New American Cinema

The Tulsa American Film Festival returns for its second year with a diverse and expansive five-day schedule sure to sate local cinephiles

Wednesday, October 12, the Tulsa American Film Festival returns for its second year, with five days of eclectic films, panels and parties taking place across the Kendall-Whittier District, Gilcrease Museum and the Woody Guthrie Center. 

Building on the scope of its successful inaugural year, the festival promises an expanded roster of contemporary documentaries and narrative features, classic films, shorts, student films, and an expanded Native American program, along with the festival’s first outdoor screening. 

“Our opening night film, ‘Transpecos,’ was a film that won the audience award at South by Southwest,” said Ben Arredondo, festival co-founder. “I’m friends with the screenwriter and one of the producers. I’d read that screenplay in its first three iterations. The fact that it got made and was premiering at South By got me excited, and Colleen and I went to go see it, and we decided it really fit the model of our festival. We have a big Latino film angle this year, so it fit that. It has a Western element to it. And also it’s topical. There’s obviously a lot of conversation about the border right now.

“There are a lot of shorts that we’re really excited to show. The opening short for ‘Transpecos’ is a film called ‘The Last Hunt.’ It was written and co-directed by Brock Harris. He’s a local guy, he lives in New York and L.A. now but he’s from here and he’s coming back for the show. And there’s a very cute animated short film that’s playing on our kids day called ‘Moom’ that makes me fucking tear up every time I watch it. (Editor’s note: We felt similarly. You will tear up.).”

New panel discussions for up-and-coming filmmakers, among other events, round out a packed yet smartly planned series of exhibitions.

Most of the film screenings take place at the historic Circle Cinema (10 S. Lewis Ave.) with a special exhibition of Sam Peckinpah’s classic western, “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” at the Woody Guthrie Center (102 E. M.B. Brady) and the outdoor screening of the 1986 Oklahoma-shot schlockfest, “Terror at Tenkiller,” at Ziegler Art Supplies (6 N. Lewis Ave.). In addition, there are free shows, including the Native and Kids showcases, at Gilcrease Museum (1400 N. Gilcrease Museum Rd). 

After parties at Fair Fellow Coffee (1 N. Lewis), Pancho Anaya (2420 E. Admiral Blvd.), and Mainline Art and Cocktails (111 N. Main), round out evenings of cinematic adventure and enlightenment.

“We did aim for bigger and better and that’s exactly what’s happening this year,” Arredondo said. “I am very proud of the films that our programming director, Colleen Thurston, put together. … Last year we were really worried about good quality feature films that would be interested in screening with us. It was a little bit harder. This year it was a struggle to figure out which ones we wanted to show out of all these good ones.”

The Tulsa American Film Festival runs from October 12-16. For details, read on.
For tickets, which include VIP packages, All Access passes, and single day tickets, go to www.tulsaamericanfilmfest.com

Wednesday, Oct. 12

TALES OF LIFE AND DEATH: NARRATIVE SHORTS
CIRCLE CINEMA, THEATER 3 | 6 P.M.

The Life and Times of Thomas Thumb Jr.  
directed by ryan fox
Thomas Thumb Jr. is unlike any other man. He’s got a giant thumb for a head, and he’ll do whatever it takes to achieve the American Dream.

Rosie, Oh   
directed by andy koeger  
An unsupervised little girl wanders into her neighbor’s house looking for her lost dog.

On Time   
directed by xavier burgin
A mother living in South Central L.A. must make a difficult decision when she’s late for her job interview.

Renmen Periode   
directed by wes dehart
A man suffering from hallucinations and glimpses of another world tries to connect with the woman who bewitched him.

Playback   
directed by nathan crooker
A man’s TV only shows static, until the picture comes through and looks eerily close to home.

The Great Accountant   
directed by michael quigley
The marriage of two classically trained musicians
descends swiftly through purgatory and into hell.

