Mar 3, 2012

AIFF37 Entry Form

The American Indian Film Institute is currently seeking film and video entries for the 37th annual American Indian Film Festival. As the nations oldest and most prestigious venue for American Indian film arts and entertainment, the American Indian Film Festival has earned a reputation for excellence and integrity. AIFF 36 (2011), premiered and/or screened over 100 film and video works from American and Canadian filmmakers. The annual Film Festival and American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show, produced by AIFI Founder and President Michael Smith, draws an audience of nearly 5,000, anticipating the latest in American Indian cinema and music.

The 2012 American Indian Film Festival will be presented November 2-10 in San Francisco, California. Films to be entered for competition should be of or about North American Indian or Canada First Nation peoples and produced during year 2011-2012. Entry deadline is August 3, 2012.

Please mail all submissions to AIFI, 333 Valencia St, Ste 322, San Francisco, CA 94103 attn: AIFF37 Submission . The American Indian Motion Picture Awards recognizes outstanding Indian cinematic accomplishments. AIMPA will be

presented on the evening of Saturday, November 10 at the Palace of Fine Arts, 3301 Lyons Street in San Francisco, CA

Download the form for more information.

Mar 2, 2012

Defending Our Way of Life Through Film…
AIFI Film Festival 37
November 2 – 10, 2012 • San Francisco

Join AIFI in the launch of the American Indian Film Festival’s 37th Anniversary!  The Film Festival is a significant and enduring element of the American Indian Film Institute’s (AIFI) mission to positively change the film industry’s image of Native people, and to create economic opportunities for Indian media enterprises across North America.  The American Indian Film Festival provides an opportunity for tribes, media and public to share in the creative experience and witness cinematic accomplishment.

Presenting Sponsor: $60,000
· Tribal or Corporate name in Title of Event: “American Indian Film Institute and Your Name Present the 37th Anniversary of American Indian Film Festival®”

· Tribal or Company Name in all Press Releases
· Two Full Page Color Ads in Official Program Guide with Prominent Placements
· Two Tables at AIMPAS Awards Luncheon
· Logo on Posters, Banners, T-Shirts, and possible Additional Media Distributions
· Logo on Website with Link to Your Website
· On Screen Logo at the Film Festival and On Stage
· 25 T-Shirts and 20 Festival Posters
· Site Product and Materials Placement at Selected Hosted Festival Events
· Introductory Remarks by Your Spokesperson at the Opening Night, Reception, and Awards Presentation
· Co-Presenter of Best Film and Director Awards at Awards Presentation
· Interview of Spokesperson to be Included in Film Festival DVD, to be Distributed on the Internet, to Future
Sponsors, and to Other Contacts within the Film Industry
· 25 Complimentary Badges Providing Admission to All Events, Screenings, Workshops, Receptions, and
Awards Presentation.
· All Year Round Recognition of Title Sponsorship to Future Festival Invitations and Networking Events

Platinum Reel: $30,000
· Tribal or Company Name in all Press Releases
· Full Page Color Ad in Official Program Guide with Premium Position

· One Table at AIMPAS Awards Luncheon
· Logo on Posters and Banners, and possible Additional Media Distributions
· Logo on Website
· On Screen Logo at the Film Festival
· 15 T-Shirts and 15 Festival Posters
· Opportunity to Be a Co-Presenter of Best Actor and Actress at Awards Presentation
Interview of Spokesperson to be Included in Film Festival DVD to be Distributed on the Internet, to Future
Sponsors, and to Other Contacts within the Film Industry
· 15 Complimentary Badges Providing Admission to All Events, Screenings, Workshops, Receptions, and Awards Presentation.

Gold Reel: $20,000
· Tribal or Company Name in all Press Releases
· Full Page Color Ad in Official Program Guide, 2nd Premium Position
· One Table at AIMPAS Awards Luncheon
· Logo on Posters and Banners, and possible Additional Media Distributions
· Logo on Website
· On Screen Logo at the Film Festival
· 12 T-Shirts and 12 Festival Posters
· Opportunity to Be a Co-Presenter of Documentary Feature and Documentary Short at Awards Presentation
· Interview of Spokesperson to be Included in Film Festival DVD to be Distributed on the Internet, to Future
Sponsors, and to Other Contacts within the Film Industry
· 12 Complimentary Badges Providing Admission to All Events, Screenings, Workshops, Receptions, and Awards Presentation.

