Brianna Burke, faculty fellow in Native and Indigenous studies and visiting associate professor of environmental studies, presents a double feature of Billy Luther's award-winning films. At 2 p.m., Miss Navajo (2007, 58 minutes), a documentary exploring the role of women and tradition in Diné (Navajo) culture through a young woman's quest for the Miss Navajo Nation crown. At 3:30 p.m., Frybread Face and Me (2023, 83 minutes), Luther's narrative feature debut, in which two Navajo cousins spend a summer on their grandmother's ranch — "a refreshing queer take on the coming-of-age genre" (High Country News). Both screenings are free and open to the public in the Bradford Auditorium, Kirner-Johnson 125.
In Miss Navajo, the role of women and tradition in Dine (Navajo) culture is explored through a young woman's quest for the Miss Navajo Nation crown.
Frybread Face and Me, filmed in New Mexico with an almost entirely Indigenous cast and crew and executive produced by Taika Waititi, premiered at South by Southwest in 2023 before its release by ARRAY and Netflix. Benny, a boy shipped from the city to the reservation for the summer, and his cousin Dawn — "Frybread Face" — find in each other and in their grandmother's household a story of family, hardship, loyalty, and the importance of one's roots.
Support for F.I.L.M. events is provided by the Dean of Faculty Office, the Kirkland Endowment, and the Cinema and Media Studies Program.
Events are curated and organized by Professor of Cinema and Media Studies, Scott MacDonald.
