“You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.” In this program indigenous filmmakers embody this belief expressed by Vice President Kamala Harris in their explorations of how where and who we came from informs the person we are today. Phumi Morare’s Why The Cattle Wait (South Africa 2024, 21 min) is the intimate tale of a goddess who tries to win back the affection of her former lover who has moved on in life without her. Three generations of women in a Sámi family have connected over time through practicing joik—a Sámi oral tradition that combines music and storytelling in Radio-Jus Sunná / Sunná Nousuniemi and Guhtur Niillas Rita Duomis / Tuomas Kumpulaine’s ÁHKUIN (Finland 2024, 19 min). Filmmaker Lansana Mansaray documents his returns home in From Ma ŋaye ka Masaala a se ka Wɔmɛti (From God to Man) (Sierra Leone 2024, 15 min). In Laha Mebow’s coming-of-age film TAYAL FOREST CLUB (Taiwan 2024, 19 min), it’s through the help of their ancestors that two Atayal teens manage to find not only their way home but also themselves. We Would Be Freer (Canada/Palestine 2023, 9 min) reflects on the connection between colonization and nature through the use of sumac by a Palestinian refugee and a woman from the Mohawk community of Kahnawá:ke. In Alex Nystorm’s Four Nights and a Fire (USA 2023, 12min), a fire is kept alive for four nights while an Ojibwe man processes the death of his father who’s spirit, unbeknownst to him, is watching on. —Bri’anna Moore
Films showing in this session:
Ma ŋaye ka Masaala a se ka Wɔmɛti (From God to Man): Filmmaker Lansana Mansaray documents his return home.
Why The Cattle Wait: The intimate tale of a goddess who tries to win back the affection of her former lover who has moved on in life without her.
ÁHKUIN: Three generations of women in a Sámi family have connected over time through practicing joik—a Sámi oral tradition that combines music and storytelling.
Tayal Forest Club: Through the help of their ancestor, two Atayal teens manage to find not only their way home but also themselves.
We Would Be Freer: A reflection on the connection between colonization and nature through the use of sumac by a Palestinian refugee and a woman from the Mohawk community of Kahnawá:ke.
Four Nights and a Fire: A young Ojibwe photographer stubbornly takes on the responsibility of keeping a sacred fire alive for four consecutive days and nights in mourning of his father. His father's spirit tries to reach him from the other side.