From April 1st to April 9th, you will have the opportunity to screen three Indigenous films: Cedar Tree of Life directed by Odessa Shuquaya (Kluane First Nation), ?E?anx: The Cave directed by Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot'in), and Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) directed by Amanda Strong (Michif). The films will be available to watch asynchronously, and you will receive viewing instructions following your registration—check out trailers for all three films at https://whatittakes.show/artist/kristin-dowell/.
After viewing the films, you will have the opportunity to hear from two of the filmmakers on April 8th at 6:00 PM EST. Facilitated by longtime collaborator Dr. Kristin Dowell, Odessa Shuquaya (Kluane First Nation) and Amanda Strong (Michif) will discuss their work and film practice. A member of FSU's art history department, Dowell is a settler scholar who has dedicated twenty years to amplifying the work of Indigenous filmmakers and artists. You can learn more about Dowell's research at https://whatittakes.show/artist/kristin-dowell/. The screening and discussion are both free, virtual, and open to the public.
Odessa Shuquaya is an award-winning filmmaker whose first documentary short, Cedar Tree of Life, follows three Indigenous women from the West Coast as they explore their relationship with the sacred material, Cedar bark. Cedar Tree of Life was produced by Sha Sîkwan Productions Inc. as part of the National Screen Institute's IndigiDocs Program, with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, CBC Documentary Channel, Creative BC, and the National Film Board of Canada.
Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot'in) is an award-winning director who creates experimental film that explores land and language, including ?E?anx: The Cave, which was an official selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. ?E?anx: The Cave is inspired by Haig-Brown's great-uncle's telling of a Tsilhqot'in tale in which a bear hunter on horseback accidentally discovers a portal to the afterlife.
Amanda Strong (Michif) is a director, producer, and owner of Spotted Fawn Productions, an Indigenous-led production company that focuses on community-driven and collaborative-based illustration, stop motion, 2D, 3D, and virtual reality animations. 2018's Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) follows Biidaaban, a young Indigenous gender-fluid person, and Sabe, a Sasquatch shapeshifter, set out to harvest sap from Sugar Maples, a timeless Indigenous practice. Biidaaban continues the work of their ancestors, finding connection through Ghost Caribou and Ghost Wolf, figures only Biidaaban can see.