Wabanaki film fest in Portland aims to tell the stories of Indigenous peoples
Raised in Farmington, Obomsawin is a bassist who has toured the country. She's also composed music for films and TV projects that help tell the stories of native peoples, including the 2024 Oscar-nominated documentary "Sugarcane" and the popular FX comedy-drama series "Reservation Dogs," set in the Muscogee Nation in Oklahoma.
She's also one of the organizers of the first-ever Wabanaki Film Festival, set for Sunday at the Portland Museum of Art. The free program includes five films — three involving Maine filmmakers — as well as panel discussions. Obomsawin is hoping the event will bring attention to Wabanaki filmmakers and artists, and their perspectives, and raise awareness of the struggles of Indigenous peoples in Maine and elsewhere.
"We're not represented here the way tribal nations are in other cities around the country. You go to Minneapolis or Santa Fe or Tulsa, and the footprint of the Indigenous people of that place is really evident," said Obomsawin, 29, who lives in Portland and is a member of the Abenaki Nation at Odanak. "We're working to change that, particularly right now when the Indigenous community nationwide is having a bit of a renaissance. "
Obomsawin's co-organizer is Penobscot artist Lokotah Sanborn of Portland. The two also worked on one of the short films screening at the festival, "Otherworld," which was directed by Sanborn with narrative written by Obomsawin. It's a poetic documentary about an island off the coast of Maine, where the Abenaki first came into contact with the English in 1605. It later became the seasonal home of painter Andrew Wyeth and was carefully managed by his wife, Betsy, in hopes it would inspire his art.
"My film is about Abenaki connection to place, presence, and continuance despite historic and ongoing genocide. It is also about the uncanny synthetic nature of colonialism in how it curates and shapes Indigenous lands," said Sanborn.
The film festival will start at 11 a.m. Sunday with refreshments, mingling, followed by greetings and introductions. The first screening, at 11:45 a.m., is of the 1993 film "Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance." It's a documentary about an armed stand-off between protestors and police and military forces in Quebec, Canada, over a proposed golf course on Mohawk lands. The film was directed by Alanis Obomsawin, a cousin of Mali Obomsawin.
After a discussion period and a break, three short Wabanaki films will be shown at 2:45 p.m. "Putep Qotatokot-te Elewestag (The Whale Was Speaking), is a poetry film voiced and written by Mihku Paul, touching on climate change, sea life and human survival. "Bay of Herons" by Jared Lank is about a Mi'kmaq man reflecting on seeing his homelands destroyed. Following the third film, "Otherworld," there will be a Q&A with filmmakers.
At 3:30 p.m., there will be a screening of the 2012 film "Harvest of Empire: The Untold Story of Latinos in America," followed by a Q&A and a panel discussion.
Sanborn said the films in the festival were chosen to illustrate the solidarity between Indigenous people across the Americas. The two feature-length documentaries, for instance, explore Western imperialism, colonial extraction and capitalist dominance, he said.
"I hope that audiences take away a better understanding of immigration and ongoing fights for Indigenous sovereignty and how these issues inter-relate," Sanborn said.