Dust to Dust   
directed by joel edwards
Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Sasha   
directed by jonathan chekroune
Sasha is the story of a young Russian woman living in New York City. Her problem is an expired visa, until she meets a stranger who offers help.

Sleep On It  
directed by nathan breton
Doug’s new bed changes his life.

The Piano’s Fate  
directed by dex burnom
A man who has lost his wife finds relief through
a mystical piano.

OPENING NIGHT SHOWCASES:

The Last Hunt
directed by Brock Harris, Matthew Daddario
Circle Cinema, Theater 2 | 8:15 p.m.
(preceding the screening of “Transpecos”)

Meditative Noir 
Daniel (Brock Harris) and Cody (Creed Garnick) are friends who share a two-decade tradition of hunting in the frost-covered Wyoming wilderness. When Cody begins to succumb to a degenerating brain condition he forms a pact, unbeknownst to his girlfriend (Tanaya Beatty), to go on one last hunt—from which he won’t return—with Daniel.

Written by Harris and co-directed with Matthew Daddario, “The Last Hunt” offers a thoughtful, initially meditative story, delivered with finely tuned performances from Harris and Garnick, who share a natural sense of familiarity.

Their emotional landscapes are deftly sketched during “The Last Hunt’s” brief runtime, as well as the literal—and gorgeous—mountainscapes. The cold impassivity of their unforgiving world magnifies the sadness of their insignificance, captured by some arresting cinematography from Axel Lanzenberg (“Celeste & Jesse Forever”).

 The pensive tone of the film does take something of a noirish left turn at the end that subverts what came before, leading to a climax that, while satisfying, also feels a bit out of place—leaving the question of whether or not Daniel can, or should, follow through on his pact with Cody.

​Transpecos
directed by Greg Kwedar
Circle Cinema, Theater 2 | 8:15 p.m.

A taut, slow-burn thriller
Sounds like a weird genre to get attached to, but I’ve always had a thing for border patrol movies. The desert is a creepy place where, more often than not, nefarious doings are afoot.

There was a run of them in the ‘80s. I don’t remember why, aside from Reagan being in office, so I assume everyone was (still) paranoid about “illegal aliens” flooding over our porous borders. The 1984 thriller “Flashpoint,” starring Kris Kristofferson and Treat Williams, found two scruffy border patrol agents on the run after they discover a dark secret behind the ultimate conspiracy, buried deep in the desert. 1980’s “Borderline” featured Charles Bronson as an agent on the hunt for a murderous human smuggler played by Ed Harris. “The Border” (1982) finds Jack Nicholson being corrupted by the leader of a human trafficking ring, to cover the growing expenses of his high maintenance wife.

It’s that last one to which “Transpecos,” a frontier thriller that premiered earlier this year at South By Southwest, bears the closest resemblance.

Three border patrol agents, Davis (Johnny Simmons), Flores (Gabriel Luna), and Hobbs (Clifton Collins Jr.), man a remote immigration checkpoint in the Texas desert. They pass the time bullshitting and waiting for the occasional car to pull up and submit to a few questions—the boredom of which inspires Hobbs to be somewhat of a dick, usurping Davis when he’s interviewing a seemingly innocuous, lone driver.

Turns out, the driver is not so innocent, and tries to escape with Hobbs’s arm trapped in the door. Fearing for his life, Hobbs kills him, and a quick search of the car reveals many kilos hidden in the trunk. With a dead driver and a pile of cocaine on their hands, Hobbs and Flores delight in the inadvertently massive bust they’ve stumbled upon. Until they realize that their wisecracking partner, Davis, is not entirely who he seems.

Directed and written by Greg Kwedar in his feature debut (and co-scripted with Clint Bentley), “Transpecos” is a taut, slow-burn thriller with a ton of atmosphere and a trio of intense performances. Collins brings his weary, tough guy chops to the role of Hobbs, a character who winds up being deeper than his racism belies. As Flores, Gabriel Luna is at the moral center of the film’s sly heart, delivering an often wrenching performance. As Davis, Simmons (hey, it’s Young Neil from “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”!) provides the conflict, calibrating a performance that’s as sympathetic as it is frustrating. The great character actor Julio Oscar Mechoso (“Machete Kills”) pops up in a cameo to deliver a typically charismatic turn.

