31st ANNUAL AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL
NOVEMBER 3-11, 2006

San Francisco, CA - The American Indian Film Institute (AIFI) and Title Sponsor, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, are proud to announce this year's highlights for the 31st Annual American Indian Film Festival, November 3-11, 2006.

As the nation's most dominant outlet for Native American films, the American Indian Film Festival will feature ground-breaking films and documentaries from US American Indian and Canada First Nation communities.

The Film Festival takes place at two select theatre venues in San Francisco. The Landmark Lumiere Theater, 1572 California Street, will hold screenings November 3-8. The Festival will then move to The Palace of Fine Arts, 3301 Lyon Street, November 9-11.

The American Indian Film Festival will showcase over 70 films, documentaries and shorts, with an expected audience of 5,000. AIFI's Tribal Touring Program, a Native youth film workshop program supported by tribal host partners, will also be screening their culturally enriched films Thursday Nov. 9 at the Lumiere Theater.

American Indian Film Festival Highlights:

Friday, Nov. 3, 7:30pm @ Lumiere Theater

Opening Night: Premiere of The Velvet Devil (83 min.) directed by Larry J. Bauman
A visually compelling adaptation of Andrea Menard's play about a young Métis (Native American and European) woman who leaves her mother, her native culture, and her home to find fame as "the Velvet Devil", a 1940's singing sensation. The film shows Velvet's journey from home to stardom and her return, a journey of spirit, memory, and joy.

** Preceding and also premiering will be Teachings of the Tree People (57 min.) directed by Katie Jennings and The Ballad of Peter LaFarge (13 min.) directed by Sandra Hale Schulman.

Matinee Screenings

The matinee program opens on Saturday, November 4 at the Landmark Lumiere Theater, with matinee screenings at 11:00 a.m. The programs conclude on Thursday, November 9 with FREE admission to the Tribal Touring Program showcase.

Compelling and thought-provoking documentary features, live shorts, and industrial films rarely seen during matinee hours will be introduced to movie-goers. Suicide, politics, culture, racism, spirituality and family are just a few of the many topics that will be presented at the American Indian Film Festival matinee program. Films to watch out for:

Sunday, Nov. 5, 11:00 a.m. Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis (180 min.) directed by Gil Cardinal
The Oka Crisis is fiction based on headline news events that took place in the summer of 1990 in the town of Oka, near Montreal, Quebec. The actual events drew global attention placing Native rights issues center-stage.

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 12:00 Noon. Seasoned with Spirit (27 min.) directed by Matt Cohen and Renard Cohen
Seasoned With Spirit, A Native Cook's Journey, hosted by Chef Loretta Oden, features amazing location footage shot throughout the Americas celebrating food as a focal point to understanding the varied Native American cultures.

Saturday, Nov. 4, 7:00 p.m.

Finding Dawn (73 min.) directed by Christine Welsh
Dawn Crey. Ramona Wilson. Daleen Kay Bosse. Just three of the estimated 500 Aboriginal women who have gone missing or been murdered in Canada over the past thirty years. Directed by acclaimed Métis filmmaker Christine Welsh, Finding Dawn is a compelling documentary that puts a human face to this national tragedy.

Premiere of Unnatural & Accidental (90 min.) directed by Carl Bessai
The Unnatural and Accidental Women by renowned Métis playwright Marie Clements and is based loosely around the "unnatural and accidental" drowning deaths of native women living on skid row. Rebecca has returned home to be with her dying father. His last wish is that she track down her mother, an aboriginal woman who has long been missing. As she turns over the stones that hide the debris of the unwanted and forgotten, she is drawn into the mysteries of ten missing Native women whose spirits lead Rebecca to the killer who still haunts the alleys, streets and hotels of this urban wasteland.

Sunday, Nov. 5, 7:00 p.m.

The Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy (95 min.) directed by Chip Richie
America's darkest period: Jackson's Indian Removal Act and the forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation to Indian Territory in 1838.
Thousands of Cherokees died during the Trail of Tears, nearly a quarter of the Nation. They suffered beyond imagination... and when they finally arrived in Indian Territory, they arrived almost without any children and with very few elders, in a way they arrived with no past and no future.

** Also premiering will be Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana (16 min.) directed by Ken Kimmelman, and Bayou Landfall: The Houma Nation vs. The Hurricanes (17 min.) directed by Leslye Abbey

Monday, Nov. 6, 7:00 p.m.

