George makes premiere through Native American and Indigenous Program at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival
2/12/2015 2:00:00 PM - Tribal Observer

Liz Hill, Sundance Contributing Writer

In 2014, Sundance Institute celebrated the 20th anniversary of the formal existence of its Native American and Indigenous Program though the commitment has been consistent since the Institute’s founding.

Through sustained and continuous support of filmmakers with grants, labs, mentorships and the platform of the Sundance Film Festival, great strides have been made in nurturing an Indigenous-created body of cinema which did not exist before the Institute’s involvement.

Twenty years later, we continue to support Native American and Indigenous filmmakers through grants, labs, fellowships and the platform of the Sundance Film Festival.

In addition to the core work of investing in emerging filmmakers with the NativeLab Fellowship and the Time Warner Native Producers Initiative, we are excited to launch the new Full Circle Initiative, which provides fellowships to youth filmmakers from Michigan and New Mexico. Full Circle is supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

In the spirit of supporting Indigenous filmmakers, we are pleased to share the titles of the Indigenous-made films that will be premiering at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival this month. These films competed against a pool of 12,166 submissions, to be selected among the 181 films playing at the Festival

Filmmakers awarded as Full Circle Fellows will be given an immersive experience in the world of Independent film and attend screenings, participate in guided film discussions and connect with leaders of the Indigenous film community.

Arlan George (Saginaw Chippewa) was born in Lansing, Mich. on June 13th, 1996. He grew up on the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe reservation in central Michigan until he was 16, when he enrolled in a private sports academy in Oregon. Two things have had a direct impact on him throughout high school: skateboarding and film. They both have gone hand in hand for him, taking him places that he never would have imagined. He is currently enrolled at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Ore. working toward a degree in advertising.

Autumn Rose Billie is from New Mexico and comes from the Taos Pueblo, Acoma Pueblo and the Navajo Nation (Diné) Tribes. She aspires to practice the core beliefs of her culture by being a positive role model. As a staff member at the non-profit Tewa Women United, she has the opportunity to do so through many community projects. She attends the Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, N.M. and has been involved in environmental and social justice/activist work since high school. She is double majoring in journalism and experiential education. During her free time she is writing poetry, being an avid photographer, and helping at her grandfather’s cornfield.

Forrest GoodLuck (Dine, Mandan, Hidatsa & Tsimshian) first began directing at age 10 for a school play and at age 12 he made a commercial for a Bosque School project. This is when he fell in love with filmmaking. He has participated in Longhouse Media’s “Superfly Workshop” and was awarded the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian and SWAIA Santa Fe Indian Market Class X Youth Winner in 2013 for “Sun Kink” and in 2014 for “Malady’s Muddy Waters”. His films have premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival, Taos Shortz Film Festival, LA Skins Festival, and NM Film Showcase. Most recently he has landed a supporting role with the upcoming movie, “The Revenant” due out December 2015, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (“Birdman”, “Babel”, “Biutiful”) opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter.

Peshawn Rae Bread (Comanche, Blackfeet and Kiowa) was born in the great state of Oklahoma, and is 18 years old. She is a freshman at the Academy of Art in San Francisco where she is a film major. In 2014, she participated in a leadership institute internship at the Museum in Indian Arts & Culture (MIAC). She also worked as an intern under the esteemed Director Chris Eyre for the Surdna funded MIAC Youth Film Camp. In addition to her intern duties she wrote, directed and produced the short film “Blood Blessing”. Peshawn was invited to participate in Sundance Institute’s Native American Writer’s Workshop with Joan Tewkesbury held during the 2014 Indian Market. And, in 2013, she made her film acting debut in the acclaimed Sundance feature film “Drunktowns Finest” where she also worked behind the camera as the director’s assistant. In 2010, she wrote, produced, directed and acted in her first short film “The Misadventures of Tatanka Girl” made in 2010 which is on YouTube.

For more information, access the Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Program at www.sundance.org.