♪ [bold drums] ♪ ♪ [traditional vocalizing] ♪ ♪ ♪ Ariel: Hello, and welcome to Native Shorts presented by Sundance Institute's Indigenous Program.

My name's Ariel Tweto.

Bird: And, I'm Bird Runningwater.

Ariel: And, today's episode is gonna be amazing.

As usual!

(laughter) Bird: Yes!

Well, you know?

It's actually kind of a bittersweet story.

Ariel: Oh, it is?

Bird: Told by Michelle Latimer who belongs to the Algonquin and Métis nations of Canada.

This short film is her third film to premiere at Sundance, so she's a seasoned veteran.

Ariel: Yeah!

I recognize her from a previous season of Native Shorts.

Bird: Yes!

We previously showed her short film called "Choke" which is an animated kind of stop-motion piece.

Ariel: Yeah.

Bird: About a young man leaving the reserve and moving to the big city, and it doesn't necessarily have a happy ending.

Ariel: Ohhh.

OK, I remember that one.

Bird: Yeah, yeah.

Ariel: So, this film- it's sort of startin' the same way as- I won't give this away, but it's shot so beautifully.

I just love her style of shooting.

And so, this is completely a 360 of "Choke".

Bird: Well?

In between "Choke" and this film, called "Nuuca", she directed an entire series which was called "Rise", and basically it was about indigenous struggles worldwide.

They went to Brazil.

They were at Standing Rock.

They were at all these other places around the world.

And, one of the pieces that we highlighted at Sundance a couple years ago was the piece called "Red Power" which was a feature-length doc about 65, 66 minutes that told the story of Standing Rock.

But, really kind of I felt like through an indigenous woman's lens.

You kind of see the direct correlation between that feature and this short which is really kind of thematically ties together this idea of exploitation of the land, exploitation of the earth; even kind of like the rape of the earth.

And, the correlation historically that goes with violence against Native women and indigenous women.

Ariel: Yeah.

Which is happening still, like, so often and we don't hear about it and we don't talk about it.

Again, like so many issues, we sort of just sweep it under a rug and just act like it's not happening.

But, sort of our job is to make these issues aware- Bird: Yeah.

Ariel: and it's like we need to talk about it.

And so, I'm excited for everybody to see this film.

Bird: I don't want to give away too much.

I feel like I already have!

Why don't we go ahead and watch the short.

This is "Nuuca" by Michelle Latimer.

[static sound] [birds singing] [gentle breeze blowing] [buzzing insects] [birds calling] [VO speaks indigenous language] ♪ ♪ ♪ [birds singing] ♪ ♪ VO (woman): Growing up here was pretty quiet, isolated.

We played outside a lot, made mud pies, played with my dogs.

♪ And, my parents didn't really have to worry about watching me very much.

♪ Everyone took everyone as their relative.

♪ There were no flares.

There was no dust kicking up.

It just seemed more lively with nature.

♪ ♪ ♪ (waves splashing) VO: Being outside is my favorite thing.

It really makes me remember my people, my ancestors.

(water splashes) ♪ I'd really like to go, like, ride my bike on the path.

It's a really tall steep hill, ♪ and you can see the water and the buttes that surround our reservation.

♪ [birds singing] ♪ [breezy wind blowing] [breezy wind blowing] I think that's all you need in life: your connection to Mother Earth.

Then, how you even came to be from it.

[truck horn blaring] (wheels whining/ engine rumbling) (engine rumbles) (horn honking) (engine rumbling) (rumbling fades in distance) ♪ [murmuring low voices] (engine rumbles) ♪ VO: I was still really outdoorsy all the way up until high school.

I ran a lot.

I was finishing up one of my runs.

Like, going home and I was running by the Sunset Motel.

And, this guy starts yelling at me and I didn't know if he was going to start chasing me, or what.

But, I just ran the hardest I've ever ran.

It hit me then that, like, my home wasn't the same anymore.

♪ [suspenseful music] ♪ This dullness... just kind of drooped over this area.

♪ [tense music] ♪ And, it had physical traits.

♪ ♪ [tense music] ♪ [shrill mechanical whistling] ♪ [dramatic percussion] ♪ (flaring gassy sound) [mechanical squeaking] [mechanical squeaking] (rhythmic grinding/ squeaking) (louder mechanical squeaking) (ominous mechanical noises) (rhythmic mechanical squeaking) ♪ [gloomy keyboard music] ♪ ♪ ♪ VO: And just as our land is being used, women are being used.

(traffic whining) There's been abductions and girls being chased.

(truck horn honking) The "man camps", they kind of took over.

(truck rattling/rumbling) It makes me feel really uncomfortable because I don't know who could be driving by anymore.

(engine rumbling) [radio voice murmuring] (truck rattling) The women here, they're being taken.

They're being raped.

They're being sold.

(breezy wind blowing) (tractor puttering) (flame hissing/flaring) In the beginning, it was a big shocker.

But it's just kind of like the norm, now.

♪ ♪ [low somber string music] ♪ ♪ (flame hissing/flaring) ♪ ♪ (flame hissing/flaring) VO: Being safe within your home, within your homeland, it should just be like a natural feeling.

You know?

And it's, like, not.

♪ (traffic whining) ♪ (engine rumbling) ♪ (truck engine puttering low) ♪ ♪ (flame hissing/flaring) A people who are ripped of their identities, who are slaughtered, why were we put on top of the biggest black gold pocket?

Was it to rip us apart some more?

Or, was it to help us?

