Indigenous storytelling has been at the heart of the work of the Sundance Institute since its inception. Through our labs and fellowships, we’re dedicated to uplifting the voices of those inspired to tell their story and the stories of their communities.
Within nonfiction films, these voices are direct and strong. The Documentary Film Program staff have compiled a list of six films about Indigenous communities, which were supported by Sundance Institute, not to miss. Read about them and get inspired below.
Bad Press
Directors: Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler
Producers: Joe Peeler, Conrad Beilharz, Tyler Graim, Garrett F. Baker
Logline: When the Muscogee Nation suddenly begins censoring its free press, a rogue reporter fights to expose her government’s corruption in a historic battle that will have ramifications for all of Indian country.
Supported by Sundance Institute’s 2021 Documentary Fund, 2021’s Project Advancement Fund, and premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
Powwow People
Director: Sky Hopinka
Producers: John Cardellino, Adam Piron
Logline: A meditation on the nebulous places of community and survivance that are powwows, poetically depicting Native American singers and dancers as they live their lives, maintain their cultural traditions, and prepare for an upcoming powwow.
Supported by Sundance Institute’s 2023 Documentary Fund.
“Powwow People takes inspiration from vérité filmmaking to ground viewers in the rhythms, relationships, joy, and lived experience of a contemporary Native gathering. Rather than entering as an outside observer, filmmaker Sky Hopinka instead organized the powwow itself — inviting dancers, singers, vendors, and community members to participate in the making of the film. Culminating in a long, unbroken shot of a Northern Traditional dance special, the film has been receiving rave reviews out of its premiere at TIFF last month, with The Wrap calling it “one of the most vital documentaries of the 21st century.” — Dominic Davos, Manager, Documentary Fund
Director: Paige Bethmann
Producer: Jessica Epstein
Logline: Ku Stevens, 18, has the skill and drive to become an elite runner but he struggles to navigate the sport’s glorified individualism and the values of interconnectedness he was brought up with on the Paiute reservation. When thousands of Native children’s remains are discovered, Ku’s painful family history is unearthed and Ku resolves to run the same 50-mile escape route his great-grandfather used to flee an Indian boarding school at age 8. Remaining Native is a coming-of-age story that asks: can you run from home without running away from who you are?
Supported by Sundance Institute’s 2023 Documentary Fund and 2023 Documentary Edit and Story Lab.
“Remaining Native is a coming of age tale anchored in Ku Stevens, a 17 year old Native American runner, who finds himself deeply reckoning with his dreams for college and the traumatic history of residential boarding schools. His grandfather, Frank, ran away from one as an 8-year-old child, survived and carried the mission to preserve his culture by passing it on to Ku’s grandmother who then passed it on to Ku’s father. Drawing from indigenous storytelling structures, Paige Bethmann’s first feature delicately balances a circularity weaving between Ku and his grandfather grounded in the importance of preservation, remembrance and connection to land.” — Andrea Alarcón, Producing & Artist Support Manager, Documentary Film Program
Runa Simi
Director: Augusto Zegarra
Producers: Paloma Iturriaga, Claudia Chavez
Logline: Fernando, a Peruvian single father, sits in an audio-recording room with his young son Dylan, recording voices together from Spanish into Quechua — their indigenous language. Fernando provides careful but spirited direction to Dylan, who nails the specific intonation. What seems as a playful game between a father and son is actually a treasured creative hobby for Fernando, who has dubbed online clips of many animated movies into Quechua. As a voice actor who’s always had an interest in crafting voices and dialects, Fernando uses his platform as a radio host in his native Cusco to create content in Quechua, enabling this language to thrive and not be forgotten. “Our language Quechua,” affirms Fernando, “is like life itself.”
All too quickly, Fernando’s online hobby of dubbing film clips goes viral — and it spurs him to pursue his most ambitious goal yet: fully dub Disney’s animated “The Lion King” into Quechua. The creative hobby now becomes a real cultural endeavor.
Supported by Sundance Institute’s 2020 Documentary Fund.
“Runa Simi is a lovingly patient journey with Fernando, a young indigenous Peruvian man, whose life mission is to preserve the indigenous Quechua language. Director Augusto Zegarra and his team embed themselves with deep care and a palpable friendship behind the camera as they accompany Fernando on fulfilling his biggest dream — dubbing Disney’s The Lion King in Quechua to share with indigenous community in Peru. As we follow Fernando’s unwavering efforts to bring a classic film to young kids for whom these kinds of films have been inaccessible, the culminating screening will leave you crying the most happy tears.” — Andrea Alarcón
Standing Above the Clouds
Director: Jalena Keane-Lee
Producers: Amber Espinosa Jones, Erin Lau, Jalena Keane-Lee
Logline: When the massive Thirty Meter Telescope is proposed to be built on Mauna Kea, an uprising of kiaʻi (protectors) in Hawaiʻi and around the world dedicate their lives to protecting the sacred mountain from destruction. Through the lens of mothers and daughters in three Native Hawaiʻian families, Standing Above the Clouds explores intergenerational healing and the impacts of safeguarding cultural traditions.
Supported by Sundance Institute’s 2023 Documentary Edit and Story and Lab.
“The uprising of kiaʻi (protectors) models a spiritual and environmental grassroots conservation effort which we can all take lessons from. Director-producer Jalena Keane-Lee and producers Amber Espinosa-Jones and Erin Lau approach this story with a thoughtful, inclusive process that prioritizes the well-being and voices of their participants.” — Evan Neff, Coordinator, Documentary Fund
Directors: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie
Producers: Kellen Quinn, Emily Kassie
Logline: When the Muscogee Nation suddenly begins censoring its free press, a rogue reporter fights to expose her government’s corruption in a historic battle that will have ramifications for all of Indian country.
Supported by Sundance Institute’s 2022 Documentary Fund and premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
“Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s first feature is also the first feature length documentary following recent investigations of the legacy of Indian residential schools in North America. Both a deeply personal and journalistic account, the film makes visible generations of trauma and loss and the work of individuals from within communities to try and bring perpetrators to justice and search for healing within themselves and the generations that preceded them”. — Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film and Artist Programs
