Native Spirit Film Festival returns for its 13th year (12 to 20 OCT) promoting indigenous cinema, media makers & artists. Founded by Mapuche artist & filmmaker Freddy Treuquil in 2005, the festival promotes encounters between diverse people & perspectives. Here’s everything you need to know.

By RADIANT CIRCUS

Twitter @radiantcircus | Instagram @radiantcircus

We make it our RADIANT CIRCUS mission to promote as wide and as varied a view of London’s alternative cinema scene as we can. While the city throngs with film industry and fans for the BFI London Film Festival, it’s also worth celebrating independent, self-funded and entirely volunteer-run festivals like Native Spirit.

Showcasing in one packed programme what might be more overlooked in a major festival sidebar, Native Spirit celebrates the work of indigenous directors, independent indigenous-run film productions and collectives, and pushes for the revitalisation of native languages across all kinds of art and media. Some of the event details are still being finalised at the time of posting, but there’s more than enough here to sink your teeth into.

According to the festival organisers:

“We believe in the strength of cinema in sharing and providing information on under-represented issues, narratives and world views. Our festival aims to increase visibility of human rights and land issues faced and reported by Indigenous communities from the four corners of our planet.”

And that’s the meat of it…

Native Spirit Festival 2019 runs from 12 to 20 OCT at various venues across London and is booking now.

FULL PROGRAMME

NORTH AMERICAS (12 OCT 10:00 – Brunei Gallery):

• “A short film programme in celebration of indigenous languages in partnership with SOAS World Language Institute.”

OPENING DAY (12 OCT 14:00 – Brunei Gallery):

• “Contemporary indigenous electronic arts and guardians of the forest in Brazil. Includes interactive Digital Body Painting and chance to see small collection of indigenous artworks from some of the communities in the project.”

OPENING NIGHT (12 OCT 17:00 – Brunei Gallery).

DECOLONIAL LOVE: 2-SPIRIT & INDIGIQUEER (13 OCT 14:00 – The Horse Hospital).

• “Warning: Adult Content – Viewer Discretion Advised.”

BOLIVIA & ANDES (14 OCT 17:45 – Human Rights Consortium):

• “In association with the Embassy Of The Plurinational State Of Bolivia in the UK.”

24 SNOW d. Mikhail Barynin, 2016 (15 OCT 19:00 – Pushkin House):

• “24 SNOW tells the story of Sergey, a horse-breeder who lives most of the year in the tundra looking after the herd. With each year, Sergey spends more and more time away from the village, meeting his family just a few times a year for the horse-breeders’ feast and to bring the meat home.”

SAMI (16 OCT 17:45 – Human Rights Commission):

• “Celebrating 70th Anniversary of Skolt Sámi move to Inari area, Finland with Q&A Erika Benke, BBC World Service.”

MĀORI TO MAASAI (17 OCT 17:45 – Human Rights Commission):

• Short film programme.

NATIVE AMERICA (18 OCT 17:45 – Human Rights Commission):

• Short film programme.

LONG TIME NO SEA d. Heather Tsui, 2018 (18 OCT 19:00 – SOAS):

• “Manawei, a Yami boy, lives on Orchid Island with his grandmother while his father is away from home working. He hopes that his father will bring him a new pair of shoes, but his father’s brief return brings only disappointment. The National Indigenous Dance Competition approaches and a young teacher from Taiwan volunteers to train the school’s dance team with the hope of being transferred back home. While for Manawei, it is a chance to see his father again.”

URBAN NDNZ TRIPLE BILL (19 OCT 15:45 – Rio Cinema):

• “In partnership with Rio Cinema, three films (1961 to 2019) about Reservations, Urban life and identity for contemporary young Native Americans.”

WIÑAYPACHA d. Oscar Catacora, 2018 (19 OCT 18:30 – Latin American House):

• “This is the story of Willka and Phaxsi, an elderly couple of more than eighty years of age living abandoned in a remote part of the Andes of Peru, more than five thousand meters high. They face the misery and the inclement passage of time, praying to their gods so that finally their only son arrives to rescue them.”

CLOSING EVENT (20 OCT 12:00 – SOAS):

• Short film programme.

NATIVE SPIRIT FILM FESTIVAL

Web nativespiritfoundation.org | Instagram @nativespirituk | Twitter @NativeSpiritUK | Facebook @NativeSpiritUK

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*THE SMALL PRINT: As accurate as we could make it. Apologies for any errors. Updates & corrections will be made to the online version. Event dates/times are subject to change by the venue/organiser. We try to only list events you can book for at the time of posting: however, some events may still be sold out. Please click quickly! We don’t filter by age/certification: all readers & subscribers should be 18+.