MicroCinema: 2022 Sundance Institute Indigenous Short Film Tour
Pay-What-You-Can screening of short films presented with partner Crosstown Arts at Crosstown Theater.
Indie Memphis and Crosstown Arts are thrilled to screen the 2022 Sundance Institute Indigenous Short Film Tour, a 91-minute program of 6 short films selected from this year’s Festival from alumni of Sundance Institute’s Indigenous Program, on Wednesday, August 17 at Crosstown Theater. The Indigenous Short Film Tour spotlights important works by Native filmmakers across fiction and documentary. This year’s program is a celebration of Native perseverance and an exciting look at a variety of inventive storytelling from Indigenous artists with Sundance ties.
Doors open at 6:30PM // Screening begins at 7:00PM
FEATURED FILMS:
The Headhunter’s Daughter / Philippines (Director and Screenwriter: Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan – Ífugão, Visayan, Producer: Hannah Schierbeek) — Leaving her family behind, Lynn traverses the harrowing roads of the Cordilleran highlands to try her luck in the city as a country singer. Cast: Ammin Acha-ur. Narrative.
Kicking the Clouds / United States (Director: Sky Hopinka – Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians) — An experimental documentary centered on a 50 year old cassette tape of a Pechanga language lesson between the director’s grandmother and great-grandmother, and contextualized by an interview with his mother in his Pacific Northwest hometown. Documentary.
Long Line of Ladies / United States (Directors: Rayka Zehtabchi, Shaandiin Tome – Diné, Producers: Garrett Schiff, Pimm Tripp-Allen, Rayka Zehtabchi, Sam Davis, Dana Kurth) — A girl and her community prepare for her Ihuk, the once-dormant coming of age ceremony of the Karuk and Yurok tribes of Northern California. Documentary.
Maidenhood / Mexico (Director: Xochitl Enriquez Mendoza – Zapoteca, Screenwriters: Xochitl Enriquez Mendoza, Samuel Sánchez Tual, Producer: Eréndira Hernández) — Catalina submits to the tradition of her people to demonstrate her purity and worth as a woman to her beloved, but her body betrays her and she fails to demonstrate her chastity. Cast: Emma Aquilar Malacara, Héctor Ortíz Valdovinos, Mayra Sérbulo, Maira Jiménez Desales. Narrative.
The Original Shareholder Experience / United States (Director and Screenwriter: Petyr Xyst – Roadrunner clan in the Pueblo of Laguna, Producers: Autumn Billie, Lauren Begay) — An Indigenous telepresenter nearing the top of her class must contend with her career prospects and her moral credibility as she’s asked to sell a genocidal product on live television.
ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (Udeyonv) (What They’ve Been Taught) / United States (Director: Brit Hensel – Cherokee Nation, Producers: Taylor Hensel, Adam Mazo, Kavi Pillay, Tracy Rector) — This film explores expressions of reciprocity in the Cherokee world, brought to life through a story told by an elder and first language speaker. Documentary.