The 4th Biennial VisionMaker Film Festival
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2011 VisionMaker Film Festival Results
The fourth biennial VisionMaker Film Festival was held September 30 through October 6, 2011, with screenings at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, Sheldon Art Museum, NET Television, Film Streams (Omaha, Neb.) and Merryman Performing Arts Center (Kearney, Neb.) with the help of the following funders and supporters: Nebraska Arts Council, Nebraska Humanities Council, NET Television, Lincoln Journal Star, Southeast Nebraska Native American Coalition (SENNAC), University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO), Creighton University, Southeast Community College (SCC), University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and the Nebraska Department of Education.
Read the Full Report and See Photos from the Festival
The fourth biennial VisionMaker Film Festival will be held September 30 through October 6, 2011, with screenings at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center and Sheldon Museum of Art.
The VisionMaker Film Festival showcases Native film and video projects that often do not get the spotlight they deserve in a crowded entertainment market. This Festival provides a forum for these productions to gain media and viewer attention. The Festival will aggregate and screen the best of not only Public Television productions, but feature-length and short films as well.
The Festival will feature a range of generations from the story of Standing Bear, a Ponca chief who went to court in 1877 to prove he was a person in the eyes of the law and in the process redefined what it means to be an American to the story of four young Native Alaskan athletes as they compete in the traditional sports of their ancestors.
The Social Media-friendly weekend, October 1-2, 2011, is a new addition to this year’s Festival. Half of the theater will be open to text messaging and status updating via Facebook and Twitter. This initiative is designed to increase public awareness, public engagements, strengthen social movement and ultimately promote social change. Filmmakers will be available for Q&A via Skype, an online, live video chat.
The Sheldon Museum of Art will feature "GRAB," a new NAPT documentary and an Official Selection in the 2011 Sundance Film Festival; plus, attendees will be able to interact with filmmakers Billy Luther (Navajo Hopi Laguna Pueblo), Princella Parker, Omaha (Associate Producer, Standing Bear’s Footsteps), Christina King, Creek/Seminole/Sac & Fox (Co-Producer, Up Heartbreak Hill), Bennie Klain, Navajo (Director, Columbus Day Legacy), and Heather Rae, Cherokee (Family: The First Circle)
Schedule of Events:
Download the full schedule | Download the schedule at a glance
Screenings at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center
Friday, September 30
5:15pm — Columbus Day Legacy (27 minutes) & The Return of Navajo Boy (58 minutes)
5:30 - Opening Reception - Free to the Public
7:15pm — Little Big Shorts (78 minutes)
9:00pm — On The Ice (92 minutes)
9:15pm — Reel Injun (86 minutes)
Saturday, October 1
1:00pm – Shimasani (15 minutes) & Apache 8 (57 minutes) with producer/director Sande Zeig via Skype
1:15pm – Older Than America (102 minutes)
3:00pm – Search for the World’s Best Indian Taco (15 minutes) & Smokin' Fish (57 minutes)
5:00pm – Games of the North: Playing for Survival (27 minutes) & Good Meat (57 minutes)
5:15pm – Little Big Shorts (78 minutes)
7:00pm – On The Ice (96 minutes)
9:00pm – Nunavut Elders Series: Shadow Spirits (26 minutes) & Two Spirits (52 minutes)
9:15pm – Smoke Signals (90 minutes)
Sunday, October 2
1:00pm –Growing Native (10 minutes) & Facing the Storm (80 minutes)
1:15pm –Bridge the Gap to Pine Ridge: Alex White Plume (9 minutes) & We Still Live Here (57 minutes)
5:00pm – Kissed by Lightning (90 minutes)
5:15pm –Wapos Bay: The Elements (24 minutes) & Grab (57 minutes)
7:15pm –Older Than America (102 minutes)
Monday, October 3
5:00pm – Growing Native (10 minutes) & Facing the Storm (80 minutes)
Tuesday, October 4
5:00pm – Reel Injun (86 minutes)
5:15pm – Games of the North: Playing for Survival (27 minutes) & Good Meat (57 minutes)
7:15pm — Search for the World’s Best Indian Taco (15 minutes) & Smokin' Fish (57 minutes)
Wednesday, October 5
Thursday, October 6
Additional Events in Lincoln, Omaha & Kearney
Monday, October 3 – NETV – Lincoln, Neb. - 1800 N. 33rd St. (Board Room)
12:00pm – 3:00pm –The West, 1898 – 1938: Treasures from the American Film Archives with Stephen Gong of the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM)
Monday, October 3 – Merryman Performing Arts Center – Kearney, Neb. - 225 West 22nd Street
Tuesday, October 4 – Sheldon Museum of Art – Lincoln, Neb. - 12thand R Streets on the UNL campus
Presenting Filmmakers:
Presenting Native Filmmakers
- Billy Luther, Navajo/Hopi/ Laguna Pueblo (Producer/Director, GRAB)
- Princella Parker, Omaha (Associate Producer, Standing Bear’s Footsteps)
- Christina King, Creek/Seminole/Sac & Fox (Co-Producer, Up Heartbreak Hill)
- Bennie Klain, Navajo (Director, Columbus Day Legacy)
- Heather Rae, Cherokee (Family: The First Circle)
Sponsors and Partners
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Lanyards Donated by Kauffman & Associates, Inc. (KAI) ![]() |
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Curatorial Team:
NAPT has assembled a curatorial team of nationally recognized media makers to help shape the Festival, including:
- Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho), award-winning independent filmmaker, director and producer
- Dustin Owl Johnson (Saginaw Chippewa), coordinator for Native American and Indigenous programs for the Sundance Institute
- Danny Lee Ladely, director of the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center
- Shirley K. Sneve (Rosebud Sioux), executive director of NAPT
Project Coordination:
Georgiana George Lee (Navajo), Assistant Director
Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc.
Office: 402-472-0497
Fax: 402-472-8675
Email: glee3@unl.edu