Kwedar is a thoughtful director, managing to wring a good amount of tension from the story, maintain a steady pace, and elicit damn good performances that elevate his fairly standard-issue script. Some flat-out jaw dropping cinematography by Jeffery Waldron captures the stunning New Mexico vistas (standing in for West Texas) with a sense of cold beauty and creepy solitude that almost brings you through the screen.

“Transpecos” is no masterpiece, but it is a memorable, solid, and surprising first feature from a director to keep an eye on.

ALSO SHOWING:

This Land Press Opening Night Reception
​Fairfellow Coffee | 7 p.m. 
All VIP, ALL ACCESS and same-day ticket holders welcome.
Featuring a DJ, bar, and light snacks. 

This Land Press Opening Night After Party
​Fairfellow Coffee | 9:30 p.m. 
Free admission to all VIP, ALL ACCESS and same-day ticket holders. $10 door charge for non-ticket and pass holders. Western Swingabilly Jazz Tribe will perform. Cash bar and snacks.  

THURSDAY, OCT. 13

OFF BEATEN PATHS: Documentary Shorts
Circle Cinema, Theater 3 | 6 p.m.

These C*cksucking Tears
directed by Dan Taberski
Meet Pat Haggerty, the man behind the world’s first and only gay-themed country music album, Lavender Country, 40 years after its release.

Love Bite: Laurie Lipton And Her Disturbing Black & White Drawings
directed by James Scott
No one on the planet has drawn more than Laurie Lipton. With millions of strokes of her pencil, Laurie’s images seek answers to some uncomfortable themes in our culture. What compels her to live a life of isolation is neither black nor white.

The Provider
directed by Leah Galant
Restrictive laws threaten abortion providers and force clinics to shut down or hire out-of-state practitioners. Some abortion doctors, such as Dr. Shannon Carr, travel hundreds of miles to provide legal and safe services, while encountering opposition from anti-abortion forces.

The Head of Joaquin Murrieta
directed by John J. Valadez
For over a decade, John J. Valadez searched for the remains of Joaquin Murrieta, a legendary Mexican outlaw. Valadez is convinced he finally has them. He embarks on a cross-country road trip through history to bury the remains of Joaquin Murrieta and a dark and troubled past.

The Wedding Party
directed by Thane Economou
​Circle Cinema, Theater 2 | 7 p.m.
A groomsman must navigate a slew of disasters to maintain order at his best friend’s wedding reception.
Narrative feature

A Thousand Acres
directed by Chaz Fulk
​Circle Cinema, Theater 4 | 8 p.m. 
A young man infiltrates an anarchist cult in search of a former love.
Short, preceding screening of “Population Zero”

Population Zero
directed by Julian Pinder
Hours after three men were gunned down in cold blood, Dwayne Nelson walked into a ranger station miles away and confessed to the crime. Nelson walked free. Pinder travels to Yellowstone in a chase for truth behind a crime that should have rocked the nation.
Narrative feature

Terror at Tenkiller 
​30th anniversary screening 
directed by Ken Meyer​
Outdoor screening, Ziegler art Supplies in Kendall Whittier | 8:30 p.m.
Leslie and Jana take off on a vacation and strange things start to happen at their remote cabin. Soon, corpses begin turning up near the lake as, one by one, the locals disappear. Film will be accompanied by a live, MST3K-style comedy commentary. 
Narrative feature, free and open to the public

Also showing:
TAFFest Kendall Whittier Outdoor Party 
10 p.m. | free and open to the public
Following the outdoor “Terror at Tenkiller” screening, Count Tutu will close out the night with a rowdy street show and dance party.

