The theme for Vision Maker Media’s (visionmakermedia.org) year-long film festival says it all, “Everything is Connected.” The festival ties together five decades of Indigenous storytelling, linking Native heritage, identity and community across films screened in person and online.
November’s in-person screening at The Ross theater is the Peabody Award-winning “One with the Whale.” The film follows Chris Agra Apassingok, the youngest person to harpoon a whale for his village, and the intense backlash from animal rights activists after his mother shares the news on Facebook. It exemplifies the fragile nature of identity and one family’s fight to maintain its Indigenous values. Stay for a Q&A with Chris and Nalu Agra Apassingok and director Pete Chelkowski.
Free tickets at theross.org.
Online, watch “Who She Is” and “In the Wake of Justice Delayed.” Both show how individual experiences of loss and violence connect to systemic failures that still affect Native communities. A panel discussion with UNL professor Katrina Jagodinsky and Alaska Federation of Natives VP of Engagement Nicole Stoops is also featured.
Watch at visionmakermedia.org/education.
The theme for November’s iNative Shorts for Kids episodes is “Connected to the Land: Indigenous Stewardship & Nature for Kids,” exploring Indigenous science, a time-tested knowledge system built on long-term observation, relationships and ecological stewardship. The first episodes come from the films “Firelighters: Fire is Medicine” and “Growing Native: Turtle Island.”
Watch at youtube.com/@iNativeShortsforKids.