Native Shorts presented by Sundance Institute's Native American and Indigenous Program

"Native Shorts presented by Sundance Institute's Native American and Indigenous Program" is a series that will feature short films produced, premiered or showcased at the Sundance Film Festival through its Native American and Indigenous Program, followed by a brief discussion with hosts Ariel Tweto and the Sundance Institute's own Bird Runningwater.

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Latest Episodes

Native Shorts

Nutag-Homeland / I am Thy Weapon

Short films "Nutag-Homeland" and "I Am Thy Weapon".

Native Shorts

The Grandfather Drum

This unique animation follows the story of Naamowin's drum, a drum revered for it's healing powers by the Anishinabek of the upper Berens River. Upon the death of his grandson, Naamowin builds a healing drum given to him in a dream that can restore life. However, Christianity and government have other plans that disrupt the delicate balance between the sky-world and the underworld.

Native Shorts

Jaaji / The Violence of a Civilization Without Secrets

Short films "Jaaji" and "The Violence of a Civilization without Secrets".

Native Shorts

I Like Girls / My Father's Tools

I Like Girls - In this animated short from Diane Obomsawin, four women reveal the nitty-gritty about their first loves. My Father's Tools - Using the tools of his late father, Stephen Jerome continues the traditional indigenous art of basketmaking in this meditative short by filmmaker Heather Condo.

Native Shorts

Visions of an Island

In a summer of intention and wandering, an Unangam Tunuu elder reflects on landscape and fauna, language students play and teach invented games, and a portrait takes shape of a place through the dim and distant glimpse of a visitor on an island in the center of the Bering Sea.

Native Shorts

Nuuca

The oil boom in North Dakota has brought tens of thousands of new people to the region and with that has come an influx of drugs, crime and sex trafficking.

Native Shorts

Mud / Mobilize

Mud - A women's craving for a connection with her son, which is hindered by alcoholism. Mobilize - Caroline Monnet's Mobilize is an exhilarating journey from the far north to the urban south, capturing the perpetual negotiation between the traditional and the modern by a people moving ever forward.