FRIDAY, OCT. 14

Short Screenplay readings 
directed by Michael Wright | free and open to the public
Circle Cinema | 8 p.m.
Four short screenplays will be read by local actors and directed by TU professor and playwright Michael Wright.

Limitless Potential 
directed by Philip Bastian
​Circle Cinema, Theater 4 | 6 p.m.
A boy struggles with accepting his newly discovered supernatural ability.
Short, preceding screening of “Electric Nostalgia”

Electric Nostalgia
directed by Jacob Burns
A young woman is haunted by visions of a faceless man after she is awoken from the dead in a body that is not her own.
Narrative feature

Tulsa Film Mixer & Panel Series: Rethinking “Diversity” in Indie Film
free and open to the public
Circle Cinema | 6:05 p.m.

Marceline Blurr
directed by Nadia Mata Portillo
​Circle Cinema, Theater 3 | 8 p.m.
Inspired by movies of the French New Wave, Marceline Blurr is the story of a young woman who was born with vision impairment out of the ordinary. For her the world is a magical place.
Narrative short, preceding screening of “Best and Most Beautiful Things”

Best and Most Beautiful Things
directed by Garrett Zevgetis
A celebration of outcasts everywhere, this documentary stars a precocious young blind woman who disappears into quirky obsessions and isolation.
Documentary feature

Oklahoma Film & Music Office After Party 
​Pancho Anaya | 8 p.m. 
VIP, ALL ACCESS and same-day ticket holders welcome. Live music, cash bar, and light snacks.

SATURDAY, OCT. 15

NATIVE FILM
Gilcrease Museum | free and open to the public

In Attla’s Tracks 
directed by Catharine Axley
An aging Alaskan dogsled champion trains his grandnephew to carry on a tradition and compete in the world’s largest dogsled sprint race.
Documentary short

The Thunderbird Over the Whale   
directed by Nicole Acevedo
​Gilcrease Museum | 10 a.m. | free and open to the public
Documentary short (preceding the screening of “Kivalina”)

Kivalina 
directed by Gina Abatemarco
The story of an Inupiaq Eskimo tribe whose island is disappearing into the Alaskan Arctic. With no resources and only a precarious sea wall to protect them, the film explores the community’s struggle to maintain its way of life.
Documentary feature
10 a.m.

Bisonhead
directed by Elizabeth Lo
A family of Native American hunters journey from northern Montana to Yellowstone National Park to assert their treaty right to hunt by participating in the controversial culling of the park’s wild bison.
Documentary short

Kay Walkingstick: An American Artist
directed by Augusta Lehman
Throughout her career, artist Kay Walkingstick has defied categorization. Her work has spanned styles from abstraction to realism and materials from acrylic to saponified wax creating a complex assortment of work that resists summary and generalization.
Documentary short

What Was Ours
directed by Mat Hames
An Arapaho journalist and a powwow princess travel from the Wind River Indian Reservation with a Shoshone elder to explore vanished artifacts. As the elder looks to the future, the young look to the past to revive hope for their beloved home.
Documentary feature
12:30 p.m.

Te Ata
directed by Nathan Frankowski
Te Ata is based on the true story of Mary Thompson Fisher, one of the greatest Native American performers of all time. Te Ata’s journey led to isolation, discovery, love and a career of worldly performances. 
Narrative feature
3 p.m.

HOMEGROWN: LOCAL SHORTS
Circle Cinema, Theater 3 | 5:30 p.m. 

Narrative Shorts

The Nuclear Blast from the Past
directed by Alex Allen, Drew Allen
While the United States government performs nuclear tests in the early ‘60s, three scientists are accidentally blasted forward in time to 2016 and must come to grips with the stark reality of the future.

Yes, We’re Open
directed by Yousef Kazemi
Tells a story about an unlikely friendship between a convenience store owner and a shy, young girl.

La Mercancia
directed by Rogelio Almeida
Bruno embarks on an unknown and dangerous journey to help his sister Mariana raise money for their ailing mother’s much needed surgery.

