Joséphine Bacon in the documentary “Call Me Human,” screening at the Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival (Image courtesy Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival)
The sixth annual Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival is back with film premieres, musical performances and author readings. Last year, the festival was a hybrid of virtual and in-person screenings. This year’s festival runs from Friday, Nov. 18, through Sunday, Nov. 20, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
“A festival is really when people get together,” says Brad Brown, festival director and an enrolled member of Virginia’s Pamunkey Tribe. “The point is to interact with filmmakers and actors.”
Several filmmakers will be in attendance, including the creators of “Healing Across the Waters: The Huna Tlingit’s Journey Back to Glacier Bay,” which is about the Huna Tlingit tribe’s relationship with the National Park Service and the natural landscape of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Two tribal members are traveling from Alaska to speak about the film.
All films will feature Indigenous people either in front of the camera or behind it. All but one are making local debuts, with the exception being “End of the Line: Women of Standing Rock.” Brown says he decided to include the film after seeing a screening last year at the Virginia Film Festival.
“End of the Line,” directed by Shannon Kring, chronicles the Dakota Access Pipeline protests and the women who risked their lives to stop the project, a proposed 1,172-mile-long underground pipeline that would have passed through sites considered sacred by local tribes. The documentary screens at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18. A lighter look at the topic is offered in “Peace Pipeline,” which features Native American comedians who pose as oil company representatives who want to build a pipeline through a white suburb in Minnesota. That short film also screens on Friday, at 9 a.m.
The world premiere of “Gakaabikaang: Indigenous Voices in the Twin Cities Riots of 2020,” a documentary about protests after the police killing of George Floyd, happens at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The film is the first by journalist and renowned flutist Darren Thompson.
Brown says he’s excited about the last film of the weekend, the Canadian documentary “Call Me Human.” It’s about Innu writer Joséphine Bacon, who was sent to a boarding school at age 5 and spent 14 years there, removed from her traditions. Today she is a leader in the movement to preserve Indigenous language and culture.
“She really tried to help her tribe and help people with learning language, spirituality and culture, so it’s a pretty amazing film,” Brown says.
Lynette Allston, who is on the festival board and a member of Virginia’s Nottoway Tribe, serves this year as the festival’s master of ceremonies. “As a Virginia tribal person, I can provide a bit of a connection to our story in Virginia and how it relates to the films," Allston says. “Generally people only think about tribes in the West, and not in Virginia. It’s my job to intertwine our story with the films.”
Allston, president of VMFA’s board of directors, is the first Native American president of a major art museum board in the United States.
Brown says that Indigenous representation in films is vital. “The story needs to be told by Indigenous people,” he says. “There is so much misinformation and lies out there. Even in Virginia, there's a lot of people who don’t know that there are still Native people here.”
He says he hopes people will leave the festival excited for next year, and with a better understanding of Native issues and people. It’s a lofty goal, and one that will take time to reach, and the festival is preparing for the challenge by showcasing exceptional filmmakers.
“Indigenous filmmaking is kind of a new genre, so every year the films keep getting better,” Brown says.
The Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival takes place Nov. 18-20 in the Cheek Theater at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Tickets are $20 to $100.
