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Please join us online for an evening of short films curated by American Indian Film Institute. The theme of the evening is: “The Land Back Movement.” The program is part of Spring 2023 film series by Creatively Speaking Films at IRPPE called, "World Humanity & Economy: Dreams Deferred But Not Forgotten." Guest curator: Mytia Zavala
Pre-Screener Film
This film will be available to watch the day before the event. Must register to view.
Bring The Salmon Home – TRT 13:44
Bring the Salmon Home captures the emotions, courage, and determination of Klamath River tribal communities as they host a 300+ mile run from ocean to headwaters to cultivate support for the biggest river restoration project in history – the removal of four Klamath River dams.
Schedule:
Evening Film Program & Q&A
6-8 pm
Part I:
No More Pipeline Blues
Pomo Land Back: A Prayer from the Forest
Rename Sq**w Valley
Killing the Klamath
20 minute Talk back with Evan-Marie Petit
Georgia Band of Eastern Cherokee) – Director of “Pomo Land Back” & Moderator – Barbara Mumby-Huerta
Part II:
Good Fire
Without Water
Unlord the Land
20 minute Talk back with Erica Tom – Director of “Good Fire” & Moderator – Barbara Mumby-Huerta
Films Description:
No More Pipeline Blues (On This Land Where We Belong) - TRT: 5:00
Director: Keri Pickett
Indigenous mothers, grandmothers and others team up in song, spoken word and video to push back against a new toxic, highly polluting tar sands oil pipeline.
Pomo Land Back: A Prayer from the Forest - TRT: 7:00
Director: Evan-Marie Petit
In this short film a Prayer from the Forest aims to honor the vital movement towards indigenous-led stewardship and rematriation of California forest lands.
Rename Sq**w Valley - TRT: 1:00
Director: Kyle Lowe
We strive for the acknowledgement and recognition of a complete history. We want people to know we don’t want any part of it to be lost, including the worst of times. Acknowledging the part of history that is historical trauma, passed down from generation to generation, is the first step forward. We can’t fix a problem if we don’t acknowledge that there is one. The S-word contributes directly and perpetuates the MMIW plight afflicting our communities today.
Killing the Klamath – TRT: 21:23
Director: Jeff Ostenson, Charles Atkinson
Upper Lake Klamath has been a place of conflict and controversy for over a century, as farmers, ranchers, Tribes, fish and an entire ecosystem all rely on its dwindling and dying waters. Meet the Tribes who have lived here since time immemorial and discover why this dying lake should matter to us all.
Good Fire – TRT: 5:00
Director: Erica Tom Cast: Ron W Goode
For thousands of years the North Fork Mono Tribe has used fire to restore Central Valley land. A look at this practice amidst a time of drought, megafires, and climate change.
Without Water – TRT: 20:00
Director: Jonathan Hyla
"Without Water'' documents the ongoing dispute between the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) and various stakeholders in Long Valley, California. Filmed by acclaimed director Jonathan Hyla and narrated by actor David Chokachi, "Without Water'' dives into LAWDP’s plan to reduce or eliminate irrigation allotments on leased lands in the Eastern Sierra's Long and Little Round Valleys. Now under pressure from climate change and the ever-growing needs of Los Angeles county, a group of ranchers, environmentalists, and indigenous tribal members are coming together to face the prospect of an uncertain future.
Unlord the Land – TRT: 9:59
Director: Yvan Iturriaga
A young Native artist gets caught in a struggle over land and blood ties when his brother – a rich real estate agent – makes a deal to flip their family’s apartment building in rapidly gentrifying Oakland.
The American Indian Film Institute (AIFI) - www.aifisf.com
AIFI is a non-profit media arts organization founded in 1979 to foster understanding of the culture, traditions and issues of contemporary Native Americans. American Indians have had an uneasy relationship with the media industry since the origins of film over 100 years ago. The quintessential 20th century art form has created and perpetuated enduring stereotypes that are at best tedious, and at worst profoundly erosive to the self-image of generations of Native Americans. Yet the ability of this art form to weaken and erode is matched by its power to heal and strengthen. In film we find a tool to preserve and record our heritage, and a vehicle for Indians and non-Indians alike to “unlearn” damaging stereotypes and replace them with multi-dimensional images that reflect the complexity of Native peoples.
