Short Film Program
Mud Frontier: Architecture at the Border Lands
Directed by Chris J. Gauthier (USA, 2021, 70 min.)
On his ancestral land in the remote San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado, designer Ronald Rael, together with his partner, Virginia San Fratello, print monumental 3D structures in mud, pushing the limits of technology and materials while uncovering a dark history along the way. Motivated by the neglect and abandonment of earthen building techniques once widely used throughout the region, an area where Indigenous and European colonists have lived both in harmony and in conflict with one another, Rael and San Fratello reflect on this legacy to forge new methods of creative production.
Diiyeghan naii Taii Tr’eedaa (We Will Walk the Trail of Our Ancestors)
Directed by Princess Daazhraii Johnson (New Zealand, 2022, 6 min.)
A grandfather teaches his granddaughter, a young Gwich’in mother named Alisha, how reciprocity is embedded in all aspects of life. The northern lights warm the caribou; the caribou help feed and sustain the community; the community honors the connections. Each element in nature is purposeful and related. In turn, these connections bring new meaning to Alisha and her wishes for her children and for all living beings.
Weckuwapasihtit (Those Yet to Come)
Directed by Geo Neptune and Brianna Smith (USA, 2022, 12 min.)
On the eastern reaches of the occupied territory now referred to as North America, the children of Koluskap call upon ancestral teachings to guide them. Revitalizing cultural practices kept from their elders, Peskotomuhkati young people lead an intergenerational process of healing through the reclamation of athasikuwi-pisun, “tattoo medicine.”
Glooscap and Noogami
Directed by C. A. MacFinn (New Zealand, 2022, 2 min.) A short animation loosely based on the Wabanaki creation story.
Bounty
Directed by Adam Mazo, Ben Pender-Cudlip, Tracy Rector (Choctaw/Seminole), Dawn Neptune Adams (Penobscot), Maulian Dana (Penobscot) (USA, 2021, 9 min.)
We are citizens of the Penobscot Nation. For this film, we bring our families to Boston to read our ancestors’ death warrant. This abhorrent proclamation, made in 1755 by the colonial government, paid settlers handsomely to murder Penobscot people. It declared our people enemies and offered different prices for the scalps of children, women, and men. Bounty proclamations like this, some even paid in stolen land, persisted for more than two centuries across what is now the United States. The memory of being hunted is in our blood. We know this to be true, and science now affirms that trauma can be passed down from generation to generation.
Mawhialeo Ote Alowha /Our Love
Directed by Valeriya Golovina (New Zealand, 2021, 15 min.)
Meli and her husband Avito reflect on the pivotal decision of their lives. With much trepidation they left the tiny atoll of Tokelau for New Zealand seeking a better life for their son. Forty-three years on, they find themselves pulled between family and a longing for home.
Filmmaker Q and A
A prerecorded video Q and A is included with this film rental.
Film Rental Information
Available to rent through 11:59 pm on June 30. This film cannot be rented outside the United States and is available to watch only during the period specified. Once rented, the film may be viewed on the Video Content page.
Festival Passes
If you wish to see multiple films in the Roxbury International Film Festival lineup, purchase a festival pass!
There are separate passes for in-person and online screenings. To access all in-person and online events, please purchase both passes.
ROXFILM@Home Pass
$50; available through June 30, 11:59 pm
The ROXFILM@Home Pass grants access to all online screenings.
In-Person Pass
$165; available through June 25, 5 pm
The In-Person Pass grants access to all events in the festival, including those at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Hibernian Hall; the Boston Public Library’s Roxbury branch; and ArtsEmerson. See a full list of in-person screenings at roxfilmfest.com.
Note that additional venues will be listed on your pass purchase as Non-MFA screenings.