| Updated January 23, 2009 There was a buzz after the screening that anything is possible for the American Indian film community. Creative Spirit put the finishing touches on another successful year with an October 11 screening at the Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles, California. The main event was the world premiere unveiling of the short films "The Migration" and "Liminality." "The audience reaction was very positive and encouraging," said James Lujan, the director of InterTribal Entertainment. "It's further proof that Native filmmakers are ready to go to the next level. These two projects show that Native talent is capable of producing entertaining stories with crossover appeal to mainstream audiences." "The Migration," written by Cody Harjo (Seminole), is a cautionary tale set in the future where global warming and an authoritarian government have forced a brother and sister to flee for their lives, carrying a small bag of seeds that will grow a new world. "Liminality," written by Migizi Pensoneau (Ponca/Ojibwe), tells the story of a young Indian man looking to join a vampire slayer cult, who gets much more than he bargained for when he walks into a small reservation bar. Just one week prior to the screening, a Native cast and crew were assembled and, working from two short scripts selected from a nationwide call, principal photography began. Three days of shooting and three days of editing culminated with the presentation of the films before an enthusiastic audience of over two hundred. Creative Spirit is a film training and production initiative of the nonprofit Southern California Indian Center, Inc., through its multimedia division, InterTribal Entertainment. |
| InterTribal Entertainment Southern California Indian Center, Inc. 3440 Wilshire Blvd. #904 Los Angeles, CA 90010 213-387-5772 ext. 326 Click here to E-Mail ITE Director James Lujan RESOURCES National Native Alliances Native Media and Technology Network Broadcasting Native American Public Telecommunications National Geographic All Roads Project Business Nativebiz.com Talent Opportunities Native Voices at the Autry Call for Scripts Sundance Institute Native Initiative IAIA Summer Film and Television Workshop Fox Diversity American Indian Summer Institute ABC Talent Development Scholarship Grant KQED Truly CA Organizations American Indian Film Institute First Americans in the Arts Native American Film Commission News and Blogs NativeVue Renaissance Indian Krystyn Media NativeCelebs.com Theatre Arts Native Voices at the Autry Project HOOP |
| INTERTRIBAL ENTERTAINMENT Mission InterTribal Entertainment (ITE) is a multimedia training and production initiative of Southern California Indian Center, Inc. (SCIC), which is a member of the Native Media and Technology Network (NMTN) alliance. ITE's primary goals are (1) to provide training and employment opportunities for Native Americans in the entertainment industry and (2) to develop, produce and market film, television and multimedia projects which contribute to a greater understanding of the American Indian experience. ITE's efforts are driven by SCIC Planner and ITE Director James Lujan who has over fifteen years of experience in film production and training. ITE's past and current initiatives include: Projects -- The Creative Spirit Script-to-Screen Initiative to identify, train, and promote emerging and established Native talent. -- A partnership with the VSA Arts of New Mexico's North Fourth Art Center for producing Creative Spirit New Mexico for the Two Worlds Festival of Native Film and Theatre. -- A partnership with Native Voices at the Autry to co-sponsor a Native youth acting workshop to be held Summer 2009. -- A collaboration with the Southwest Museum in programming an American Indian summer film series for 2009. -- A collaboration with the 2008 FOX American Indian Summer Institute in the production of PSA's for the digital transition. -- Production and training opportunities on a slate of short and feature-length genre film projects, including a Creative Spirit feature. |
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| ITE Trainer Mentors All-Native Crew at Duke City Shootout Updated July 25, 2006 InterTribal Entertainment Partners with Albuquerque Filmmaking Festival to train Native Filmmakers When ITE's James Lujan put out a call for a Native American crew, he didn't expect such an enthusiastic response, but that's exactly what he got, as approximately fifteen novice and experienced American Indian filmmakers came together to work on one of seven short films to be produced by the 7th Annual Duke City Shootout. More ... Duke City Shootout Website |
