Indigenizing screens and creating spaces for healing.

Our story began when a collective of like-minded Indigenous artists and educators from the Pine Ridge Reservation came together with a common goal: to uplift storytelling to empower our communities.

As community organizers, artists, creatives, and healers we have been humbled to bring film and storytelling directly to our communities. Sharing and telling stories is medicine—we are committed to our vision of indigenizing the screen and our mission to celebrate, elevate, and empower Indigenous stories.

For the past 5 summers, the Indigenous Film Festival has showcased more than 65 Indigenous-made films and celebrated over 50 Indigenous filmmakers representing more than 25 tribal and Indigenous nations. We represent Indigenous and Native filmmakers, storytellers, and creators from North American, New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.

The Festival is scheduled alongside the Oglala Lakota Nation Powwow, Rodeo and Fair held annually during the first weekend of August each year on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have postponed our live-in-person event to 2021 and created our first virtual event.

We're excited to introduce our virtual showcase "Indigenous Indigital". We remain committed to designing programming that will continue to elevate, celebrate, and empower Indigenous voices, uplift our stories, and radically transform our narratives in media. We will continue to build systems that will support our community of Indigenous storytellers while working collectively with partners, organizations, and allies to ensure we are all resourced, included, and visible.

We look forward to amplifying your voice, your stories, and sharing them with the world.

Details to be announced.

All films must be Native, First Peoples, and Indigenous-made. Key members of the creative team must have significant artistic and administrative contributions to the project and be from recognized Indigenous nations. Within the United States, all filmmakers must share their affiliated tribal nation. International Indigenous filmmakers from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific Islands, and other regions, must identify from an Indigenous nation within their respective communities.

All genres, narratives, story forms, are accepted and encouraged. We are currently programming films in the following categories: Feature: Narrative and Documentary, Short Film: Narrative, Animation, Experimental, and music video; Student: youth made, high school, undergrad and grad; Episodic: Narrative and Documentary; and Social: video content produced for the web and social media. Student films must be made by students in grades 6-12 with proof of enrollment in an elementary or high school. All students under the age of 18 require permission by a guardian to submit. College or grad students qualify to submit under the Student category with proof of enrollment in a respective film-related program at their university or college. Student or Youth submissions ages are 12-24.

Feature & Episodic Narrative and Documentary films must be 45 minutes or more in runtime. Short Films must be no longer than 30 minutes in runtime. Student Films must be no longer than 15 minutes. All films and projects must have been made within the past 2 years.

Non-English films must have English subtitles.

We have limited programming time and space. Significant care and consideration will be taken for all films submitted through our open submission to ensure an equitable and fair experience.

All rules, terms, guidelines, and awards subject to change.

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  • Great opportunity for Native film makers. Thank you Indigenous Film Festival for hosting your event!

    August 2018