Native Spirit Festival

3rd Native Spirit Festival

London 30th October – 6th November 2009

The 3rd Native Spirit Festival is a season of films, talks and performances promoting the Cultures of Indigenous people.

Through the arts, the festival aims to promote cultural exchange, self-respect, social and environmental awareness.

An old prophecy states:

“When the Condor of the South will meet the Eagle of the North, the warriors of the rainbow will be born. When the tears from these birds are merged, the warriors of light will be born”

The feelings of solidarity and respect among men, women and children mean to be part of the whole human community of respect towards Mother Earth. It is here where such prophecy summons us all. Each one of us, in each ancestral culture, finds the same keys that open the spirit to understand Life.

This festival is part of a drop of water that together with others form the rain and the sea. It is a grain of sand together with others that form the shores. Together, we reclaim our harmonious heritage and the responsibility that goes with it.

For more than 500 years indigenous people have suffered the consequences of European invasion. The monopolisation of the mass media has perpetuated a false image of their culture in order to eradicate it. The festival intends to give back a voice the indigenous, to recount history from their perspective and to share their diverse cultures and wisdom.

The festival – which will also tour cities in Spain – will offer the European public an opportunity to glimpse into the worlds of some of the oldest surviving and most marginalised people on this planet; from the Chilean Andes to Arctic Canada. These often over-looked communities are rooted in ancient traditions, cultures and languages, yet are more commonly characterised today by displacement, conflict and exploitation.

As severely under-represented people in the global film and media industries, the festival is seen as a much-needed platform to celebrate and explore indigenous cultures, in a multicultural and diverse city such as London.

The festival grabs new audiences with thought provoking and evocative audio-visual pieces many produced by indigenous communities themselves, engaging London audiences in rich, non mainstream film viewing.

From dark peat gold mines to frozen Artic Planes, city streets to mountain pastures, this year’s festival takes us on a journey across the Indigenous landscape and what it means to be a Native in today’s fast changing world. Discovering lost identity whilst defending ancient rights for the generations to come, characterise this year’s selection of films made by and with indigenous communities from across the globe.

All proceedings made at the festival will go towards educational resources for schools in indigenous communities. La Nueva Escuela (The New School) – Is a proposal for autonomous education within indigenous communities based on an indigenous understanding of life.

Program 2009

Films are grouped into screening sessions and tickets for these will be available on the door. Advance tickets may also be purchased on the door as well as the festival pass.

Friday 30th October @ Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre

Session 1:

6pm Festival Opening with Indigenous Poetry

Presenting Albert Pellicer, Rikki Shields and other guests, with Rebecca Burch on Xylophone

6.30 The Gift of Pachamama 104 mins, Uyuni-Quechua People, 2008, Bolivia/Japan/USA

Dir. Toshifumi Matsushita / Near the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia , families still earn their living by harvesting salt and using it to barter for staples on the "Ruta de la Sal."

Session 2:

9pm President Evo 44 mins, Aymara and Quechua People, 2009, Bolivia/UK,

Dir. Rodrigo Vazquez / This film tells the story of how Bolivia’s first indigenous President managed to re-write the Constitution, re-distribute the land among poor peasants and nationalise the gas industry.

Followed by Q&A/talk with director Rodrigo Vazquez

+ Share the wealth, 8 mins, Navajo People, 2006, USA , Dir. Bennie Klain / A Native woman on an urban street encounters stereotyped misunderstanding in this poignant drama and ironic parable.

Saturday 31st October @ Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre

Session 1:

6 pm Meet the Prick 26 mins, Tuhoe-Maori People, 2008, New Zealand , Dir. Ilya Ruppeldt

This film offers a look at the clash of cultures, where one man, very openly outspoken, forces the question to be asked, what is wrong with not wanting to be part of today's modern societies?

+ La Yerbabuena 39 min, 2007, Mexico , Dir. Nicolas Defosse / In Colima, west of Mexico , peasant communities are being evicted from their land. A few families decided to stay on their land and went into resistance with the support of the Zapatistas and other peoples.www.terranostrafilms.com

Session 2:

7.30 pm Pidlisan's Gold 40 mins, Igorot People, 2006, Philippines/Netherlands

Dir. Wiek Lenssen and Igorot participants of the UNESCO initiated project / Amongst the tranquil rice fields in the North Philippines , world famous for the ancient irrigation systems which secured their existence for centuries, things are changing at a worrying pace. Followed by Q&A with director Wiek Lenssen

+ Rightful Place 16 mins, Endorois, 2007, Kenya , Dir. Endorois Community

In 1974, the Endorois community was evicted from their lands to make way for a game reserve and tourism. Rightful Place is an intimate film of a people in search of justice.