| Native American Filmmakers Mixer Held at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip Updated August 22, 2006 American Indian Cinematique brings together industry and talent to get to know who's who in the Native film community The night was buzzing with energy as members of the American Indian film community came together with representatives of the entertainment industry for what ITE plans as the first of several mixers and workshops, the purpose of which is to build alliances and collaborations between Native talent and film executives as well as tribal leaders. More ... |
| History First conceived in 2000, ITE grew out of a shared vision of the Native American social development and entertainment community, a collaborative effort of founding members Paula Starr (SCIC Executive Director), Floyd Crow Westerman (film and television actor), Syd Beane (Director of the National American Indian Development Corporation) and Chuck Banner (television producer). From 2002 to 2004, ITE in association with Fox Studios provided instruction in basic film production for high school and college age Native American students. In 2003, ITE produced its first documentary project "Urban Pow Wow," overseen by Banner and filmed by students from ITE's training classes. The world premiere of the documentary was hosted by Fox Diversity Development and screened at Fox Studios in Los Angeles. |
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| Mentor James Lujan (left) offers some tips to boom operator Bart Hood (middle) and sound mixer Jonathan Sims (right) on the location set of "Dog Day" at the Duke City Shootout |
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| BLUE CORN CORNER Updated August 25, 2009 Twisted to death in "Parks and Recreation" Indians in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" Review of "The Tracker" Overviews of "We Shall Remain" Reviews of "After the Mayflower" "Night of the Living Dead" in "Homicide" 2009 FAITA ceremony canceled 3D Indians in "We Shall Remain" Companion pieces to "We Shall Remain" Indians in "Parks and Recreation" Recreations in "We Shall Remain" Remake of 1909 silent film Quileutes embrace "Twilight" tourism "Whispers Like Thunder" seeks funding Class studies boarding-school play Submitted for your consideration by Robert Schmidt, creator of Blue Corn Comics. Check out more of Robert's news links and commentary at Newspaper Rock, "where Native America meets pop culture." |
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| Actors Ian James, Eva Thomas and Kalani Queypo on the set of "He Can't Be Caught" in Norwalk, CA. Below: Writer/Director Princess Lucaj, Production Mentor Tim Ramos, Director of Photography Ian Skorodin and 1st AD Damon Buckley on location for "Pow Wow Dreams" in Lancaster, CA. |
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| Feature Story Creative Spirit 2006 Wraps Successful First Year |
| Updated Nov. 29, 2006 What began early this summer as a screenplay contest concluded at the House of Blues in West Hollywood on Saturday November 18, with the world-premiere screening of two short films produced by Southern California Indian Center and InterTribal Entertainment's Creative Spirit Script-to-Screen Competition. The Creative Spirit program, a Native American motion picture talent and training initiative, launched in July with a nationwide call for short scripts by American Indian screenwriters. From this call, two scripts were selected, and November 11-18, the writers took part as their scripts were shot, edited and screened in a week. Complete story and more photos. |
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| Spotlight 'Pow Wow Dreams' Hits Film Festival Circuit |
| Four sisters (from left, played by Princess Lucaj, Elena Finney, Thirza Defoe and DeLanna Studi) in the climactic showdown from "Pow Dreams." |
| Updated February 24, 2007 For writer/director/actor Princess Lucaj, the production of her SCIC-InterTribal Entertainment-produced Creative Spirit 2006 short film, "Pow Wow Dreams" was just the beginning of the journey. Getting it out there has been the next step. The short already screened in January at the Sol Dance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and is scheduled to screen at the Palm Springs Native American Film Festival on March 17 at 8pm. "The Creative Spirit program has been a huge inspiration not only to myself but to all those involved with the film production and to the audiences who get to view the films coming out of the program," says Princess. She continues, "As a writer/director I have had the privilege of working with other programs to develop story, but Creative Spirit is the first program that has taken an enormous step in providing the means to produce finished films." More ... |
