PARK CITY, Utah (AP) – Excitement was in the air as hundreds filed into theatres at the Sundance Film Festival for special screenings of films directed and produced by Native Americans from the Four Corners region.
Just hours before the screenings began, Park City, Utah, was buzzing with speculation on how “Grab” and “The Rocket Boy” would be received by journalists from around the world.
Billy Luther, 35, who directed “Grab,” said he grew up without seeing any images of Native Americans on television or the bid screen. Luther is part Navajo, Hopi and Laguna and has family members who live in Forest Lake, a small community west of Chinle, Ariz., on the vast Navajo reservation.
“A lot of artists create from struggle, pain or suffering. Not me. The film is about the ‘grab day’ celebration that happens year-round in pueblo communities,” Luther explained just prior to a screening. “My documentary explores the Laguna Pueblo community. The film follows three families as they live and work around their community, preparing for this event.”
“Grab” is Luther’s second independent film to premiere at Sundance.
The film graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., debuted “Miss Navajo” in 2007 at the festival. Luther said “Miss Navajo” was inspired by his mother’s life growing up during the 1960s. Luther’s mother, Sarah Ann Johnson Luther, was Miss Navajo from 1966-67.
The film went on to win famed producer Michael Moore’s Special Founders Prize.
“Miss Navajo” also won Best Indigenous Film at the Santa Fe Film Festival and is the centerpiece of an upcoming stage production called “Miss Navajo: The Musical.”
“‘Miss Navajo’ world-premiered at Sundance in 2007. It was kind of a different experience then. Now I’m much more calm and relaxed about it all,” said Luther of the second time around.
Luther said he’s elated he chose filmmaking as a profession. He said his relationship with Sundance started in 2006 when he was selected to participate in a Sundance Institute/Ford Foundation Fellowship.
“I wouldn’t be doing anything else,” he said. “Sitting behind a desk and working from 9 to 5 would irritate me. I waited tables and did the retail thing throughout college. I’d write a lot when I was working. Waiting tables with many creative people was a highlight. We (fellow filmmakers) can now look back and think about how much more we were struggling back then. I think waiting tables also helps you see into people – good and bad. Rude, bad tippers, ego freaks and the fun outgoing ones, too. Meeting so many crazies gave me a lot of material to work with in my writing.”
At the Jan. 24 screening of “Grab,” Luther thanked his mentor, N. Bird Runningwater, associate director of Sundance’s Native American and Indigenous Initiative, which provides a developmental platform for Native American filmmakers.
“Grab” showcases the time of the year when residents of Laguna, about 25 miles east of Grants, N.M., pay tribute to family members by throwing food and gifts from the rooftops of their homes to residents. The film follows three different Laguna families.
“I don’t make films to win awards. You never remember who won the year before and it only ends up in your bio or some image on your DVD cover,” Luther said. “I don’t think the average film watcher goes to see films just because they won an award. Maybe they do. But I bet a lot of them are disappointed after they watch it.
“Sundance is fun because I get to reconnect with filmmakers and friends I’ve known for the past 10 years since I’ve been attending. There is nothing better than being cold and waiting in line at 8 a.m. to see a film with a group of friends,” Luther said.
“The Rocket Boy” also screened at Sundance was created by three young Navajo filmmakers and was one of seven such films premiering during the festival’s Indigenous Shorts Showcase series. The film is directed by Donavan Seschillie, 22, the youngest Native American director in Sundance history, festival officials said.
The 30th annual Sundance Film Festival, founded by actor Robert Redford, ended Jan. 30.