December 12: LA Skins Fest

LA SKINS FEST
@ American Indian Resource Center
Saturday, December 12, 1-3 PM
1st Floor Meeting Room

This year's AIRC screening will include popular selections from LASKINFEST 2009 featuring original and innovative animation, documentaries on subjects relevant to Indian County , and film shorts about various NDN communities, that explore where we come from, where we are, and where we are going.

Award winning filmmakers, young and old, have produced these works that will entertain and enlighten. This is an opportunity to support the work of aspiring Native and non-Native filmmakers who dedicate much time and energy to keep our stories and our experiences alive, and to share them with the world.

American Indian Resource Center
Huntington Park Library
6518 Miles Avenue
Huntington Park , CA 90255
airc@library.lacounty.gov
rsvp: email or (323) 583-2794
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Rocks Go Camping
(2009, 1min) Canada
Director: Syrena Kaiser-Fox

Peer pressure always leads to bad consequences. Rocks Go Camping is an animation piece produced by Native students at the Weengushk Film Institute in Ontario, Canada.


Finding D-QU: The Lonely Struggle of California’s Only Tribal College.
(2009, 30 min.) USA
Director: Christopher Newman

In 2005, D-Q University, California’s only tribal college, was shut down after a 35-year struggle. Since then, the school’s board of trustees, past students, and community members have tried to reopen the school against all odds. This documentary is structured around a group of occupants who illegally live at the closed D-QU campus amid threats of arrest by the school’s board of trustees.


Walking On Turtle Island
(2008, 20 min.) USA
Director: Ian Skorodin

"Walking on Turtle Island" is a fresh, exciting Native American story. In the spiritual tradition of Kung Fu, the heartwarming Highway to Heaven and the thoughtful surprise of Quantum Leap, come two Native American heroes for these times. Killed in a gun fight, a young Lakota warrior sees his traditions and his own life ebb away at the hands of white intrusion. He and the obnoxious, endearing trickster, "Iktomi," arrive in the Spirit World where they are given a sacred and daunting task. . .travel through time together, helping people in need.


Mayan Reign
(2008, 5 min.) USA
Director: Jose Olmos

Told in stunning animation, Mayan Reign is a fictional story about a Mayan Rain God. Director and USC student, Jose Olmos, interprets indigenous culture with vivid visual images and original music.


A Gift From Talking God: The Story of the Navajo Churro
(2008, 29:30 min) USA
Director: Peter Blystone
Producer: Peter Blystone and Margaret Chanler

The Navajo-Churro sheep is the original breed. Known for its hardiness and long, coarse fleece, it sustained Navajo, Pueblo and Hispanic people for nearly 400 years. Almost extinct a generation ago, the Navajo-Churro is making a comeback. Ensuring the survival of the breed and the rich heritage associated with it.


Crazy Ind’n The Sequel
(2009, 20 min) USA
Director: Ian Skorodin
Producer: Manuel Hamilton, Joseph Hamilton, Patricia Gomes
Cast: Jason Grasl, Lidia Pires, Alex Wright, Robert Vestal

The anticipated sequel to the stop motion animation phenomenon is back and rocking the white man’s world. Stunning visuals, a harrowing soundtrack, and incredible animation; CRAZY IND’N THE SEQUEL delivers.