| Southern California Indian Center and Creative Spirit films mentioned in KABC-TV News Story Updated April 11, 2007 In a story about American Indians in Hollywood first aired on Los Angeles local news station KABC-TV the evening of Wednesday, February 28, the efforts of Southern California Indian Center and InterTribal Entertainment to improve opportunities for Native Americans in the film industry were given mention. Specifically mentioned were the two short films, "Pow Wow Dreams" and "He Can't Be Caught," produced last year by Native writers, directors and actors in the Creative Spirit Script-to-Screen Competiiton. InterTribal Entertainment plans to continue the program this year and will soon announce a nationwide call for scripts. To read the transcript and/or to watch the video of the broadcast, click here. |
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| World Premiere of 2nd Annual Creative Spirit Films Held at Paramount Studios |
| 1st Annual Creative Spirit Short Films Screened at American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco |
| Updated November 28, 2007 The Creative Spirit Class of 2006 short films "Pow Wow Dreams," written and directed by Princess Lucaj (Gwich'in Athabascan), and "He Can't Be Caught," written by Clementine Bordeaux (Sicangu/Oglala Lakota) were screened at the 32nd Annual American Indian Film Festival. "Pow Wow Dreams" has also been an official slection of the Palm Springs Native American Film & Video Festival, Sol Dance Film Festival and ImagineNATIVE. It was also named best short film at the International Cherokee Film Festival in October 2007. |
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| Updated January 2, 2008 From the rez to the red carpet. That could be the best way to sum up the second successful year of Southern California Indian Center's Creative Spirit initiative, which began with a short script contest won by two first-time Native American screenwriters and concluded with a world premiere on November 10, 2007, at Paramount Studios' Sherry Lansing Theater. The purpose of the Creative Spirit program is to initiate employment and training opportunities for American Indians in the film industry. This includes creating meaningful relationships between Native cinematic artists with industry professionals by providing an environment for professional collaboration. Such was the case with both short films, "Ancestor Eyes" written and directed by Kalani Queypo (Blackfeet/Hawaiian), and "Two Spirits, One Journey," written and produced by Shawn Imitates Dog (Oglala Lakota). Selected by a blind judging committee from a pool of entries from all over the United States, the winning writers were given the option of directing, then supplied with high-definition video equipment and a small budget for cast and crew, and, over the course of a week, the two films were simultaneously shot, edited and screened. "We're very proud of what we've accomplished with Creative Spirit," says Southern California Indian Center Planer James Lujan. "It shows that there's a lot of Native American talent capable of writing, directing, acting and producing their own stories on a professional level." |
| Writer/Director Kalani Queypo (left) talks about his experiences shooting "Ancestor Eyes" before a full audience at Paramount Studios' Sherry Lansing Theater. Next to him are actresses Rulan Tangen (above) and Nanabah Kadenehii (below). "Two Spirits, One Journey" Writer/Producer Shawn Imitates Dog listens on the right. |
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| Writer/Producer Shawn Imitates Dog prepares the "Two Spirits, One Journey" crew for a company move. |
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| Writer/Director Queypo lines up a shot with Director of Photography David Lewis on the set of "Ancestor Eyes." |
| COMPLETE COVERAGE: PHOTO ALBUM ROBERT SCHMIDT INDIANS TAKE TINSELTOWN INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY CREATIVE SPIRIT HISTORY |
| InterTribal Entertainment's James Lujan featured in NAPT Producer Profile |
| Updated April 15, 2008 In the film capitol of America, just getting a start can be an obstacle too difficult to overcome. Los Angeles has long been the epicenter of film production in the United States. James Lujan dedicates his time to helping Native Americans crack into the business. Get the full story. |
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| Creative Spirit Shorts at a Film Festival Near You |
