THE WHITE SANDS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AND
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TEAM UP TO SCREEN 3 DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMS DURING
THE 6TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL APRIL 15-16TH, 2010
The All Roads Film Project is a National Geographic program dedicated
to providing a platform for indigenous and underrepresented minority-
culture storytellers around the world to showcase their works to
promote knowledge, dialogue, and understanding with a broader, global
audience.
Tickets for the WSIFF can be purchased in advance online at
www.wsiff.comor during the festival at the WSIFF Box Office located in the Allen
Theatres Cineport 10 Lobby beginning Thursday, April 15th at 5:00pm.
PROGRAM 1
Karai Norte (Man of The North) • Director: Marcelo Martinessi
Based on a classic short story of Paraguayan literature, this powerful
short film focuses on two strangers in a chance, tense encounter from
an event they were both determined to forget. Paraguay | 2009 | 21
minutes | Guaraní (English subtitles)
Lesh Sabreen • Director: Muayad Alayan
Set in a Palestinian neighborhood in Jerusalem, this short film
follows two young lovers who navigate their socially conservative and
Israeli-controlled community, dreaming of being together. Palestine |
2008 | 20 minutes | Arabic, Hebrew (English subtitles)
4 Kilometers • Director: Miri Shapiro
This film follows Hulud, a 15-year-old girl who goes on a journey that
enables her to embrace her Bedouin tradition and let go of her desire
for modernity. Israel/UK | 2008 | 22 minutes | Arabic (English
subtitles)
UNCONQUERED: Allan Houser and the Legacy of One Apache Family
Director: Bryan Beasley
This is the story of one of the 20th Century’s most important artists.
It traces the Houser family from the 1860s through today, exploring
the oral traditions of the Apache people and the works of several
generations of artists. Houser’s lasting legacy is carried on by his
artist sons.
USA / 2009 / 32 minutes
PROGRAM 2
Let’s Not Forget • Director: Violet Harvey
Violet Harvey asks America to recognize Hweeldi, a dark and traumatic
event that the Diné had to endure for freedom. USA | 2008 | 3 min |
Navajo (English Subtitles)
Aak’ume Tsatseem’a - Past & Present • Directors: Vina Leno, Jennifer
Vallo, & Theresa Pasqual
A stunning photo slideshow that explores the changing role of Acoma
women in their community. USA | 2008 | 3 min | Keres (Acoma) & English
(English Subtitles)
Older Than America Director: Georgina Lightning
A woman’s haunting visions reveal a Catholic priest’s sinister plot to
silence her mother from speaking the truth about the atrocities that
occurred at a Native American boarding school. A contemporary drama of
suspense, Older Than America delves into the lasting impact of the
cultural genocide that occurred at Indian boarding schools across the
U.S. and Canada. USA | 2007 | 102 minutes | English
PROGRAM 3
Koyemostawi • Director: Valerie M. Thomas
The visualization of a song that a mudhead “Koyemsi” Katsina would
sing during night dances in the Kiva. USA | 2008 | 3 min | Hopi
El Regalo de la Pachamama • Director: Toshifumi Matsushita
At Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni (Salt Lake), where many families work with
salt, a 13-year-old boy named Kunturi lives a traditional Quechua life
with his family. His life begins to change when his grandmother dies,
a friend moves away and his father takes him on his first trip with
the llama caravan. For three months he travels the Ruta de la Sal,
exchanging blocks of salt his father and other villagers have chipped
from the lake, for other products of the Andes, the altiplano and the
valleys. He learns from these and other experiences and encounters
along the way, including meeting Ulala, the most beautiful girl he
could ever imagine. They feel the stirrings of first love as they
share the same dream: to run together across the immense white sea
that is the Salar de Uyuni, until they reach the end of the horizon.
Bolivia | 2008 | 102 minutes | Quechua (English subtitles)
