November is National Native American Heritage Month, and thanks to generous support from the Monroe County Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Dryden Theatre is presenting five films from indigenous North American voices with free admission throughout the month. As the Red Nation International Film Festival notes, “Who tells the story matters,” and these five films feature writers, directors, and actors telling their stories from their own perspectives. Whether it’s the ancient past, the twenty-first century, or the evocation of the former in the latter, these specially selected films provide a history of Indigenous voices in cinema over the last forty years.
Dates and Titles:
November 4: Smoke Signals (Chris Eyre, US 1998, 89 min., 35mm)
November 7: Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (Zacharias Kunuk, Canada 2001, 172 min., DCP, Inuktitut with English subtitles)
November 13: Mekko (Sterlin Harjo, US 2015, 87 min., DCP)
November 18: Powwow People (Sky Hopinka, Canada 2025, 88 min., DCP)
November 25: Fancy Dance (Erica Tremblay, US 2023, 90 min., DCP)
All screenings in this series are Free to All.
Events in this Series
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (DCP) - Free to All!
Native American Cinematic Heritage Selected as the best Canadian film of all time by critics and filmmakers in 2015, this adventure epic adapts an Inuit legend to the big screen, earning the Camera d’Or at Cannes for the best first feature film.
Mekko (DCP) - Free to All!
Native American Cinematic Heritage Before creating Reservation Dogs and The Lowdown, Sterlin Harjo wrote and directed this drama of post-incarcertation reintegration.
Powwow People (DCP) - Free to All!
Native American Cinematic Heritage Powwow People is a vérité-style documentary grounded in the rhythms, relationships, and lived experience of a contemporary Native gathering. Rather than entering as outside observers, the filmmakers organized the powwow itself, inviting dancers, singers, vendors, and community members to participate in the making of this film.
Fancy Dance (DCP) - Free to All!
Native American Cinematic Heritage Starring Lily Gladstone, Academy Award nominee for Killers of the Flower Moon, this drama is Erica Tremblay’s feature debut, after writing and directing for Reservation Dogs. Jax (Gladstone) has been taking care of her niece, Roki (Isabel DeRoy-Olson), since her mother’s most recent disappearance.