Copy the Story Link
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
10 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Busiest performers in Cape Breton have full dance card
There's a special sound when you've been a duo all your lives. And it's even better when you're siblings and were brought up singing along with a gifted family. Marshal Brothers Music is made up of Merle Marshall, 31, and Owen Marshall, 27, who are sons of Esmond Marshall, who was a band member with acclaimed fiddler Lee Cremo. He also played a long time with Silvermoon. The Eskasoni brothers have been singing all their lives but have been on the road singing as a duo for about five years now. Performing is a full-time gig for the Marshalls, who presently travel around Cape Breton and beyond with three bands: The Blues Moose Band, HiBoys, and their own duo. A major performance coming up is when they play with the HiBoys as part of the upcoming Indigenous culture festival called Wi'kipaltimk on Aug. 9 at Open Hearth Park. They say their summer is almost full of music and that makes them happy. COUNTRY FOLK Owen describes their sound as country-folk. They performed recently at the newly re-named and re-opened Tide Tacos and Tequila (formerly Portside), on the Sydney waterfront. The smooth sounds of both the brothers' voices attracted attention as they sang on an outdoor stage and watched the sun go down over the ocean. 'We're mostly like a country-folk band. That's where we're aiming ourselves. We're mostly folk singers and we're trying to stick with country,' he said. 'Eventually, we'll add traditional stuff. We're songwriters and artists.' In performances, Owen and Merle switch instruments for different sounds. Owen, at times, plays acoustic guitar, which adds to the folk vibe. They cover well-known songs from the 1960s, '70s and '80s that take their audience back to a quieter, simpler time, and also get people up dancing. As well as singers, songwriters and musicians, the two are also all-around nice guys. As busy as they are, they always have time to play monthly for the elders in Eskasoni at the Kiknu seniors' residence They say it is a way to pay respect to their elders. They also perform when they can in facilities in North Sydney and Sydney Mines. They're very involved in using their talents for fundraising activities with the Red Tribe Boxing Club of Eskasoni, which acts as a health, fitness and mentoring space for youth in the community. ORIGINAL SONGS The two have just begun publicly singing the songs they've written for their upcoming debut album. All on the album will be original, except two songs that were gifted to them. 'The album is all original songs except for two songs that are given by the family of Keith Julian. These are songs he wrote in the early 1990s and the family gave them to us,' says Owen. Julian, from Waycobah First Nation, passed away at the age of 42 in Ottawa in 2009, where he had gone to pursue his music career. Merle explains that one piece is a letter the family found after Julian passed and the Marshal Brothers may write the music for it and if all goes well, include it in their performances and album. 'We're bringing the album out slowly,' says Merle. Music is in their genes. Their father, Esmond 'Blue' Marshall, is known today as the first Indigenous councillor for Cape Breton Regional Municipality. First elected in 2001, he has won and lost in subsequent elections, but currently represents District 3, which he won in the last municipal election. Those living around Cape Breton 35 years ago will recognize his name as being part of the band that travelled with nationally acclaimed fiddler Lee Cremo, who died in 1999. Just last year at the Celtic Colours International Festival a special performance called 'The Many Styles of Lee Cremo' was put on featuring many performers inspired by Cremo. The elder Marshall played bass guitar on an album by Mooney Francis, also an Eskasoni fiddler known for 'The Lumberjack Reel,' which garnered him an East Coast Music Award nomination in 2003. Francis passed away in 2022. Esmond Marshall also played with the original Indigenous band Silvermoon and still plays in bands around the island. He says he used to take Merle out to play with him at various jobs as a teenager and had to sign a special paper to let him play in venues such as local legions because he was underage at only 16. The duo can be found on Facebook, on the Nova Scotia Music website and through Music on the Hill. On Facebook, the brothers have had to drop the second letter 'l' from their name because their name corresponds with a popular country music band in Australia. They are thinking of taking legal steps to change their band's name in order not to get mixed up in social media searches. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Go behind the scenes with the ‘Alien: Earth' cast at Comic-Con 2025