Silver Reel: $10,000
· Tribal or Company Name in all Press Releases
· Full Page Color Ad in Official Program Guide
· One Table at AIMPAS Awards Luncheon
· Logo on Website
· On Screen Logo at the Film Festival
· 5 T-Shirts and 5 Festival Posters
· Interview of Spokesperson to be Included in Film Festival DVD to be Distributed on the Internet, to Future
Sponsors, and to Other Contacts within the Film Industry
· 5 Complimentary Badges Providing Admission to All Events, Screenings, Workshops, Receptions, and
Awards Presentation.

During the 9-day Film Festival, to be presented November 2-10, 2012 in San Francisco, nearly 5,000 participants will witness Native stories and visual testaments to contemporary lives and issues.  Through skillful artistry and personal testimony, the films we screen raise awareness about contemporary issues in Indian Country. The Film Festival is a powerful venue for telling our stories, in our words–– in our image.

AIFI’s Film Festival opens at Landmarks Embarcadero Center Cinema and concludes with an awards show and performance showcase at the historic Palace of Fine Arts.  The film festival affords community members, artists, elders, youth and sponsors the unparalleled opportunity to screen films and engage in dialogue and critical reflection.  Ideas for new films will be generated here and new alliances will be initiated.  Participants will return to their communities—bringing with them the gifts they have found here––and committed to continuing the relationships begun here.

AIFI looks forward to your partnership in this viable, long-standing media showcase produced by American Indian people. Thank you in advance for your participation in the growth of Native Cinema and media enterprise.

Sincerely,

Michael Smith, President

American Indian Film Institute

www.aifisf.com

aifi.mls@gmail.com

Feb 20, 2012

Support the American Indian Film Institute by making your donation today. Your contribution will help AIFI continue its legacy in showcasing films that come from the heart of Indian Country.
Do your part and help AIFI continue to thrive.

Media Literacy Builds Strong Communities

AIFI TRIBAL TOURING PROGRAM, established in 2001, represents a strategic intervention into the lives of at-risk, often hard-to-reach Native youth. The program uses technology to attract youth (ages 13-20) to a sequential program that introduces them to media-making tools, gives them the experience of making media related to their own lives, and prepares them for work options in the media industry. Each summer the program takes professional artists, digital equipment, and a traveling film festival to rural areas, with an emphasis on reservations and rancherias that offer Native youth limited employment opportunities. Youth participants produce short, broadcast-quality HD-DV films that are screened for their tribal community; and then included in a special program at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco.

The program is offered three to five times each summer, in partnership with Tribal Host- Partners. Across 11 years, it has traveled to 37 reservations and rancherias, employed 224 Indian filmmaker-instructors (6 per site), provided training workshops to 793 participants, and screened films for a combined audience of over 13,000 people. The 2011 summer tour included: Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, CA; Nisqually Indian Tribe, WA; Puyallup Indian Tribe, WA; and Lummi Nation, WA.

Teen-age peer-pressure, linguistic and cultural isolation, a reluctance to access services and resources, and environmental stressors place Indian youth at high risk for truancy, delinquency and gang activity. Especially for high school drop-outs and tribal youth who have developed substance abuse problems – the idea of entering the state’s workforce seems remote.

American Indians making the transition to adulthood need exposure to positive role models, creative work options, vocational and educational training that will place them on an upward career trajectory, to first imagine-then pursue-meaningful work that will effect positive change in their lives and the life of their community.

AIFI’s Media Initiative, the Tribal Touring Program, is designed to appeal to aloof but technologically curious youth who are unlikely candidates for traditional employment development programs, and is a response to these needs.

Part One: Digital Training Workshops: The digital training workshops use technology – the universal language of teens – to attract youth to a sequential program that uses media as a tool for personal and community storytelling, and introduce them to work options in the media industry. In the 10-day training, youth learn basic technical skills and gain hands-on experience by producing a short, broadcast-quality video.

Through the workshops, Native youth learn not only basic technical skills but also work attributes needed to succeed in media-related jobs: punctuality, teamwork, creativity and problem solving.

Invariably they benefit from seeing a project all the way through and sharing it with the community, and their personal contact with positive Indian role models/mentors.

