 FARMINGTON
- The storyteller has long been symbol of sharing legends tales and
culture in the Native American world.
The
Na'al Kids Film Festival becomes the venue of modern-day storytelling
for young Native American film makers returning home to share their craft
with family and friends.
These
directors many of whom are Navajo film students will be showcasing their
work at the largest Native American film festival in the Southwest.
Angelo
Baca is a 23-year-old Navajo originally from Montezuma Creek, Utah. He
is an anthropology graduate from the University of Washington and a film
director with a point to make.
"I
want people to look at running and how important it is to native people,"
he said.
His
film "Running With Tradition" provides a 20-minute look into
the lives of Native American runners dealing with a variety of life issues
from being an Olympic hopeful to dealing with diabetes.
The
film took him 2 1/2 years to make. He funded it himself and worked hard
to get it in the Na'al Kid, his first festival.
"This
is a story that needed to be said," Baca stated.
While
Baca is taking a documentary approach to filmmaking, another Navajo director,
Larry Blackhorse Lowe, wants to look at the lighter side of life.
"My
films show the basic human elements, something people can connect with
I don't want to be too artsy," Lowe said.
The
25-year-old student at Scottsdale Community College is formerly of Kirtland.
He is showing two short films, "Cold Feet" and "Happy Boy."
Both
are stories about arranged marriages on the reservation in the 1940s.
Lowe
said he always loved watching movies as a child. Once he had his first
movie camera, he was hooked.
"I've
made 10 short films," he said.
Another
film student from New Mexico State University, Jonathan Sims, is telling
the story of a musical culture sweeping the reservations of the Southwest.
"Hip
Hop Nation" follows some of Sims' classmates showing their involvement
in the hip hop craze.
"The
film shows why these kids feel they can use hip hop as their form of expression,"
he said. "These are just some guys doing it for the love of it."
The
21-year-old broadcast production student shot five-hours of footage and
then cut it down for a 10-minute documentary.
The
film is described as "really dark and gritty," was shot in all
natural light, and has the feel of being at a party where hip hop is performed,
Sims said, adding his college professor encouraged him to enter it in
a film festival.
He
searched the Web and found Na'al Kid, which accepted his piece.
"I've
been to other film festivals and watched other people's (productions)
on the screen. It's an odd thing, now, people are going to be watching
my work," Sims said.
Note:
This year's Festival was held on June 25-29.
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