10/21/2024
WICHITA’S ALL-INDIGENOUS ALTERNATIVE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES DATES, LINE-UP FOR THIRD EDITION 2024
WICHITA, KS -- Wichitan and local filmmaker Rodrick Pocowatchit is the founder and director of the AlterNative Film Festival, Wichita’s only all-Indigenous film event, now in its third year.
It will be held Nov. 15-17 at the Mid-America All-Indian Museum, 650 N. Seneca, in Wichita. The event is free and open to the public. Major sponsors include the Mid-America All-Indian Indian Museum, Northstar Comfort Services, Inc., the Bonavia Family Charitable Trust, Alex M. Thomas and Lucky’s Everyday, Team Rawdzilla, and the Hotel at Old Town.
“I’m so excited to share these films by Native artists,” Pocowatchit said. “And proud to be able to offer another venue for them to be seen. It’s such exciting, great work and people will be blown away. I’m also proud to present films that people might not ordinarily get the chance to see.”
An opening night reception with complimentary small bites and limited selections of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages will begin at 6 p.m. Nov. 15.
The opening night film at 7 p.m. will be “Hey, Viktor!,” a “mockumentary” co-written and directed by Cody Lightning that premiered at the prestigious 2023 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
In the film, Lightning plays himself, who actually played the younger version of one of the leads in “Smoke Signals,” which broke ground for Native cinema by winning the audience award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. “Hey Viktor!” picks up with Lightning as an adult, still clinging onto that little inkling of stardom he once had, but now he’s an alcoholic terrible father and person, who sets out to make a sequel to “Smoke Signals” that no one wants to see. It’s hilarious! But be warned: This is for adult audiences ONLY, as there is profanity and brief male frontal nudity.
At 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, the Indian Museum will host the Indian Art Market in the downstairs kiva space with free admission, showcasing premier Native artists from the region.
The film festival kicks off at 2 p.m. with Shorts Program 1, which includes “Four Nights and a Fire,” directed by Alex Nystrom, a moving drama about a young Ojibwe photographer mourning his father, “Lady Red Warriors,” a documentary directed by Mark Williams about a fierce female stickball team in Oklahoma, and “Return,” directed by Joleece Pecore, a sci-fi thriller about a hunting expedition gone awry on a Canadian reservation.
A screening of the Canadian feature thriller “Cold Road” will start at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 16. Directed by Kelvin Redvers, the film is set on a frozen highway in the remote Canadian North, where an Indigenous woman and her dog are hunted by a stranger in a foreboding semi-truck.
The Saturday night centerpiece event on Nov. 16 will start with a reception at 6 p.m. with complimentary small bites and limited alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages, followed by a screening of “Prey” at 7 p.m., presented by Hulu. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the film follows a skilled warrior of the Comanche Nation, who fights to protect her tribe against one of the first highly-evolved Predators to land on Earth. (Hundreds of years before Arnold Schwarzenegger ever shows up). An all-Comanche language-dubbed version of the film with English subtitles will be shown, followed by a Q&A with Comanche producer and special guest Jhane Myers.
On Sunday, Nov. 17, Shorts Program 2 begins at 1 p.m., which includes six short films from the U.S. and Canada that run the gamut from sci-fi to drama to animation to documentary and comedy. Yes, there might be zombies!
A showcase of founder/director Rodrick Pocowatchit’s short films will start at 2:30 p.m., highlighting “The Incredible Brown NDN,” a comedy about the world’s first Native American superhero, and his work with PBS American Portrait.
A screening of the Canadian feature documentary “The Death Tour,” directed by Stephan Peterson and Sonya Ballantyne, will start at 4 p.m. The rousing, inspiring film follows wrestling hopefuls (think WWE) across remote Indigenous communities in Canada’s far North on the most grueling tour in indie wrestling. But these wrestlers have perseverance, and even more heart. It’s a fascinating look into their hardcore world.
The closing night film, “Red Fever,” is a documentary co-presented by media partner Tallgrass Film Festival. Directed by Catherine Bainbridge and Neil Diamond, it will start at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 17 with Tallgrass representatives making an introduction. The film is an eye-opening, sometimes hilarious look at the ways Indigenous cultures have been reduced to stereotypes and appropriated by mainstream popular culture. Sometimes you just gotta laugh! But please, no “Tomahawk chops.”
A full schedule will be posted soon on www.AlterNativeFilmFestival.org.
