theatre is Las Vegas's first and only, independent film house, storytelling arena, and live music venue.
Check out our event calendar at the Beverly Theatre dot com.
[Music]