Copyright © 2001 NLThomas
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SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO - The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, in conjunction with Taos Talking Pictures, the Institute of American Indian Arts and Plan B, will present Native Showcase 2001, a series featuring the best in works by and about American Indians. The event represents the first time the National Museum of the American Indian's Film and Video Center has presented an event outside the East Coast.

The Native Cinema Showcase 2001, which takes place August 15-19, 2001 includes a program with featured artist Victor Masayesva Jr., a renowned Hopi filmmaker and photographer, who will present his classic Imagining Indians, as well as the premiere of a new video, The Color of Wilderness, and a series of slides exploring the nature of time. Chris Eyre, director of the landmark film Smoke Signals, will show in public for the first time scenes from his upcoming film, Skins, starring Graham Greene.

"The National Museum of the American Indian is extremely pleased to present and showcase during Santa Fe's Indian Market some of the newest and most creative Native films," said Rick West, museum director. "This event is very much in keeping with the museum's ongoing programs to encourage and utilize the talents of Native filmmakers and to share their media with both Native and mainstream American communities."

Other programs include:

"The Doe Boy": Winner of the Perrier Bubbling Under Award at the 2001 Taos Talking Picture Festival, this debut feature by Randy Redroad offers a moving and insightful portrait of a sensitive young man finding his way in a world where blood matters.

"House Made of Dawn": Adapted from N. Scott Momaday's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this 1972 film examines the loss and reclaiming of identity of a young native man. Actor/composer Larry Littlebird will discuss the film with Momaday following the screening.

"Bearwalker": Shirley Cheechoo won the best director award at the ReelWorld Festival for this drama about the racism and abuse that explodes into the lives of four sisters.

"Alcatraz Is Not an Island": Jim Fortier's award-winning film tells the story of one of the most important civil rights actions of the 1960s - the takeover of Alcatraz - which helped launch the so-called "Red Power" movement.

Filmmakers' panel: A live discussion of the challenges facing native filmmakers as they attempt to tell their stories using film and video.

Indian Humor: a collection of short, native-produced comedies from the National Museum of the American Indian archives.

"The directors, actors, writers and cultural activists whose work is being shown this week in Santa Fe bring to their work such originality and talent," said Elizabeth Weatherford, the head of National Museum of the American Indian's Film and Video Center. "The heart of this year's Showcase is in the way fiction can move us to new understandings, thrill or sadden us, and leave us with a sense of being on journeys we might otherwise never have taken."

The Showcase 2001 will overlap with Santa Fe Indian Market, the world's largest celebration of indigenous artmaking, and has been endorsed by the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, producer of Indian Market. The organizations that are producing Native Cinema Showcase 2001 hope that the event helps promote the work of native filmmakers in the same way that the Indian Market promotes the work of native artists working in other media.

"There are so many talented artists in Santa Fe during the week of Indian Market - the art and creativity on display is astounding," said Jason Silverman, artistic director of Taos Talking Pictures. "As film and video become increasingly important means of expression and communication, adding cinema to the Indian Market mix seemed appropriate. There are so many great films and videos out there, and a large potential audience - we hope this festival becomes a good way to connect them."

The collaboration between the four organizations is the first of its kind, uniting regional, local and national organizations that share common goals. Eric Radack, marketing and public relations director for the IAIA, sees the showcase event "as a means of focusing audience, media and industry attention on a select group of outstanding films and filmmakers ... we hope strategic marketing will enable Native cinema to establish greater economic viability."

[Native America Calling will broadcast live from the IAIA Museum, , Thursday, August 16, 2001, at 11 a.m. MT, featuring Showcase guests and NAC radio host Harlan McKosato.]

Established in 1989, through an act of Congress, the museum is an institution of living cultures dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere. The museum includes the George Gustav Heye Center, a permanent exhibition and education facility in New York City and the Cultural Resources Center, a research and collection facility in Suitland, Md. A National Mall Museum in Washington, D.C., is now under construction and will open in 2004.

Taos Talking Pictures is a not-for-profit media arts organization that produces year-round educational events, as well as the annual Taos Talking Picture Festival, rated one of the top ten festivals in the world. The Institute of American Indian Arts, the nation's only college and museum dedicated to native arts and culture, will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2002. Plan B is Santa Fe's premier all-purpose contemporary arts center, exhibiting the best in world cinema, regional fine art and performing art in all varieties.

Tickets go on sale August 10, 2001 at Plan B, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe. For more information contact; Plan B box office, phone: 505-982-1338, or by visiting the Taos Talking Pictures web site.