The Verde Valley Archaeology Center & Museum is proud to launch our first Indigenous Film Festival, in cooperation with the Sedona International Film Festival, on November 3 and 4. It is the mission of this film festival to break systematic barriers by creating cultural understanding through film. Our vision for the future of cinema is one in which Native American and Indigenous perspectives are respectfully pictured, recognized and valued in a way that promotes authentic identities, economic outcomes, equity and wellbeing for our Indigenous communities.
The Reception and all films will be shown at the Sedona International Film Festival Mary D. Fisher Theater at 2030 W State Rte 89A in Sedona. Each film screening is purchased separately. There is no package of films this year.
Click each date for a full description of the films
Friday, November 3, 5:00 pm - Click HERE for more information and tickets to the reception, entertainment and film
5:00 pm - Reception catered by Moscato's Italian Restaurant (Camp Verde)
6:00 pm - Ted Pavatea (Hopi/Tewa) is a traditional drummer, singer and renowned artist. The Madthii Swaddi Boys (Salty Earth Singers), traditional bird singers and dancers, inter-tribal group of the Yavapai-Apache Nation, followed by the Warriorettes, a Yavapai-Apache Nation youth dance group.
6:30 pm - Voices Across the Water on the disappearing art of traditional First Nation (Canada) canoe construction.
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NOTE: Tickets for the following screenings are available at the Sedona Film Festival website. Tickets are $12 or $9 for SIFF and VVAC members, as well as members of Federally recognized and State recognized Tribal Nations and/or are affiliated with a Tribal community. VVAC members and Tribal members can receive the discounted price by calling the box office for tickets at (928) 282-1177, or at the door, and indicate your membership or affiliation.
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Saturday, November 4, 1:30 pm - .
Burros from Executive Producer, Eva Longoria, the award-winning short was shot on location at the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona.
Fancy Dance, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, was filmed on the Seneca-Cayuga Reservation in Oklahoma. Following the disappearance of her sister, a Native American hustler kidnaps her niece from the child's white grandparents and sets out for the state powwow in hopes of keeping what's left of their family intact. This film received a 97% rating on RottenTomatoes reviews.
Saturday, November 4, 4:00 pm - Tickets available at the Sedona Film Festival website and box office.
Sousa on the Rez: Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum is a documentary short that profiles two contemporary Indian community bands: the Iroquois Indian Band from upstate New York and the Fort Mojave Tribal Band based in Needles, California. The documentary traces the origins of these groups from their founding over 100 years ago and uncovers a secret history of the 20th century when "All Indian Bands" toured the US and abroad.
A Love Song, starring Academy Award Winner West Studi, A Love Song weaves a lyrical and ultimately joyful refrain out of the transformative act of being alone -- and reminds us that love can nourish and mystify at any age.
Saturday, November 4, 7:00 pm - Tickets available at the Sedona Film Festival website and box office.
Long Line of Ladies, from Academy Award Winner Rayka Zehtabchi and Shaandiin Tome, tells the story of a girl and her community as they prepare for her Ihuk, the once-dormant coming of age ceremony of the Karuk tribe of Northern California. Winner of the Best Short Doc at the 2022 American Indian Film Institute annual film festival.
Aitamaako'tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun is an award-winning documentary, including Best Feature Documentary, Best Sound, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Scriptwriting, that takes us to the golden plains of the Blackfoot Nation of southern Alberta, to the home of Logan Red Crow, a young Siksika woman whose passion is the Indian Relay. A sport for the truly brave, the Relay's bareback riders vault from horse to horse in short, exhilarating races.