Session 3:

9.20pm American Outrage 57 mins, Shoshone, 2008, USA , Dir. George Gage and Beth Gage

Two elderly Western Shoshone sisters have put up a heroic fight for their land rights and human rights for nearly forty years. American Outrage documents their courageous stand against the U.S. government's unlawful attempts to take over traditional Shoshone land in Nevada . + Shorts: This is me(4mins) &Like father like daughter(6mins)

Performance: Jose Navarro presents “Amazonian Visions” Mini-theatre, inspired by the visions of ‘Ayahuasca’ sessions

Monday 2nd November @ 16mm Café

Films + indigenous art exhibition from 6 to 10pm

Session 1:

6.30pm Sami Nieida Jojk 58 mins, Sami People, Sweden , 2007, Dir. Liselotte Waistedt

Director Liselotte’s skilfully animated documentary is a road movie into Samiland. She is determined to take her place among the people she belongs to. In spite of being Sami herself, she has stood outside the Sami community, bereft of the language and culture.

+ The Fantastic Fair 16 mins, Maya People, 1998, Guatemala , Dir. Igor de Gandarias

Art video piece made from image and sound recordings taken in 1991 during the celebration of “Jocotenango’s Fair”, the most important popular feast in Guatemala City .

Session 2:

8.00pm The Tunguska Project 82 mins, Cree & Evenki, 2005, Canada , Dir. Gisele Gordon

A century ago, a massive explosion devastated over 2,000 km2 of forest where the Indigenous Evenki reindeer herders of central Siberia live. Internationally renowned Cree playwright Floyd Favel is seized by the need to understand what it meant.

Tuesday 3rd November @ 16mm Café

Films + indigenous art exhibition from 6 to 10pm

Session 1:

6.30pm Weaving worlds 57 mins, Navajo Nation, 2008, USA , Dir.: Bennie Klain

An exploration of the intricate relationships between Navajo rug weavers and reservation traders, this insightful documentary reveals the delicate balance between maintaining cultural traditions, economic survival, and the artistic validation sought by many weavers.

+ Shorts: Rez Life(3mins) + Canoe Pulling: A Lummi Way of Life(4mins)

Session 2:

8.00pm Ullumi 52 mins, Inuit People, 2007, Canada ,

Dir. Lena Ellsworth, Qajaaq Ellsworth, Evie Mark, Tunu Napartuk / In 50 years the Inuit have gone from the igloo to the internet. This film takes a critical look at the major challenges facing their future and their society.

+ Taina-Kan, the Big Star 15 mins, Karajá people, 2006, Brasil, Dir Adriana Figuereiro

This is an animated short which tells the Karajá legend about the start of agriculture and its connection with the appearance of a constellation.

Tuesday 3rd November @ Bolivar Hall

Poetry & Film Evening: Indigenous Voices and Vision

Session 1:

6pm Blossoms of Fire 57 mins, Zapoteco people, 2004, Mexico/US, Dir Maureen Gosling

This film celebrates the extraordinary lives of the Isthmus Zapotecs of southern Oaxaca , Mexico , whose culture is rooted in a strong work ethic and fierce independent streak, powerful women, an unusual tolerance of alternative gender roles.

+ Q&A with director Maureen Gosling

Session 2:

8.00pm Indigenous Poetry by Rikki Shields, Albert Pellicer and Rebecca Burch on Xylophone

A Journey of the Spirit 24 mins, Aboriginal People, 1987, Australia , Dir. Rikki Shields

This films portraits a poetic haunting journey by an Aboriginal Australian who in 1985 brings his Ancestors message to Europe .

+ The Yaqui Assembly 20 min, Yaqui People, 2006, Mexico , Dir. Nicolas Defosse

On October 24th, 2006, Sub-comandante Marcos visits the elder authority of Yaqui Indigenous People in Vicam village, Sonora , north-western Mexico.www.terranostrafilms.com

Wednesday 4th November @ 16mm Café

Films + indigenous art exhibition from 6 to 10pm

Session 1:

6.00pm Herdswoman 58 mins, Sami People, 2008, Sweden , Dir. Kine Boman

Aina, Elisabeth and Lisa belong to different generations. Their stories reflect life in Sapmi ( Lapland ) and the transition from nomadic existence to modern society.