Our organization’s roots stretch back to 1975 when the first American Indian Film Festival was presented in Seattle. In 1977, the festival was relocated to San Francisco, where it found its permanent home. The American Indian Film Institute was incorporated in 1979, with the late actor Will Sampson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) among its founding members. Today, AIFI is the major Native American media and cultural arts presenter in California, and its festival is the world’s oldest and most recognized international film exposition dedicated to Native American cinematic accomplishment.
The goals and mission of AIFI are inherently educational: to encourage Native/non-Native filmmakers to bring to the broader media culture the Native voices, viewpoints and stories that have been historically excluded from mainstream media; to develop Indian and non-Indian audiences for this work; and to advocate tirelessly for authentic visual and work-force representations of Indians in the media.
Presented by Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy in partnership with the American Indian Film Institute at The New School.
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Barbara (she/her) has worked in the philanthropic sector for over fifteen years, supporting social services, education, and the arts, as well as three decades of work developing a broad range of artistic programming. She is a practicing multi-disciplinary artist and a 2019 Open Society Racial Equality Fellow where she developed a tool kit to support BIPOC communities as they assess and address racism in public art.
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Shane Anderson is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and conservationist with a focus on socio-environmental issues in the American West.
Native to the Pacific Northwest and with a background in fisheries biology he has carved out his niche documenting Pacific salmon and is the owner of Swiftwater Films and North Fork Studios. He has produced 6 award-winning feature-length documentaries and over 70 shorts viewed by millions worldwide. His films have been broadcast nationally on PBS, utilized in education curricula, and have driven impact campaigns that have led to positive conservation outcomes for rivers, forests, and wild fish.
Shane just wrapped his 6th a feature film titled: “THE LOST SALMON” and is in post production on a feature collaboration with the Nez Perce Tribe and a multi-year documentary titled “ UNDAMMING KLAMATH” about a 20 year indigenous led effort to remove 4 hydro-electric dams and setting in motion the largest river restoration effort the world has seen.
Keri Pickett is an award-winning filmmaker, photographer, author and artist interested in family and community which may be seen in her documentation of life’s commonalities in disparate communities. As a producer, director and cinematographer, her feature documentary films have included “The Fabulous Ice Age” which was a Netflix Original in 10 languages and “First Daughter and the Black Snake” which both won numerous awards. Her films have also been shown at the Napa Valley Film Festival, Dance on Camera at Lincoln Center, Jacob’s Pillow and the Arizona International Film Festival, the Marfa Film Festival. Pickett is a 2017 McKnight Foundation Fellow in Media Arts and co-director with Dawn Mikkelson of the documentary feature film "Finding Her Beat" which has been premieres at Mill Valley and has been selected by Heartland, Doc NYC, Hot Springs Documentary, Sound Unseen and many other festivals in the fall of 2022. Pickett has been awarded numerous fellowships including a 2017 McKnight Foundation Media Fellowship.
Evan-Marie Petit is a visual storyteller & filmmaker that hails from the red earth of her ancestors, the Georgia Band of Eastern Cherokee.
Her collaborative process is driven by the desire to rewrite the visual histories of indigenous peoples and ecologies beyond the colonial lens. To re-remember and revive the strands of deep knowledge and kinship that have been previously unraveled by extractive culture. Through her photography and filmmaking, she documents stories of the often-overlooked corners of humanity and our more than human kin, with the belief that amplifying these stories and the inherent wisdom contained within is vital to creating new paradigms for the culture at large.
"To be an ethical storyteller in this modern era, it's essential that we honor the old stories and deep, land-based ecological knowledge to decolonize the lens and narratives as we move forward visioning revolutionary futures."
Kyle Lowe Is A Video Producer, Director, Educator, And Musician Based In Central California. Kyle Is The Co-Founder Of Edit/Or Llc, A Media Solutions Firm And He Earned A Bachelor Of Arts Degree In Mass Communication & Journalism From Fresno State. By Day, Kyle Manages A Community Media Center And By Night, You’ll Find Him Hosting A Podcast With Edit/Or, Daily Vlogging, Taking Pictures, Playing Guitar, Producing Commercials, And, Lately, Running Many Livestream Virtual Events.