Media Literacy Builds Strong Communities

Part Two: Community Film Festival: The program’s touring community film festival is a traveling version of the American Indian Film Festival — now in its 37th year. The touring festival provides a laboratory of how Indian filmmakers are using media as a storytelling device and examples of how Native Americans are beginning to penetrate the industry. But more important, the weekend (Thurs-Sat) event builds community by drawing intergenerational audiences to Indian-made and Indian-themed films, reinforcing the connection among all of the continent’s First Peoples, regardless of where and how they live today.

Part Three: Youth-to-Media Maker Dialogue: The Tribal Touring Program’s season culminates in November 2012 with the youth-to-media maker dialogue. Reservation youth journey to San Francisco where they introduce their workshop films at a special screening (Nov. 9), attend the Film Festival and Awards Night (Nov. 10) as AIFI guests, and meet other Indian youth and industry professionals at receptions and roundtables.

The Tribal Touring Program and American Indian Film Festival join together to provide a singular forum for developing a personal and professional relationship among the next generation of Indian voices in the media.

A Vision of the Future: Beyond the Tribal Touring Program: The Tribal Touring Program is part of a larger AIFI strategy to develop a community of Indian media-makers. Through all of our activities we are continuously developing a year-round educational, informational and collegial network. Through the Tribal Touring Program we are cultivating the involvement of the next generation.

AIFI TRIBAL TOURING PROGRAM SUMMER 2012

Session I Session II Session III Session IV Session V Session VI

June 4 – June 13 (Confirmed)

June 18 – June 27

July 2 – July 11

July 16 – July 25

July 30 – August 8

August 13 – August 22

Click to download TTP Promotional packet on the link below.

TTP 2012 Promotional Packet

Feb 20, 2012

Jan 25, 2012

The American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show, recognizing excellence in USA American Indian and Canada First Nations cinematic achievement, making the annual awards show one of the most prominent Indian Country and Native Cinema showcases.

Outstanding performances varied across the talent venue, on awards night including: Blues singer/songwriter Derek Miller, Punk/Indie band Miracle Dolls, Hip Hop/ R&B duo The Battiest Brothers, comedian JR Redwater, and violinist Swil Kanim.

BEST FILM - Shouting Secrets, Korinna Sehringer, Director

BEST DIRECTOR - Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, On The Ice 

BEST ACTOR - Chaske Spencer - Shouting Secrets 

BEST ACTRESS - Michelle St. John - Every Emotion Costs 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Tyler Christopher - Shouting Secrets 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Roseanne Supernault - Every Emotion Costs 

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - The Thick Dark Fog, Randy Vasquez, Director

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT - Columbus Day Legacy, Bennie Klain, Director

BEST LIVE SHORT SUBJECT - Search For The World’s Best Indian Taco, Steven Paul Judd, Director

BEST ANIMATION - Amaqqut Nunaat (The Country of Wolves), Neil Christopher, Director

BEST MUSIC VIDEO - The Storm, Steven Paul Judd, Director

BEST INDUSTRIAL - American Indian Actors, Sterlin Harjo, Director

EAGLE SPIRIT AWARD HONOREES - Everett Freeman (Posthumous Presentation), and Jessie Little Doe Baird

Special Achievement awards, the Eagle Spirit, were presented to personages that exemplified outstanding character, fortitude, and career accomplishments in music/ media-arts, eco-political/ fishing rights activism and governmental accountability. The 2011 Recipients: Everett Freeman (Posthumous Presentation), and Jessie Little Doe Baird.

Prominent Sponsors of the 2011 American Indian Film Festival include; Ak-Chin Indian Community,AZ; Tule River Tribe,CA; Jackson Rancheria,CA; Muckleshoot Indian Tribe,WA; Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, CA; Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Nation, CA; CBS Television, NY; and San Francisco Grants for the Arts, CA.

Jan 23, 2012

AIFI is pleased to announce the availability  of “Defending Our Way of Life Through Film” (24” x 36”)  by acclaimed artist Bunky Echo Hawk. bunkyechohawk.com

The full-color art print, commissioned by AIFI for AIFF 2011, is available for $35 (USD) which includes: mailer poster box and USPS (shipping in USA). There are 200 art prints available – purchase now, and support 37th AIFI Film  Festival 2012 Nov. 2-10.

Please make checks payable to: AIFI, 333 Valencia Street, Suite 322, San Francisco, CA 94103. Visa and Mastercard accepted.

Call 415-554-0525 or email aifi.mytia@gmail.com to order your poster today.

Official Art for AIFF 2012 will be provided by artist, Bunky Echo Hawk.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF AIFI