Riding with Ghosts (83 min.) directed by Joe Hubers and James Starkey
Riding with Ghosts is a story of struggle and strength, pain and healing. This is a story of the Lakota Nation, straight from the voices of the people on the streets and reservations across South Dakota. Told from the mouths of grieving mothers, gang members, and earnest seekers, this film confronts the stereotypes which threaten to place the Lakota Nation forever on the shelf of tourist trinkets and clichés.

Gang Aftermath (48 min.) directed by Francis Campbell
With insights from current and former gang members, Gang Aftermath takes a no-holds-barred look at gang culture and lifestyle. Gang intervention and prevention programs are portrayed along with the journey of one individual who is determined to get out and stay out. Gang Aftermath dispels the myths and lays bare the truth about the inner workings of street gangs in Canada.

** Also premiering will be A Native American Night Before Christmas (5 min.) directed by Gary Robinson, By the Rapids (4 min.) directed by Joseph Lazare, and A Shot in the Dark (58 min.) directed by Pamela Matthews.

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 7:00 p.m.

The Canary Effect (60 min.) directed by Robin Davey and Yellow Thunder Woman
The Canary Effect takes an in-depth look at the devastating effect that U.S. policies have had on the Indigenous people of America. Using beautifully crafted imagery, it presents a chilling case for what many believe is an ongoing genocide of the American Indian.

** Also premiering will be America's Destruction of Indian Nation (48 min.) directed by Floyd Westerman and Waterbuster (78 min.) directed by J. Carlos Peinada.

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 7:00 p.m.

One Dead Indian (90 min.) directed by Tim Souttham
The timely and tragic story is based on the Ipperwash Crisis, the fatal 1995 incident whose aftermath reverberated from Dudley George's family and community to the halls of Queen's Park. On September 4, 1995, Stoney Point Natives entered Ipperwash Provincial Park, near Sarnia, Ontario and began a peaceful protest aimed at reclaiming a traditional burial ground. Within 72 hours, one of the protestors, Dudley George, was dead, shot by an OPP officer wielding a machine gun. Based in large part on the extensive research of Peter Edwards' acclaimed journalistic account of the same title, One Dead Indian is Canada's own Bloody Sunday, an explosive political thriller that relives the events of those days and the judicial and political aftermath.

** Also premiering will be Clean Fight (24 min.) directed by Bob Fugger, One-Eyed Dogs are Free (16 min.) directed by Zoe Hopkins, Conversion (9 min.) directed by Nanobah Becker, Hiawatha: The Real Story (15 min.) directed by Liz Obomsawin, and Grandma and the Raven (8 min.) directed by J.B. Cisneros.

Tribal Touring Program

Thursday, Nov. 9, 10:00 a.m. @ Lumiere Theater
Since 2001, the Tribal Touring Program, a film workshop program developed by the American Indian Film Institute (AIFI), has encouraged and provided an opportunity for American Indian youths to create and showcase their films. This year's Festival venue will present youth films from the United Auburn Indian Community, Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Bay Area college and high school students, in addition to the general public, are encouraged to attend. Admission is FREE.

Thursday, Nov. 9, 7:00 p.m. @ Palace of Fine Arts

From the Director of "Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner",
The Journals of Knud Rasmussen (112 min.) directed by Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn.
Iglulik, 1922-23. Real people, actual events. The great shaman, Avva, and his family are living on the land some distance from Iglulik, his home community that lately has taken up the teachings of Christian missionaries. Explorer/adventurer Knud Rasmussen pays Avva a visit, accompanied by two fellow Danes: trader Peter Freuchen and anthropologist Therkel Mathiassen. Rasmussen hears and records Avva's life story and that of his wife Orulu. Their son, Natar, impulsively agrees to guide Freuchen and Mathiassen north to Iglulik. After a celebration, Rasmussen leaves to head west while Avva, facing strong headwinds, sets out with his family and guests en route for home. His beautiful daughter, Apak, has troubling dreams about the road ahead.

** Preceding and also premiering is Kinnaq Nigaqtuqtuaq (The Snaring Madman) (13 min.) directed by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean.

