Native America Next Shorts Program

Four Short Films by Native American Filmmakers, followed by a Panel Discussion

7:00 P.M. PT on Monday, October 12th

REGISTER NOW TO PARTICIPATE:

http://cinema.usc.edu/NativeAmericanShortsLive

The short films (60 minutes total running time) will be shared directly in the Webinar.

Open to USC Students, Faculty, Staff, Alumni, and the General Public.

Oct 12th marks the 3rd Annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Los Angeles. There are over 567 federally recognized tribes in the United States and each tribe has their own culture, language, and tribal identity. This screening program will showcase short films that are directed by indigenous filmmakers from Alaska, Hawaiian, California, and Colorado.

Screening Schedule:

Gently, Jennifer

Directed by Doane Avery

Running Time: 10 minutes

Set in 1982, Gently, Jennifer is a coming of age short film about two teen girls exploring body image while looking through an older brother’s magazine.

Douk

Directed by Michelle Hernandez

Running Time: 17 minutes

A Native American family confronts the harsh reality of being split apart from their daughters.

Escape

Directed by Youth of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe

Running Time: 24 minutes

“Escape” centers around two  misfit teens who are tempted to end their lives in order to escape their harsh and oppressive circumstances. The story address sensitive topics in a very engaging manner such as teen violence, poverty, substance abuse, bullying, homophobia and domestic abusive.

Ka Piko

Directed by Bryson Chun

Running Time: 9 Minutes

Makana, a young Native Hawaiian man, struggles with his tenuous connection to his Hawaiian culture. When his girlfriend dies during childbirth, he is forced to complete a traditional indigenous birthing ritual with his girlfriend’s overbearing father. Together, they go on a journey that takes them down the long and winding roads of Hawaii island and up the tallest peaks of Mauna Kea in order to fulfill a promise and pave the path toward their uncertain future.

This screening is in partnership with:

• UBS School of Cinematic Arts
• USC Visions&Voices, the Arts Humanities Intiative

About the SCA Council on Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity, inclusion and respect of differences, including race and ethnicity, gender and gender identities, sexual orientation, and disability, are foundational tenets of the USC School of Cinematic Arts (SCA). SCA is an internationally recognized institution and a leader in the fields of cinematic arts, games, emergent media forms and media scholarship. While entertainment industries including film, television and interactive media have deep histories in progressive social politics, current cultural discussions about the state of mainstream media industries indicate that much work needs to be done to challenge and change existing paradigms around power, privilege and inclusion. Recognized as a pipeline to the media industries and graduate media programs, SCA is uniquely positioned to play a leadership role in preparing the next generation of media producers and scholars to critically engage with issues of diversity and build inclusive creative and scholarly communities within media industries and academia. SCA embraces this opportunity to influence the wider community of media creators and scholars. In 2016 SCA formed the Council for Diversity & Inclusion to address how our community can foster a more inclusive environment.

USC is located in one of our nation’s most vibrant and diverse cities, and we recognize the need for our institution to reflect the complex and multifaceted richness of our surrounding communities in terms of students, staff, faculty and community partners. SCA is committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive learning environment at all institutional levels. We promote diversity and inclusion in the recruitment and training of all faculty members and believe that celebrating diversity within our student population will open critical and constructive dialogues about difference that enhance our creative and scholarly work. We also understand that support staff play a vital role in the SCA community and, therefore, the same attention needs to be paid to diversity among staff members. We define diversity to include age, race, ethnicity, physical ability, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, country of origin, veteran status, religious practice, and political ideology. SCA seeks to weave a philosophy of inclusion and respect for difference into the fabric of our community; take a leadership role in areas of diversity and inclusion across the university; and establish a model for media industries to empower different voices and perspectives.

Source: La SkinSFest