(traffic whines) It's such a weird... "test", I'd say.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (truck engine rumbles) [truck engine rumbling] ♪ I would live without it, if I could.

♪ But, it's here.

♪ [VO speaks traditional language] [electricity buzzing] ♪ [dark mood/ominous music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [squeaking mechanical sounds] Ariel: I like that!

I like that ending of just 'take only what you need!'

Bird: Mm hm.

Ariel: You're just like- mm!

Just write it right on there.

Bird: Yeah, yeah.

Ariel: Everybody needs to hear that.

Bird: Yeah.

Ariel: It's so important.

Like, we overuse everything.

We overuse our resources, and the animals and just the air!

It's like 'dudes?

We need to respect Mother Nature'.

Bird: Yeah.

Well, I don't know-?

Well, you haven't seen the "Red Power" doc.

But if you go back and watch that one, compare it to this one as well, you'll see kind of correlating themes about- Like, this idea of exploitation of the land and the earth, and really trying to get at natural resources, which was the issue at Standing Rock, you know, with the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Ariel: Mm hm?

Bird: Which is still an ongoing issue today, and it's such an important one.

But also like with this community at the Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara tribes in North Dakota, you know?

It's like they have- apparently the fault line shifted?

I don't know if there was an earthquake or something, but they realized that there's more gas to be discovered, to be unearthed- Ariel: Yeah.

Bird: in the region.

And so, they've been doing fracking.

And so, what happens is with this ongoing kind of exploration and extraction from the earth, there's all of these- mostly, all men coming to these regions who are working on these production companies, you know?

Ariel: Yeah.

Bird: Who are also making a lot of money and also not have a lot of time on their hands.

And so, there's a lot of sex trafficking that happens.

Ariel: Yeah.

They said, what?

Triple the amount of sex-?

Bird: Yeah.

They said there's been a 168% increase of violence against women and specifically against indigenous women.

Ariel: Oh, that's so sad.

Bird: I know.

Ariel: It's so scary, too.

I mean, how- like the pros and cons.

Yeah, it's gonna like help the locals get jobs for this amount of time instead of this amount of time that it's harming the earth and just like all these crimes and stuff that are happening.

Bird: Yeah.

Ariel: So, it's pretty frustrating.

It's crazy that it's 2018, 2019 almost and that- just like, what are we doing?

Bird: I know.

Ariel: And, just the fact- I mean, from the girls' perspective.

Just being scared in your hometown to walk to the grocery store, to walk from school to home.

Bird: She can't go running anymore.

Ariel: Yeah.

Oh, that would kill me.

Bird: Yeah.

Could you imagine not being able to go running?

Ariel: No, I would go crazy!

Bird: You're a runner!

(chuckles) Ariel: I know!

I would go crazy.

But, it's so sad to not feel safe in your environment, in your home.

Bird: Yeah.

Ariel: It's just pretty devastating.

Bird: I think Michelle did a really good job.

I feel like she really kind of shows this beautiful, slow, rhythmic transition visually of opening from these pristine lands, the beautiful horses.

Ariel: Mm hm.

Bird: And then, like, the invasion of these trucks and the- Ariel: Constant pounding.

Bird: oil wells pumping, you know?

And, with that last statistic at the end with the young woman's voiceover, I feel like Michelle's really able to kind of weave this kind of-?

Just really interesting deep philosophical ancestral kind of message against this contrasting imagery which I think really delivers an important message.

And it's able to really, I feel like, travel a lot further as a short film.

Ariel: Yeah, I like that.

So, let me ask you a film question.

So, do most directors make a short film to then, hopefully, progress it and make it into a feature?

Or, are there specific-?

Bird: Sometimes.

That happens a lot more with fiction films.

Ariel: OK. Bird: Some people will develop a short fiction film in order to explore worlds and characters that they'll then adapt for a feature.

Some of our previous alumni have done that like Sterlin Harjo, and Taika Waititi, and Andrew MacLean, you know?

Ariel: Yeah.

Bird: Some of the elders now of our industry!

(laughs) Ariel: Taika's an elder!

Bird: Don't tell them I said that!

But with a short doc, I feel like this is kind of a bit more of a rapid production cycle; a much shorter time.

If you observe the imagery in the process that ends up on the screen, it's kind of like a really short experimental kind of cycle.

She's able to take more risks and kind of peruse and explore different ways of storytelling which I feel like this piece is pretty original in its storytelling.

Ariel: Do you think- is it easier or more accessible to more people- Bird: Yes!

Ariel: if it's a short film?

Bird: I think it is.

I think it travels further.

Because it's able to travel online, different platforms, through different cable networks- Ariel: Yeah.

Bird: different festivals, and even news organizations!

Ariel: Oh?

Bird: Even New York Ti mes has shorts that they show.

The Guardian, out of London, has shorts that they screen on theirs.

Ariel: Don't, like, National Geographic and those programs now too?

You could see it on their websites?

Bird: Yeah.

Ariel: Which reminds me!

There is a new and exciting development: FNX has an app!

Bird: Yay!

Ariel: So, anybody could download this app on their iPhone.

They're like Android for free.

Bird: iPad.

Tablet.

Ariel: On the iPad.

Pager?

Everything!

(laughter) So, how cool is that?

Are there any other ways to watch?

Bird: Yes!

And, you can also watch all of our programs on FNX.org/nativeshorts.

But, I just have to give it up for indigenous women making films.

High five.

Ariel: High five!

(smack) Yes!

We'll see you guys next time!

Bird: Right on!

♪ [bold drums] ♪ ♪ [traditional vocalizing] ♪ ♪ ♪ [vocals fade]