Thespianism
Info TBA

Alma Avira
directed by Kyle Kauwika Harris
A woman awaits the return of her husband who is away at war.

Even in Death
directed by Zachary Davis
Jonah, a young boy living in New Orleans is about to experience a loss in his family. Faced with grief, Jonah is visited by the Grim Reaper and is taken on a charming adventure through New Orleans.

Documentary Shorts

Samantha Crain
directed by Allison Herrera, Jeremy Charles
Samantha Crain is a Norman-based singer, songwriter, and producer whose Americana-influenced songs are infused with her Native American heritage. Part troubadour, part social justice warrior, Crain crafts songs that reveal her personal narratives, inner struggles, creative whims, and passion for the lost traditions of her ancestors. 

“Samantha Crain” is a cinematically shot and melodious portrait of a pure and unaffected Oklahoma artist.

BEANS
directed by Mark D. Williams
Peyton “Beans” Factor is just like every other kid. Well, except that as an eight-year-old championship golfer she’s already hit the radar of top college athletic programs.

I Like JD
directed by Nathan Poppe, Travis Tindell
Why did Lorna Dixon travel 4,000 miles to see JD McPherson? Follow the music enthusiast as she takes trains, planes and a cab ride to get from England to Oklahoma; just to see Broken Arrow’s JD McPherson perform live.

Dig It If You Can
directed by Kyle Bell
The story behind the art of Steven Paul Judd.

ALSO SHOWING:

Tulsa Film Mixer & Panel Series: Experiences as a Working Actor in Oklahoma
Free and open to the public.
Circle Cinema  | 12:30 p.m. 

Okay, OK
directed by Kyle Bergersen
It’s like Portlandia but set in Oklahoma.
Short, preceding screening of “O, Brother!”

O, Brother!
directed by Lance McDaniel
O, Brother! is a wild, low budget, home-grown comedy about sex, race, drugs, politics, drag queens and family in Oklahoma. 
Narrative feature
Circle Cinema, Theater 3 | 3 p.m. 

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
directed by Sam Peckinpah
Kris Kristofferson, James Coburn and Bob Dylan star in the classic Peckinpah Western set in 1881 New Mexico, featuring an original soundtrack by Dylan.
Woody Guthrie Center | 7 p.m. 

The Champion
directed by Brett Garamella, Patrick McGowan
A former Iraqi boxing champion Estaifan Shilaita overcomes tremendous hardships as he builds a special bond with his family and taxicab customers in Chicago.
Short preceding screening of “Feral Love”

Feral Love
directed by Markie Hancock
Crazy cat lady or world-class musician? A violinist with the New York Philharmonic for 40 years, Dorian Rence also cares for a feral cat colony in the tunnels of New York City. You decide.
Documentary feature
Circle Cinema, Theater 2 | 8 p.m.

Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts & Culture After Party
Free admission to all VIP, ALL ACCESS and same-day ticket holders. $10 at the door for non-ticket holders. Cash bar and light snacks, with a performance by Samantha Crain.
Mainline Art & Cocktails | 8 p.m. 

SUNDAY, OCT. 16

KIDS’ FILM DAY
Free and open to the public | Gilcrease Museum | 1 p.m.

MOOM
directed by Robert Kondo, Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi

An esoteric fable for children 
“Moom” seems like an uber-cute, state-of-the-art CG animated short, with somewhat simplistic character design, aimed squarely at toddlers who love big expressive eyes, cooing non-dialogue, and obtuse storytelling—a pretty looking Pixar-aspirant that feels like a cut scene from a Zelda game.   

That is, until the emotional gut-punch of an ending that brought this deceptively saccharine, lava lamp-for-kids full circle and put a genuine lump in my throat. 

