The Red Nation Film Festival is a

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

focused on films about

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. The festival was founded in 1995 and is curated by

Joanelle Romero Joanelle Romero is an American filmmaker and actress. Romero, who says she has a Native American identity, is the founder and president of Red Nation Television Network and Red Nation International Film Festival. Romero's film ''American Holoca ...

History

The Red Nation Film Festival was founded in 1995 by

, also its

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

. It is run by Red Nation Celebration Institute, also founded in 1995, which also manages Red Nation Television Network. At the 2011 festival, Russell Means was given the Oyate Wayanka Po Win Lifetime Achievement Award, while

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

posthumously received the Red Nation Humanitarian Award and

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

the American Indian Heritage Month Award. In 2020, the festival was held virtually due to the pandemic. It screened 105 films, of which 73 were

documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...

, 35 were directed by women, 12 were created by students and 10 were

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

s. Feature films screened included ''Monkey Beach'' and ''Parallel Minds'', while documentaries included ''Gather'', ''

Revolution Moosehide In political science, a revolution ( Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically d ...

'', and '' Uma: A Water Crisis In Bolivia''. ''Monkey Beach'' swept the awards, winning Outstanding Actress In A Leading Role (

Tina Marie Lameman Tina may refer to: People *Tina (given name), people and fictional characters with the given name ''Tina'' Places * Tina, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * Tina, Tunisia, a town in Sfax Governorate, Tunisia *Tina, Guadalcanal, Solomo ...

), Outstanding Actor In A Leading Role (

Nathaniel Arcand Nathaniel Arcand (born November 13, 1971) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his first major role in the Canadian drama series ''North of 60'', in which for three seasons he played William MacNeil, smart-mouthed and cocky, a troubled, misunders ...

), Best Director (

Loretta Todd Loretta Sarah Todd is a Canadian Indigenous film director. Her first dramatic feature, ''Monkey Beach,'' is based on the iconic novel by Eden Robinson, recently launched to a strong audience and critical response, screening at TIFF Industry Select ...

), and Best Picture. , the festival was set to be held virtually again throughout November of that year, and additionally shown on Red Nation Television Network.

Activity

The Red Nation Film Festival has made multiple unsuccessful attempts to partner with the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

to bring Native films into the mainstream. , Joanelle Romero was working to make the festival Oscar-qualifying to improve the featured films' chances of being recognized in the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

References

Film festivals in Los Angeles American film awards 1995 establishments in California Native American film festivals {{US-film-festival-stub