Information provided by filmmaker Kirti Bassendine. Lea este artículo en español aquí.
“Contemporary Indigenous Voices of California’s South Coast Range”
Tuesday, January 21, 6 – 8:30 p.m.
CineLux Tennant Station
750 Tennant Station Way
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Photographer and Filmmaker Kirti Bassendine and Mark Turner, Mayor of Morgan Hill, are inviting the public to view a documentary film that explores the cultural practices and personal stories of 10 tribal community members calling attention to cultural connections to the land, rematriation (restoring the relationship between Indigenous people and their ancestral land) and climate change. The event will take place at the CineLux Tennant Station.
Several members of Amah Mutsun Tribal Band tell their personal stories in the film.
Having been born in Kenya and emigrated to England at a young age, Bassendine’s artistic expression was shaped by her experiences growing up within a minority culture. She graduated with BA Honors in Fine Art Photography from Derby University, England.
Following its debut at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, photographer and filmmaker Kirti Bassendine brings her important work to Morgan Hill. “Kirti is intrigued by human relationships – especially how they impact the discovery of identity and belonging within one’s culture and the wider world. By bringing… Indigenous voices together, she creates a unique experience for audiences to engage with these ideas themselves.” This is discussed in my Q+A article on the de Young website.
The ten participating tribal groups are: Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, Confederated Villages of Lisjan, Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, Tamien Nation, Indian Canyon Chualar Tribe of the Costanoan-Ohlone People, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, the Rumsen Ohlone Tribal Community, Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, the Salinan Tribe of San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties, and the Salinan T’rowt’raahl Tribal Communities. “We are here, we have always been here,” is the fundamental message.
One of the short films was selected for the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival in April.
The project has received widespread and positive media coverage. For example:
● “Unique perspectives and urgent warnings about climate change are captured in both
moving pictures and still portraits”. Dan Ashley and Tim Didion, ABC7 News.
● “To bring together so many tribal leaders and cultural leaders in this area, it really hasn’t been done in this way before”. Natalia Gurevich, San Francisco Examiner.
● “An incredible opportunity for everyone to hear from community members in their own words”. J.L. Odom, SFGate.
● “Immigrant Photographer Turns Her Lens on Revival of Native Culture in California”.
Peter Schurmann, Ethnic Media Services.
● The poster series also received positive coverage on ABC7 News: “A new exhibit here in
the Bay Area is helping to transport powerful messages from the Native American community to people simply passing by on the street”. Watch the full ABC7 news segment.
You can watch the trailer on Youtube.
The Contemporary Indigenous Voices exhibition and films has been received very positively by indigenous cultural bearers, community leaders and museum curators. For example:
● Gregg Castro, Culture Director of The Association of Ramaytush Ohlone praised the
project for “highlighting the resilience and enduring presence of California’s Indigenous
peoples”, further stating that “Bassendine’s work has become an essential project for the
further education of the public in California of our current existence and that we are not
‘living in the past.’’
● Christina Hellmich, Curator in Charge of the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania
and the Americas, at de Young Museum, San Francisco “Bassendine’s work is important
to the state of California as a cultural heritage archive and as a source of community
action and education. She added the work “brings forward voices that have been long
unheard, fostering understanding and connection in a way that is both powerful and
necessary.”
Following the screening, filmmaker Kirti Bassendine and Mark Turner will host a discussion with the audience followed by a Q&A session.
For interviews and additional images contact Kirti Bassendine 678-765-9484, kirtibassendine@gmail.com
https://kirtibassendine.com/gallery/contemporary-indigenous-voices