Sante Fe Reporter review

Reel Indian Art

Native Cinema Showcase is a forum for underexposed talent

August 24, 2011
by Lindsay Jaeger


Conflict, death and a semimonochromatic color pallet
photo by Sebastian Mlynarski

Given the specific nature of the 11th Annual Native Cinema Showcase, which coincided with Indian Market and showed more than 40 films from Native filmmakers worldwide, I was curious about exactly who would fill the auditorium at the New Mexico History Museum. As the week progressed, it became clear: anyone and everyone. The crowds were thick with people laughing, responding, applauding and staying until the end. Still, I sensed that, if it weren’t for this individualized forum—presented by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian and the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts—many of these valuable stories would be abandoned to orbit some level of deep obscurity...

...The stunning opening night feature, On the Ice, is an eerily suspenseful, unconventional, contemporary-set noir that plays out in what feels like a strange state of limbo. In arctic Alaska, the sky is always white, mirroring the monochromatic forms of ice and snow below. A character remarks that the sun won’t set until August. When conflict flares between three teenage male friends hunting on the deserted tundra, only two survive. They rejoin their community amid questions and suspicion from all sides. In a place without darkness, there is no place to hide. A powerful ending delivers a complex coming-of-age resolution to this haunting story.

The festival’s films should no more occupy an exclusive niche market than, for example, Weimar German cinema or Italian neorealism. Unique voices, telling personal stories of specific cultures, have the transcending power to achieve universal importance. In terms the industry understands: When audiences appear, as they did this week, movies have already come to life. They deserve a platform to continue existing.

Please note: The above is an excerpt from the full article.

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The Sante Fe audience has some lungs

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Indian Country article

Celebrated Alaska Native Film ‘On the Ice’ Seeks National Distribution

By ICTMN Staff August 13, 2011

photo by Maura Anderson

'On the Ice' is Andrew Okpeaha MacLean's first feature film.

On the Ice, a film featuring an entirely Inuit cast, has won pretigious awards and much praise, but now the Inupiaq writer/director Andrew Okpeaha MacLean is reaching beyond the festival-goers and film critics. He and producer Cara Marcous would like for On the Ice to be shown in theaters all over the country. “We are hoping to be in at least ten cities across the United States later this year,” says Marcous.

In pursuit of their goal, they’ve launched a Kickstarter.com page — an increasingly common approach among filmmakers. Two other Native-themed films of note, Winter in the Blood and The Thick Dark Fog, have used Kickstarter to solicit funding.

“So many great films of the past few years never made it to theaters because the industry just couldn’t find a place for them,” MacLean says.

Eric Kohn of IndieWire picked On the Ice as a “must-see” film as BAMcinemaFest; and at the Seattle International Film Festival, the International Federation of Film Critics awarded it a FIPRESCI prize “For presenting a universal, near-Biblical tragedy set in a little known culture recreated with compelling detail. A story told with outstanding naturalistic performances with a confident, compelling narrative.”

For more information, visit On the Ice’s Kickstarter page, official site ontheicethemovie.com, and facebook.com/OntheIce.

Kickstarter video

full article online

Indiewire article

The Kickstarting Never Stops: Three Sundance Films Are Looking for Distribution Dough

by Bryce J. Renninger (Updated 6 hours, 37 minutes ago)

[excerpt]

Filmmaking may be democratized by more-affordable technologies, but it still costs a hell of a lot of money to get your film seen. From making prints to booking theaters to sales agents to publicists, the expenses stack up. From the 2011 crop of Sundance films, three are currently searching for funds to get their films out to a wider audience.

U.S. Dramatic Competition film “On the Ice” joins Park City at Midnight alums “Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same” and “The Oregonian” in a quest for funds from, yes, People Like You. Take a look at what they’re looking for below.

“On the Ice”

The Project: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean’s “On the Ice” debuted as part of the U.S. Narrative Competition and Native Showcase at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, won a Crystal Bear in the Generation 14+ youth section of the 2011 Berlinale. In “On the Ice,” set in the ice-cold reaches of Barrow, Alaska, two young Iñupiaq men, Qalli and Aivaaq, must cover up the death of a friend of theirs—a death that was partially their fault.

Amount Project is Looking to Raise: $80,000

Distribution Plan: From Kickstarter: “Despite the success we’ve had on the festival circuit, traditional distributors are scared of a film with no famous faces, set in a community far outside the mainstream. Awards or not, they don’t want to take a chance on a small, independent film without recognizable stars to help sell it.

“It’s been great taking this film all over the world and introducing it to audiences, but we didn’t make this film just to play it in festivals. So we’re finding another way. Through Kickstarter we’re hoping to raise enough to be able to release the film in at least ten theaters across the country.

“Many great films over the past few years never made it to theaters because the industry couldn’t find a place for them, but with your help we can prove that it is possible for a film like ours to succeed - that audiences will come to a film with a fresh voice, a story full of suspense and humor, with characters and a world unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. We think ‘On the Ice’ deserves to be seen, and we hope you do too.”

Kickstarter Page

full Indiewire article online

Hi from Qutuq!

Update video from our Kickstarter campaign!

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share this video with you and ask you to check our Kickstarter page! Aarigaa!