Yvan Iturriaga is an Oakland, CA-based writer/director who spent his childhood border crossing through Latin America, living in the extended Chilean exile community. He co-directed the documentaries A Photographer’s Journey for the PBS American Masters series, and Fantastic Negrito: Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?
Yvan also wrote and directed the narrative shorts Sui Generis, Beep and Aparecides. Most recently, Yvan directed the anthology mini series Normal Ain't Normal, executive produced by Rosario Dawson.
Hey there, my name is Hyla, founder of Mt. Washington Productions. I’m a director, creative and host who has had his hands in film, digital, TV, radio, and branded content. Whether it's working with companies like Samsung to help launch technology that allows us to have a better relationship with our phones or collaborating with non-profits creating films that elevate marginalized voices, telling compelling stories at the intersection of cultural + social good is at the core of what I love to do. I also once made Harrison Ford lol.
Mytia Zavala is the Executive Director of the American Indian Film Institute (AIFI), a San Francisco based nonprofit media arts organization. Founded in 1979, AIFI is dedicated to fostering the understanding of culture, traditions and issues of contemporary Native Americans. AIFI produces the annual American Indian Film Festival® where it will celebrate its 48th festival season this November in San Francisco. Mytia has been with AIFI for over 20 years having worked alongside her late father, Michael Smith, who established the American Indian Film Festival® in 1975.
Mytia, a Producer and Video Editor graduated in 2015 with an M.A. in Multimedia Communications from the Academy of Art University San Francisco and a B.A. in Journalism from San Francisco State University in 2009. Over the years she has worked in live production with CBS Sports, Fox Sports and in the NBA Finals. She has also led a film production team for AIFI’s Tribal Touring Program-a tribal youth digital video camp; helped facilitate the American Indian Film Festival® over the years as lead coordinator working one-on-one with filmmakers, managing digital film content and editing promotional content.
Mytia has served as a board member for the Indigenous Arts Institute and is currently an Advisory Board member for the American Indian Cultural District in San Francisco. She is from the Navajo, Pueblo of Laguna, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and is an enrolled member of the Fort Peck Sioux Tribe in Poplar, Montana.
Barbara (she/her) has worked in the philanthropic sector for over fifteen years, supporting social services, education, and the arts, as well as three decades of work developing a broad range of artistic programming. She is a practicing multi-disciplinary artist and a 2019 Open Society Racial Equality Fellow where she developed a tool kit to support BIPOC communities as they assess and address racism in public art.
Recently, she held the position of Vice President of Programs and Partnerships at the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation in Portland, Oregon, where she oversaw the grand opening of a 40,000 square foot arts facility and implemented the building’s inaugural series of public programs and exhibitions. Prior to this, she was the Director of Community Investments at the San Francisco Arts Commission, where she oversaw four cultural centers and a grants portfolio of $11 million dollars annually to small and mid-sized arts organizations, individual artists, and teaching artists. During her tenure at SFAC, she provided seed funding and support to establish the American Indian Cultural Center of San Francisco, co-authored the Indigenous Peoples Day legislation, was a member of the City’s Cultural District working group and advocated for an American Indian Cultural District, mobilized the community around the removal of the ‘Early Days’ statue, and conceptualized and implemented San Francisco’s first citywide American Indian Initiative, entitled “The Continuous Thread.”
Barbara obtained her undergraduate degrees in Native American Studies and Studio Arts from the University of California Berkeley in 2002: the first member of her family to obtain a college degree. During her time at Cal, she was the Program Director for the Cross-Cultural Student Development and co-created the “Night of Cultural Resistance,’ which continues to this day. She is also a founding member of UC Berkeley’s Native and Indigenous Alumni Association. She obtained her master’s degrees in Museum Studies and Business Administration from John F Kennedy University.
Barbara descends from the Powhatan Confederacy (Patawomeck, Mattaponi, Pamunkey) and has Konkow, Spanish, and Scottish heritage. She lives on the San Francisco Peninsula with her family. You can learn more about her work at www.BarbaraMumbyStudios.com.
