Representation matters. It matters because it impacts how we interact with our fellow Americans, the way that we educate our children, and it shapes our path forward as a democracy. Storytelling and filmmaking have suffered from a dearth of representation of important groups that influenced American democracy, notably Native Americans. Native culture is rich, steeped in history, and multifaceted, yet mainstream films do not often capture this nuance. The Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival honors the contributions of Native Americans and reinvigorates conversations about telling stories of indigenous life.
ÁNIMAS (SPIRITS) (2023) (MEXICO)
Director: Federico Cuatlacuatl
Shot entirely on a cellphone, this short film is a self-archeological and self-anthropologic experimental collage through the intimate moments of Coapan. Decoloniality is a tool used as means of celebrating, challenging, and reconstructing. The resilience of traditions and costumbres of this community are highlighted as resistance, self-preservation, and endurance. Después de mas de 500 años de supremacía blanca en Mexico, que queda? After more than five hundred years of Mexican white supremacy, what is left?