The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is pleased to sponsor the Santa Fe International Film Festival’s (SFiFF) 2024 Indigenous Film Program—look for our full-page ad on the back cover of the SFiFF program. This year’s film festival features short films from six IAIA student filmmakers. SFiFF will run from October 16–20 and you can view the full schedule on their website.

The IAIA Student Shorts program will run on Wednesday, October 16, from 5:15 pm–6:15 pm at the Violet Crown Cinema, located at 1606 Alcaldesa St, Santa Fe, 87501. After the film showing, a Q&A with the filmmakers will be held. The event is sold out.

“Our student filmmakers debuting at the Santa Fe International Film Festival represent the depth, diversity, and artistry that IAIA fosters. We are proud to join them at the SFiFF debut of these important short films,” says IAIA President Dr. Robert Martin (Cherokee Nation).

Throughout the five days, audiences can view 184 films including 42 narrative features, 24 documentaries, and 118 short films. As part of its Special Presentation section, the festival will showcase several high-profile titles, including Michael Gracey’s Better Man, a documentary on pop icon Robbie Williams; Academy Award® winner Andrea Arnold’s Bird, starring Academy Award® nominee Barry Keoghan; Academy Award® nominee RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys, adapted from Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel; Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch, starring six-time Academy Award® nominee Amy Adams; Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, featuring himself and Kieran Culkin; Academy Award® winner Pedro Almodóvar’s The Next Room, with Academy Award® winners Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton; Tim Fehlbaum’s September 5, starring John Magaro and Peter Sarsgaard; and Academy Award® nominee William Goldenberg’s Unstoppable, with Jennifer Lopez, Academy Award® nominee Don Cheadle, and Michael Peña.

Highlights of the festival include the acclaimed film Blitz, directed by Academy Award® winner Steve McQueen, which will serve as the festival’s Centerpiece Presentation and stars Academy Award® nominee Saoirse Ronan. The festival will also host three World Premieres and four US Premieres, including Waltzing Matilda (US Premiere), directed by Petr Slavík, and the documentary Georgia O’Keeffe: The Brightness of Light (World Premiere), directed by Academy Award® winner Paul Wagner and narrated by Hugh Dancy.

IAIA Student Shorts

Wednesday, October 16

Violet Crown
5:15–6:15 pm
FREE
SOLD OUT

The Last Western
Director: Echota Killsnight (Northern Cheyenne and United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians)

Harmony Out of Key
Director: Jordan M. Martin (Blackfeet)

Camera Roll
Director: Juliana Brown Eyes (Oglala Lakota)

Carin
Director: Ethan Nopah (Diné)

Broken Mirrors
Director: Desmond Hayes

This Means Forever
Director: Brandon Martinez (Jicarilla Apache)

IAIA Cinematic Arts & Technology

IAIA Cinematic Arts & Technology is dedicated to providing a safe, supportive environment for future Native screenwriters, directors, producers, actors, documentarians, cinematographers, editors, animators, and visual effects artists to explore their creativity and passion for their art. Our goal is to empower Native filmmakers with the creative and technical abilities necessary to craft cinematic experiences that have the power to connect with the widest audiences possible. A student graduating with a BFA in Cinematic Arts & Technology will possess the minimum skills necessary to function in an entry-level position in the professional workforce, whether their path leads them to Hollywood or back to work for their own communities.

Full Schedule of IAIA-Sponsored Film Showings

Wednesday, October 16

Red Fever
Directors: Catherine Bainbridge, Neil Diamond
Run Time: N/A
Violet Crown 3
3:00 pm
SOLD OUT

Red Fever is a witty, entertaining feature documentary about the profound, yet hidden, Indigenous influence on Western culture and identity. Co-directed by Catherine Bainbridge, Emmy-nominated director of Rumble: The Indians who Rocked the World, and Neil Diamond, the film follows Cree director Diamond as he investigates why the world is so fascinated with stereotypical imagery of Native people.

IAIA Student Shorts
Violet Crown
5:15–6:15 pm
FREE
SOLD OUT

Thursday, October 17

Wilfred Buck
Director: Lisa Jackson
Run Time: N/A
Kathryn O’Keeffe Theater at Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
1:00–2:37 pm
FREE
Tickets

Wilfred Buck is a hybrid feature documentary by Genie Award-winning Anishinaabe filmmaker Lisa Jackson. The film follows Indigenous elder Wilfred Buck, who reclaimed ancestral star knowledge and ceremony, overcoming displacement, racism, and addiction. Director Lisa Jackson will be in attendance.

Moloka’i Bound
Director: Alika Tengan
Run Time: N/A
CCA Studio
7:45 pm
Tickets

Moloka’i Bound tells the story of Hawaiian Kainoa De Silva, who, after years of incarceration, strives to reconnect with his family and adolescent son. Directed by Alika Tengan, the first native Hawaiian director to have a feature film at Sundance, the film explores themes of reconciliation and redemption.

Saturday, October 19

Bring Them Home
Directors: Ivan MacDonald, Ivy MacDonald, Daniel Glick
Run Time: N/A
Kathryn O’Keeffe Theater at Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
12:30 pm
Tickets

Executive produced and narrated by Lily Gladstone, Bring Them Home (Aiskótáhkapiyaaya) offers an intimate look at the resilience needed to survive continuous hostility. The documentary follows a group of Blackfoot people working to reestablish a wild buffalo herd on ancestral lands. Co-director Daniel Glick will be in attendance.

Friday, October 18

Indigenous Narrative Shorts
Kathryn O’Keeffe Theater at Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
3:00 pm
Tickets

An Ode For Leviticus
Director: Montana Cypress

Anishinaabemowin
Director: Shaelyn Johnston

Entropy
Director: Inuk Jørgensen

First Horse
Director: Heperi Mita, Awanui Simich-Pene

Forest Echoes
Director: Eva Grant

Lumbeeland
Director: Montana Cypress

Sunday, October 20

Indigenous Documentary Shorts
Kathryn O’Keeffe Theater at Museum of Indian Arts & Culture
2:30 pm
Tickets

How the Land Remembers Us
Director: Jared Wahkinney

Janelle Niles: Inconvenient
Director: Cass Gardiner, Kelly Aija Zemnickis

Meet Me at the Creek (ᏗᏂᏠᎯ ᎤᏪᏯ)
Director: Loren Waters

Through the Storm
Director: Fritz Bitsoie, Charles Frank

Pathfinder: Marcus Amerman
Director: Anna Hoover