In an idyllic otherworld, a little, anthropomorphized ball of purple called Moom rescues trapped memories from objects like bottles, shoes, or whatever falls randomly from the sky. Moom is shepherded by a green creature in an astronaut’s flight suit who helps Moom yank a memory from a pair of ballet slippers. The memory turns out to be another emotive cute-blob with whom Moom is instantly smitten. But the bond they form, and the connection to their nascent objects of desire must be relinquished to the inevitability that all memories fade, sundered by the impassable frontier of death. 

I think. Japanese fables can be inscrutable, sometimes.

Based on the children’s book by Genki Kawamura that I clearly haven’t read, and adapted by Pixar expats Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi (whose studio, Tonko House, produced the 2015 Academy-winning short, “The Dam Keeper”), “Moom’s” subtle story is a stark yet familiar contrast to the high-concept narratives that fuel Pixar’s necessarily crowd-pleasing work.

The Iroquois Creation Story
directed by Cathleen Ashworth
Combining animation and dance, The Iroquois Creation Story tells the Haudenosaunee tale of Sky Woman and her grandsons Flint and Sky Holder.

The Red Thunder
directed by Alvaro Ron
Without permission, Sarah borrows her mother’s car for the evening. The evening takes a turn for the unexpected when the car reveals the alter ego of Sarah’s mom.

Eggventure
directed by Danielle Johnson
A penguin and a polar bear share love for
the same egg.

Space Town
directed by Mike Diliberto
Two hundred years in the future, a teenage girl from Earth adjusts to life in a small town that sits atop an asteroid.

Steve Pryor – “Can’t Find My Way Home” 
The late Tulsa legend Steve Pryor performs in this video Produced by Jamie Oldaker, Dan Mayo and Jeremy Lamberton for Mad Dogs and Okies.
Music video

To Tulsa and Back: On Tour With J.J. Cale
directed by Jörg Bundschuh
Featuring Eric Clapton, Rocky Frisco, and Tulsa’s own J.J. Cale, this tour documentary follows the legendary guitarist as he returns to his hometown.
Documentary feature
Woody Guthrie Center | 2 p.m. 

OKLAHOMA STUDENT SHORTS
Circle Cinema, Theater 2 | 4 p.m.

 Angry Max 
directed by Megan Porter
A small town guy struggles to become an amateur boxer.

I’m Just There
directed by Josh Downing
A misunderstood man, living in a world where he doesn’t belong, searches for happiness and a place to call home. He discovers true peace and a transformation in the most unlikely of places.

116 
directed by Lisandro Boccacci
A humanlike robot, tethered by engineered borders, makes the decision to leave knowing very well that he will perish. In doing so, he finds the answer to life.

A Time Before Remembering
directed by Tahlia Munoz, Kelsey Hausam
When a teenage boy experiences grief, there’s no telling how he’ll cope with it. Acceptance is the first step toward recovery, and his just happens to come in the form of art.

How Do You Doo? 
directed by Kelly Edwards
Following the death of his girlfriend, a man starts a new life with another lover. He soon discovers, however, that she’s been keeping deadly secrets from him.

Wrung
directed by J. Logan Alexander
Trevor Jacobs returns to his hometown to compete in the amateur rodeo circuit. A chance encounter with his estranged father, known bull rider “Bucking” Bill, stirs his tragic past, and Trevor is faced with a decision: forgive or be free.

Bunee: The Boy from Constanta
directed by Bunee Tomlinson
After spending the first six years of his life in the Romanian orphanage system of the 1980’s and 1990’s, a young boy discovers that filmmaking could be the engine for personal growth in his new world.

The Prisoner’s Voice 
directed by Ethan Dennis
Mr. and Mrs. Stick noticed odd behavior from son Matt, but nothing would prepare them for what would happen next. In late 2012, Matt stabbed his mother to death. The Prisoner’s Voice advocates for mental health treatment rather than punishment.

Deaf Code
directed by Chase Chambers

Living in silence
University of Tulsa junior classman Chase Chambers won an Emmy this year in the Best Variety category for this confessional-style, student short film about living life while deaf. Chambers, who is deaf, appears alongside his friends and peers, elucidating the differences between the ways deaf people commiserate, party, and communicate with each other and how that intersects with the hearing world around them. 

