LA SKINS Fest Presents: NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS SHORT FILM SHOWCASE

The USC School of Cinematic Arts,
USC Visions & Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative,
and LA SKINS FEST Invite All to

A Big Screen Theatrical Showcase of

NATIVE AMERICAN SHORT FILMS

Followed by a Q&A with the Filmmakers

7:00 P.M. on Monday, September 18th, 2023

Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall
University of Southern California
3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007

FREE ADMISSION. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. RSVPs REQUIRED.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP

About the Short Films

COMMODITY (10 min.)
Written & Directed by Rayne Kingfisher.
Commodity is a Modern Native American folktale about one man’s trials and tribulation to get an indian taco. We follow a nameless Indian man meandering through the American Southwest encountering a cast of colorful character. A vision of a ghost, a foul mouthed aunty, and a thieving juggalo, of which are standing in the way of our Head-man dancer and his penultimate goal. Hallucinations and haunting psychedelic sounds and images reflect our man’s mental state in this off the wall comedy crescendoing in the final battle between our protagonist and juggalo. Thankfully good triumphs over evil in this morality tale leaving us with the timeless message, “tradition becomes our security, and when the mind is secure in its decay,” albeit that tradition be frybread and indigenous survivance.

COTANKA CALLING (26 min.)
Written & Directed by Jacob R. Pratt. Produced by Jacob R. Pratt, Jenifer Brousseau, and Sarah Kelly.
A young man and woman are brought together and have an instant connection. From a distance they are naturally draw towards each other. In this film they live out their love story in two different timelines, or two different life times. The young man uses the Native American flute as a means of demonstrating his love and calling to the beautiful woman that he saw. The world around them will have a deep impact on their ability to connect. We will see how the modern world has impacted one of our traditional practices and our ability to connect to each other in a natural way. The modern world can create barriers that otherwise would not exist.

ELLAY (25 min.)
Directed by Cruz-William Castillo. Written by Keenan Duke. Produced by Cruz Castillo.
It’s expensive to be poor in LA, especially when you’re an out-of-work actor. Broke, alone, and trying to navigate a busy city, Aidan is finally offered the best role of his life. But at what cost?

STRIPPER (14 min.)
Directed by Anthony Sneed. Written by Anthony Sneed and Chris Thompson. Produced by Tiffany Conklin, Thomas Hartman, Anthony Sneed, and Zane Kalnina.
When 13-year-old Cricket walks past the local strip club with his friends, nothing can prepare him for who they see walking into work: his mom. With rumors starting to spread, Cricket must take matters into his own hands to clear his mom’s name and prove that she isn’t a stripper.

THE DAILY LIFE OF MISTRESS RED (11 min.)
Written & Directed by Peshawn Rae Bread. Produced by Jhane Myers, Jennifer Reeder, and Michael D Jones.
The Daily Life of Mistress Red is a mockumentary that explores the world of kink, native women and defeating white supremacy on one’s own terms. Marie Callingbird is a Native fashion boutique owner and Mistress Red; a dominatrix for hire who takes the effects of racism, sexism and colonization into her own hands by taking white supremacist clients. Taylor, a blogger who is excited to meet Marie is suddenly surprised by Mistress Red. Can she accept/love Mistress Red as much as she admires Marie?

THE MAINLAND (19 min.)
Written & Directed by Conrad Ikaika Lihilihi.
The Mainland follows aspiring actor, Ikaika, struggling with the trend and politics of diversity in Hollywood when his small town cousin, Kekoa, unexpectedly visits from Hawai’i, bringing him a much needed dose of ‘ohana and aloha.

Check-In & Reservations

This screening is free of charge and open to the public. A reservation confirmation will automatically be sent to your e-mail account upon successfully making an RSVP through this website. Doors will open at 6:30 P.M.

All SCA screenings are OVERBOOKED to ensure seating capacity in the theater, therefore seating is not guaranteed based on RSVPs. The RSVP list will be checked in on a first-come, first-served basis until the theater is full. Once the theater has reached capacity, we will no longer be able to admit guests, regardless of RSVP status.

Parking

On-campus parking at the University of Southern California is limited, and it is best to visit the USC Transportation Website for the most up-to-date information if you plan to drive and park on campus:

https://transnet.usc.edu/index.php/daily-and-hourly-parking/
https://transnet.usc.edu/index.php/about-us/entrance-hours/