SAN DIEGO — Sydney Chandler has wanted to attend San Diego Comic-Con as a fan for years. So it's 'surreal' that the actor's first experience with the annual pop culture expo is to promote her upcoming FX series 'Alien: Earth.' Chandler stars in the 'Alien' prequel as Wendy, a young girl whose consciousness has been transferred to an android. 'To be able to do it in this capacity is just mind-blowing,' she tells The Times in advance of the show's Hall H premiere on Friday. 'It's emotional because we worked on this for so long and I learned so much. … I'm kind of at a loss of words.' She does have words of appreciation, though, including for what she's learned from her character. 'Her journey of finding out how to hold her own and stand on her own two feet taught me so much,' says Chandler. 'I'm an overthinker. I'm an anxious person. I would have run so fast. I would not be as brave as her, but she taught me … that it's OK to just stand on your own two feet, and that's enough. That's powerful.' Even before the show's Hall H panel, fans have gathered on the sidewalk outside of the Hard Rock Hotel San Diego to catch a glimpse of Chandler and her 'Alien: Earth' cast mates Timothy Olyphant, Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin and Babou Ceesay, along with creator Noah Hawley and executive producer David Zucker, on their short trek to the bus that would transport them to the convention center for the show's world premiere. On the ride over, Hawley betrays no nerves about people seeing the first episode. 'I really think, in a strange way, it plays for all ages because it is about growing up on some level,' says the showrunner. 'But it's also 'Alien,' and it is a meditation on power and corporate power. ' Huddled together on the bus with Lawther and Blenkin, Ceesay is surprised to learn that this is the first time attending San Diego Comic-Con for all three. There's plenty of good-natured ribbing as they talk about the early interviews they've completed at the event. 'I just sort of want to make jokes with you all the time,' says Lawther as he looks towards his cast mates. 'I find it quite giddy in the experience, and I had to remind myself that I'm a professional.' 'Sometimes the British sarcasm instinct just kicks in,' Blenkin adds. Their playful dynamic continues as they joke about crashing Ceesay's other panel, and also backstage at Hall H as they try to sneak up on each other in the dark. After the panel, the cast is whisked away for video interviews and signing posters at a fan meet-and-greet at a booth on the exhibit floor. ('Timothy, you're the man!' shouts a fan passing by.) Later, Hawley, Chandler and Ceesay will hit the immersive 'Alien: Earth' activation where they will explore the wreckage of a crashed ship. 'It's such a safe space for people who just enjoy cinema and enjoy film,' Chandler says of Comic-Con. 'And that's me. I'm a complete nerd for all this stuff, so just to be around that group — it reminds me of why I love film so much in the first place.'
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Alien: Earth' Screens Blockbuster First Episode at Comic-Con
The upcoming Alien television series crash landed into Comic-Con with a blockbuster Hall H panel that got thousands of geeks sitting on the edge of their seats to an encroaching otherworldly horror. Alien: Earth, the FX series based on the classic 20th Century Studios science fiction horror movies, saw its first episode play on a giant screen in front of over 6,500 fans ahead of the show's premiere on FX and Hulu on Aug. 12. It was an ear-splitting, body-shaking experience that showcased epic moments, intimate moments and icky moments. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Rick and Morty' Spinoff 'President Curtis' a Go at Adult Swim 'The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon' Renewed for Fourth and Final Season at AMC "James Fraser Dies" in First 'Outlander' Season 8 Footage 'This is by far the biggest thing I've ever made,' said Noah Hawley, the showrunner who wrote and directed the pilot episode. 'But I made it like I make everything else: By hand, and love for you.' The series is ostensibly about a crashed spacecraft that brings the dreaded Alien xenomorph to Earth. But as expected, in Hawley's hands, there is much more going on. There are themese of humanity's quest for immortality, the greed of corporations (and inter-corporate warfare) and sibling love. Sydney Chandler plays a young woman named Wendy who is a first of her kind hybrid, a humanoid robot infused with human consciousness made by one of the mega-corporations who run the world. When a research starship owned by another mega-corporation crashes in a Southeast Asian metropolis, the childlike Wendy leads a rescue mission in order to find her brother. Unbeknownst to all, a xenomorph is on the ship… and so are a bunch of brand new alien creatures. 'Each hour has to have its horror elements but it has to be a drama,' explained Hawley. 'It has to be a character journey and be themactically rich. You have to worry that I may kill one of these people. I just might.' Timothy Olyphant, who plays a father figure of sorts to Chandler's characters, concurred, adding that by the time audiences gets four episodes in, it will be the character moments they will remember. But let's get back to the new creatures. Hawley said that the idea behind that was creating new feelings of 'genetic revulsion.' 'The one feeling you can't get back is the discovery of the life cycle of this creature (we all know so well now),' he said. 'How every step along the way is worse than the step before.' That said, there is plenty of xenomorph action. And it was mostly practical effects. The xenomorph was a man in a suit, not CG. 'I almost peed,' Chandler said when she saw him on set for the first time. Alien: Earth has a strong presence at Comic-Con as it also has an elaborate activation on the grounds of the convention center and nearby hotel. The interactive site allows guests to visit the crash site of the space ship holding the alien specimens and even allows for 'missions' in the evening as well as giveaways. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise Solve the daily Crossword
