Announcement of Indigenous Film Screenings at IPD Phx Fest
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Event Contact: Nicole Underwood, Events@cahokiaphx.com
Media Contact: Candace Hamana, Media@cahokiaphx.com
Sundance Film Festival’s Indigenous Film Jury Winners Brit Hensel, Rayka Zehtabchi, and Shaadiin Tome will feature their work at the Indigenous Peoples Day Phoenix Fest
— The film showcase is hosted by Indie Film Fest and begins at 7:30 p.m. —
Phoenix, Ariz. (September 6, 2022) - Cahokia SocialTech + ArtSpace in collaboration with the Indie Film Fest announced award-winning filmmaker Brit Hensel (Cherokee) and directors Rayka Zehtabchi (Iranian-American) and Shaandiin Tome (Diné) who will screen their films at the upcoming Indigenous Peoples’ Day Phoenix Fest on Monday, October 10, 2022. With over 60 event collaborators, the festival organizers are expecting a large turnout and hope to attract fans of film to the official screenings.
Hensel is an Oklahoma-based writer and former producer for Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People. A citizen of Cherokee Nation, her work largely explores traditional Cherokee values, language, and her peoples’ connection to land in Oklahoma (former Indian Territory) and in her ancestral homelands of North Carolina (Qualla Boundary). Previously, she directed the documentary films, Zibi Yajdan (2019) and Native and American (2017). Recently she worked on the first season of the FX series, Reservation Dogs and was awarded the 2022 Tulsa Artist Fellowship and 4th World Indigenous Fellowship. Hensel’s film ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught) will be one of the screenings at the Indie Film Fest showcase.
Zehtabchi is a director and producer working in both documentary and fiction projects. In 2019, she became the first Iranian woman to win an Oscar for her film "Period. End of Sentence.," which can be seen on Netflix worldwide. In all her projects, she brings a naturalistic approach to her storytelling, striving for honesty and intimacy on screen. Tome is a filmmaker based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her breakout, award-winning short film Mud (Hashtł’ishnii) premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2018, with foreign debut showings worldwide elevating her as a writer/director. She returned to Sundance in January 2022, co-directing ‘Long Line of Ladies’ with Zehtabchi where the short film was premiered. The film was later bestowed with the ‘Documentary Shorts Jury Award’ at SXSW.
“We are honored to be able to share these films from such talented creatives. Independent films allow the storyteller to have total control of their own narrative,” Indie Film Fest Founder Matty Steinkamp said. “This showcase is another way we can help support independent and Indigenous stories.”
To view the official trailers, click here:
For more information please visit the event website at www.ipdphx.com.
Event Details
What: Indigenous Peoples’ Day Phoenix Fest
Where: First and Garfield Streets
When: Monday, October 10, 2022
Time: Screenings begin at 7:30 (sundown)
Cost: General Admission: FREE, VIP ticket information here
About Cahokia SocialTech + ArtSpace and INDIE FILM FEST
Cahokia is a female-owned, Indigenous-led Social Tech + Art Space in downtown Phoenix. On the ancestral lands of the O'odham and Piipaash, Cahokia is an established enterprise between social entrepreneurs and community-based organizations whose mission is to support and revitalize underrepresented communities through capacity building, place-making, place-keeping, workforce training and collaboration.
INDIE FILM FEST becomes the ultimate gathering of creative storytellers and audiences eager for new voices and fresh perspectives. They will be celebrating their 5th annual visual extravaganza in 2023 which includes dramatic and documentary features, short films, music videos, and multimedia installations by artists from all over the world.
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