Told entirely in sign language with subtitles, “Deaf Code” follows in the vein of MTV series’ “Guy” and “Girl Code,” revealing the etiquette of deaf culture, and the frustrations that come with day-to-day life that the hearing probably never think about—like talking with your hands full.

The most memorable bits clear up some common misconceptions. No, lip reading is not an exact science so don’t pull a Costanza and expect to find out what your ex-girlfriend is saying at a party. And, yes, they can feel a bass beat so don’t ask if they can dance to music. 

“Deaf Code” is entertaining and informative, and the players are an amiable bunch. Its earnestness often overcomes its Spartan execution, and is an apt calling card for Chambers’ perceptive, playful perspective of the world. 

Tulsa American Film Festival Awards
Circle Cinema | 6 p.m. | free and open to the public
An evening of honoring the winning filmmakers of the 2016 Tulsa American Film Festival. A special local recipient will be honored with the Bill Blair Award for Excellence in Film. Sponsored by The University of Tulsa.

CLOSING NIGHT DOCUMENTARY:

INAATE/SE/ 
[it shines a certain way. to a certain place./it flies. it falls./]
directed by Zack Khalil, Adam Khalil 
 Circle Cinema, Theater 2  | 7 p.m.

Jesuits suck.

That’s the main takeaway from “INAATE/SE/,” a confounding documentary, in concept and title, about the native Ojibway tribe, who live on the Canadian border on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, in the town of Sault Ste. Marie.

The Jesuits in question came with white settlers, preaching “accept Christ, or die” to the natives. But, as the two cultures merged, the clergy evolved to merely opening boarding schools and abusing the kids. Their influence is written on the landscape in hollowed-out, abandoned Jesuit schoolhouses, and a creepy looking Masonic-influenced spire cutting the horizon, called the Tower of History. You’d almost expect the Eye of Sauron to blaze above it all.

“INAATE/SE/” retells the ancient parable of The Seven Prophecies, which predicted the arrival of white people, the sundering of the Ojibway from the knowledge of their traditions, and a far-flung future where the young return to the roots of their culture. This lost knowledge was written on birchwood scrolls that have been hidden from the world to protect the tribe’s secrets. 

Created by brothers Adam and Zack Khalil, who utilize a strange mixture of archival footage, reenactments, and interviews—amid flourishes of experimental cinema—the brothers explore many of the boilerplate issues that concern documentaries about Native culture: assimilation and appropriation, forgotten traditions, sovereignty, and the need to reconnect with their roots in a modern society that doesn’t care to understand any of it.

The interviews cover an eclectic range of people who talk of the loss of their ways, from elders lamenting the new generation’s disconnect from its past or the sequestering of their artifacts at a local museum, held by the Jesuits who helped murder or convert their ancestors.

“INAATE/SE/” makes some odd creative choices; it almost feels like it was edited by two people with wildly different styles and visions. As a documentary it doesn’t totally work—some information is redundant, and the narrative lacks cohesion to the point of frequent confusion. It’s cut like a horror movie at times (one of the Jesuit priests taunts the camera while wearing an unnerving Halloween mask) and the music plays to that vibe, as well, with disjointed, staccato pieces that appear and disappear out of nowhere with the next unexpected smash cut. The randomness lends the film a chaotic, ominous vibe.  

Despite the tonal and narrative mish-mash, “INAATE/SE/” is bizarrely memorable. Depending on your connection to and understanding of the subject, your mileage will vary.

Jáaji Approx. 
directed by Sky Hopinka
Audio recordings of the filmmaker’s father are juxtaposed with videos gathered of the landscapes the two separately traversed, question the relationships between recorder and recordings, new and traditional, memory and song. Jáaji is a near translation for directly addressing a father in the Hocak language.
Short preceding screening of INAATE/SE/