| Updated July 1, 2008 The two shorts from the 2nd Annual Creative Spirit Script-to-Screen Shootout are continuing to make their mark on the film festival circuit. "Two Spirits One Journey" (above left), written by Shawn Imitates Dog, made its film festival debut in June at the Frameline 32: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. The film will also screen at Outfest 2008: The 26th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in the shorts program scheduled for Wednesday, July 16, 9:30pm. Meanwhile, "Ancestor Eyes" (above right), written and directed by Kalani Queypo, recently screened in June at the Talking Stick Film Festival in Santa Fe, NM. The film is also lined up to screen at the Long Island International Film Expo on Wednesday, July 9 at 4:30pm. The film has also been accepted to the Rhode Island International Film Festival, California Next Gen Film Festival, Woods Hole Film Festival and Washougal International Film Festival. Additionally, it was a short film finalist at the Academy-qualifying USA Film Festival (Dallas, TX) and screened at the Twin Rivers Media Festival (Asheville, NC) where it won 2nd Place in the Experimental/ Narrative Short category. |
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| Creative Spirit New Mexico world premiere |
| New Creative Spirit initiative successfully launched Updated September 2, 2008 The Creative Spirit New Mexico short film "Edgar's Journey" premiered on Aug. 23 to a full house at the VSA North Fourth Art Center as the closing night event of the First Annual Two Worlds Festival in Albuquerque. The screening was the culmination of a five week journey that began with assembling a group of American Indian partcipants in Albuquerque area, then teaming them with film industry professionals in a concentrated effort to develop a script, produce, shoot and edit a 10-minute short. "Now that Southern California Indian Center has proven that the Creative Spirit program can be successfully replicated, there's a lot of potential to help other Native communities that have an interest in film production," says InterTribal Entertainment director James Lujan. "There's a lot of Native American talent out there and a lot of stories to be told. We can provide the tools and training to help the Native directors, writers, actors and producers of tomorrow get to the next level." |
| Creative Spirit Wraps Year 3 |
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| Photo Credit: Tiger Moon |
| The Crew of "The Migration" prepares to shoot in Angeles National Forest. |
| Photo Credit: Axel Koester |
| Director James Lujan (middle) reviews the script with actors Cody Lightning (left) and Mark Reed (right) at the Captain's Cabin location in North Hollywood. |
COMPLETE COVERAGE: INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY 3rd Annual CREATIVE SPIRIT PHOTO ALBUM INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY (2) BLUE CORN RUNDOWN |
| Creative Spirit 2009 Winners Announced |
| "Ancestor Eyes" picking up Awards |
| Updated April 29, 2009 The Creative Spirit-produced short film "Ancestor Eyes" written and directed by Kalani Queypo (Blackfeet/Hawaiian) was named best short film by the 2009 North American Indigenous Image Awards which were announced April 23. In addition, according to the "Ancestor Eyes" myspace page, the short was also recognized with the Golden Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival (April 2009); the Aloha Accolade Award at the Honolulu International Film Festival (March 2009); the Audience Award Winner at the CA Next Gen Film Festival (August 2008); Winner of the Directorial Discovery Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival (August 2008); and Winner of Best Short Drama at the Action on Film Festival (July 2008). |
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| Rulan Tangen in a still from "Ancestor Eyes." |
| Updated August 18, 2009 Steven Judd (Kiowa/Choctaw) and Roberto A. Jackson (Gila River Indian Community) are the winning writers of the 4th Annual Creative Spirit short script competition. The scripts will be produced this fall by the Southern California Indian Center in Los Angeles and the VSA North Fourth Art Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The scripts were chosen by blind judging committees assembled by both organizations. The L.A. judges chose Judd's script, "World's Best Frybread," a fanciful comedy of an old Indian man telling his grandson the story of his search for true love; while the Albuquerque judges selected Jackson's script, "Indios Primeros," a drama about a Native American man who helps a young Mexican family that has just crossed the border. Continued ... |
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