Festival Workshops

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 10:00 a.m. @ The Radisson Fisherman's Wharf
"Film Scoring for Filmmakers"
Moderator: Brett Michael David

Friday, Nov. 10, 10:00 a.m. @ The Radisson Fisherman's Wharf
"Entertainment Law 101"
Moderator: Richard Trudell, executive director of American Indian Resource Inst. Instructors: Chad Burris, attorney/producer and owner of Indion Entertainment Group, and Harris Tulchin, attorney/producer, and leading partner of International Entertainment, Multimedia & Intellectual Property Law & Business Network™.

The American Indian Film Festival will also be offering two film workshops during the nine-day event. The Festival workshops will bring award-winning, industry professionals to San Francisco to teach, inspire and share their knowledge with the next generation of filmmakers. The topics will include Composing Music for Film, moderated by well-known film composer Brett Michael Davids and Entertainment Law, moderated by Richard Trudell, executive director of the American Indian Resource Institute, and led by Chad Burris and Harris Tulchin. A panel of expert filmmakers will also be in attendance. Admission is free for both workshops!

Friday, Nov. 10, 7:00 p.m. @ Palace of Fine Arts

Bay Area Premiere: Expiration Date (94 min.)
Death lurks in the form of dairy delivery in this independent black comedy. Charlie Silvercloud III is a young man of Native American ancestry who has the sneaking suspicion a certain family tradition will soon catch up with him. It seems Charlie's father and grandfather both died on their twenty-fifth birthdays, and both died from the same circumstances, after being struck by runaway milk trucks. Charlie's twenty-fifth birthday is only a few weeks away, and he's starting to feel his certain fate is lurking around the corner. Charlie's mother Lucille has been tracing the routes of the local milk delivery men and discover they all converge in their neighborhood, so Charlie starts putting his affairs in order -- picking out a cemetery plot, planning his funeral and ending his relationship with his girlfriend. However, with his birthday not long away, Charlie meets Bessie Anderson an eccentric but beautiful girl who isn't about to let him die.

** Selected shorts will precede Expiration Date, including the premiere of Goodnight Irene (14 min.) directed by Sterlin Harjo, Gesture Down (10 min.) directed by Cedar Sherbert, and Chiefs and Champions: Waneek Horn-Miller (24 min.) directed by Annie Frazier Henry.
** Music video premiere of The Greatest Love Song (4 min.) directed by Robin Davey and Yellow Thunder Woman

AMERICAN INDIAN MOTION PICTURE AWARDS SHOW

Advance tickets available thru AIFI @ 415-554-0525 with Visa & MasterCard. On-site tickets available at the following theater venues on the day of the show.

Landmarks Lumiere Theater
1572 California Street
San Francisco, CA

Palace of Fine Arts
3301 Lyon St. at Bay St.
San Francisco, CA

All evening shows are $7/$8 except Opening Night and Awards Night.
Weekday matinees - $4
Weekend matinees - $5

Student & Senior discounts are available.

Lumiere Theater
Friday, Nov. 3, 7:30 p.m. - $10
Saturday, Nov. 4, 11:00 a.m. - $5
Saturday, Nov. 4, 7:00 p.m. - $7/$8
Sunday, Nov.5, 11:00 a.m. - $5
Sunday, Nov. 5, 7:00 p.m. - $7/$8
Monday, Nov. 6, 11:00 a.m. - $4
Monday, Nov. 6, 7:00 p.m. - $7/$8
Tuesday, Nov. 7, 11:00 a.m. - $4
Tuesday, Nov. 7, 7:00 p.m. - $7/$8
Wednesday, Nov. 8, 11:00 a.m. - $4
Wednesday, Nov. 8, 7:00 p.m. - $7/$8
Thursday, Nov. 9, 10:00 a.m. - FREE!

Palace of Fine Arts
Thursday, Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m. - $7/$8
Friday, Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m. - $7/$8
Saturday, Nov. 11, 7:30 p.m. - American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show - $10/$15

Tribal Touring Program. Thursday, Nov. 9, 2006, 10:00 a.m. @ Lumiere Theater
* FREE ADMISSION

American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show. Saturday, Nov. 11, 7:30 p.m. @ Palace of Fine Arts
* OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. TICKETS AVAILABLE.

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American Indian Film Institute
333 Valencia Street Suite 322
San Francisco, CA 94103, USA
Telephone: 415.554.0525
Fax: 415.554.0542
www.aifisf.com