Session 2:

7.15 pm The Whispering of the Trees 55 mins, Mapuche, 2008, Chile/Germany

Dir. Tom Lemke / A Peoples’ livelihood balances on the braches of the Monkey Puzzle Tree, the Mapuche Pehuenche – People of the Araucaria as it is known to the Native Mapuche of the Southern Chilean Andes.

Session 3:

8.30 pm I hear the wounded earth crying 47 mins, 2009, Québec, Dir. Philippe Larocque

A theatrical arts group performs the history and contemporary situation of First Nation people in French Québec, mixing therapy with ritual and historical adaptation.

+ Short: Bunky Echo Hawk – profile of a proactive Artist(7 mins)

Thursday 5th November @ 16mm Café

Session 1:

6pm The Voice of the Mapuche 113 mins, Mapuche, 2009, Argentina/Chile

Dir. Andrea Henríquez, Pablo Fernández / In a journey through communities in both sides of the Cordillera of the Andes, this documentary register the voices and wisdom of the Mapuche people in their struggle to maintain their identity against the political, military and multinational power.

Session 2:

8.15pm In the footsteps of Yellow Woman 24 mins, Diné People, 2009 , USA

Dir. Camille Manybeads Tso / A thirteen years old Diné (Navajo) girl learns who she is through interviewing her grandmother and learning about her ancestry.

+ Umiaq Skin Boat 31 mins, Inuit People, 2008, Canada , Dir. Jobie Weetaluktuk

Ancient craft, memory and landscape are woven together by a group of Inuit elders who decide to revive a lost art before the knowledge is lost forever.

+ Conversión 9 mins, Navajo, 2006, USA, Dir. Nanobah Becker / In this narrative short, a visit by Christian missionaries has catastrophic consequences for a family living in a remote corner of the Navajo nation, circa 1950

Friday 6th November @ Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre

6pm Q’ero: In Search of the Last Incas 41 mins, Q’ero People, 2008, Peru/UK

Dir. Zadoc Nava / This film follows the demanding journey to reach the remote community of the Q’eros in the Peruvian Andes, believed to be the last survivors of the Inca bloodline. It provides a rare insight into the culture, mythology and spiritual values of the Andean people. + Q&A with producer and researcher Mo Fini

7.15pm Spirits for Sale 58 mins, 2007, Sweden , Dir. Folke Johansson

”First they killed our people. Then they took our land. Now they steal our faith.” Spirits for Sale looks at how native culture is continuously facing genocide.

+ Q&A with Annika Banfield and director Folke Johanson

8.15pm Round Table Forum: “The revival of Ancient thought”

With guests

Folke Johansson, director of “Spirit for Sale ”

Annika Banfield, co-director of “Spirit for Sale ”

Mo Fini, producer and researcher of “Q’ero: in search of the last Incas”

Guillermo Piquero, writer of La Senda Aborigen, a revision of Pre-history

Rikki Shields, aboriginal poet and artist

Humberto Mancilla, Director of the Festival de Cine of DDHH in Bolivia.

Others TBC

Chair:

Albert Pellicer, poet and co-director of Native Spirit

Venues details and Ticket prices:

@ Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre

17-25 New Inn Yard, London , EC2A 3EA

Each Screening Session: £8/ £7 concessions

@ 16mm

19 D’Arblay Street, London , W1W 5DF

Each Screening Session: £5/ £4 concessions

@ Bolivar Hall

54 Grafton Way, London, W1T 5DL

Each Screening Session: Suggested donation £5

Festival Pass: £35

To Download a copy of the 2009 London program in PDF click here.

ABOUT US

Native Spirit Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organisation, which promotes the knowledge and preservation of Indigenous Cultures and funds educational resources for young indigenous people. Native Spirit is independent and is run entirely by its volunteers.

The founder of Native Spirit is the artist and filmmaker Freddy Treuquil, a longstanding and prominent member of the indigenous Mapuche community in Patagonia .

Native Spirit has been self-funded thanks to the support of innumerable indigenous and non-indigenous artists, supporters, volunteers and the public.

For more information visit www.nativespiritfoundation.com

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