The 38th American Indian Film Festival
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Tantoo Cardinal, Danny Glover star in Chasing Shakespeare

SAN FRANCISCO – With its rich legacy of showcasing the best Native cinema, and its longstanding presence in the San Francisco Bay Area, the 38th Annual American Indian Film Festival returns Friday, November 1 to Saturday, November 9 at the Delancey Street Theatre, 600 Embarcadero Blvd in San Francisco and will conclude Sunday, November 10 at the San Francisco Jazz Center with its annual American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show. The awards show recognizes outstanding Indian cinematic accomplishments.


The festival will inaugurate two new festival locations in the Delancey Street Theater, and the San Francisco Jazz Center. Tickets for all festival screenings go on sale October 1 at www.AIFISF.com
The 38th American Indian Film Festival kicks-off on Friday, November 1 with CHASING SHAKESPEARE, from director Norry Niven. Told in a flashback from his wife’s deathbed, William Ward’s (Danny Glover) story traces his meeting with the beautiful Venus (Tantoo Cardinal) who is from the Lightning Clan, a mystical Native American family living in Arkansas.
Opening night will be followed by matinee and evening screenings on Saturday, November 2 and Sunday, November 3 with director Charlie Soap’s CHEROKEE WORD FOR WATER and director Cyril Morin’s THE ACTIVIST, respectively.
AIFF 38 continues on Tuesday, November 5with Shirley Cheechoo’s MOOSE RIVER CROSSING; a special presentation of STAR WARS: EPISODE IV – A NEW HOPE in Navajo Language on Wednesday, November 6; Director Anita Doron’s THE LESSER BLESSED starring Benjamin Bratt will screen on Thursday, November 7;WINTER IN THE BLOOD from brothers Andrew and Alex Smith will screen Friday, November 8; and the festival will close its screenings on Saturday, November 9 with MAINA, from director Michel Poulette and starring Roseanne Supernault, Tantoo Cardinal and Graham Greene.
On Sunday, November 10, AIFF 38 will officially wrap with the American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show from 4PM -7PM at the San Francisco Jazz Center. The gala features American Indian and First Nation filmmakers, actors and entertainers, and film award presentations with live musical and cultural performances. Expected guests include Tantoo Cardinal, Roseanne Supernault, Michael Spears, Tonantzin Carmelo, Kimberley Guerrero, Kiowa Gordon, Gary Farmer, Saginaw Grant and Chaske Spencer.
AIFF 38 will also feature three special events all held at Delancey Street Theater: a Film Distribution Panel on Thursday, November 7 at 12 pm; AIFI’s innovative Tribal Touring Program on Friday, November 8 at 10AM which will spotlight P.O.V. films from Indian youth from the U.S. and Canada; and finally, CBS’ Fern Orenstein, Casting V.P., will conduct a workshop “Working One-on-One with Actors” on Friday, November 8 at 2PM.
“We are proud of our history as America’s oldest and most prestigious venue for American Indian and First Nation film arts and entertainment,” says AIFI founder-president Michael Smith [Sioux]. “With deep roots in both Indian country, and the Bay Area, we look forward to this dynamic new chapter in American Indian Film Festival history, as we progress toward our 40th anniversary, fortified by our steadfast allies, sponsors and partners in San Francisco and American Indian communities.”
AIFF is proud to acknowledge Jackson Rancheria [CA] as Presenting Sponsor of the 38th annual American Indian Film Festival. Returning sponsors [to date] include: Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Wash.; the Tule River Indian Tribe, Calif.; CBS, New York; The San Francisco Foundation; George Lucas Educational Foundation, Calif., Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, Calif; Ak-Chin Indian Community, Ariz; and San Francisco Grants for the Arts.
About American Indian Film Institute & American Indian Film Festival
The American Indian Film Institute’s mission is to foster understanding of the culture, traditions and issues of contemporary American Indian and First Nation peoples. We encourage Indian filmmakers to bring to the broader media culture the indigenous voices, viewpoints and stories that have historically been excluded from mainstream media. Moreover, our goals include tireless advocacy for authentic visual and work-force representations of Indians in the media. The American Indian Film Festival, established in 1975, is the oldest and most prominent media showcase of its kind in the world. In nearly four decades of work, AIFF has screened over 2,000 films from American Indian and First Nation communities.