Native Nations, Native Voices--Greenland, the Netherlands, and the Documentary

[Gordon Bronitsky]

	Native Nations, Native Voices continues to gain international
publicity.  Last week I got a call from Jakob Moeller Lyberth, the
Special Advisor to the Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Education,
Science and Ecclesiastical Affairs in Greenland about their interest in
the festival and this morning, I got the e-mail below from the
Netherlands.  Very encouraging!
	Fred Mondragon, Director of Economic Development for the City of
Albuquerque, has arranged for me to meet with Albuquerque's City
Manager of International Relations and Trade, Alberto Solis, November
6, regarding possible City support for the Festival
	And below is also another letter from Rebecca Jo Dakota, the
cinematographer who will be Director of Photography, regarding our
vision for Native Nations, Native Voices:  The Movie, the documentary
film about the festival.
	Thank you.

Gordon Bronitsky

													
To Gordon Bronitsky

Subject: Festival Indigenous people


Considering the interest there is in the Netherlands for literature
from exotic or not well known countries, the overall popularity of Line
and Country dancing, tribal art and world music it seems a good idea to
look for possibilities in the Netherlands to set up a tour or festival
with indigenous people as described by you.

In order to get things started I made some contacts and proposals:

1.	Literature/Tribal art proposal.							BGN (the company I’m working
for) is the largest chain of booksellers in the Netherlands as it comes
to market share and superstores. I proposed to the Marketing Managers
the idea of organizing a thematic period on Indigenous literature and
tribal art. The bookshops have possibilities to organize lectures in
their own shops or at the Universities where there are campus
bookshops. Also the possibility for exhibitions on tribal art does
exist. The bookshops do have good contacts within the cultural
institutions in their own cities and combinations with libraries,
schools, cultural centres and galleries do exist. From publishers side
we may expect cooperation in bringing in marketing activities for the
existing publications and even a new special publication belongs to the
possibilities. BGN is eager to bring activity in their shops and this
might just fit in. Within the coming 6 weeks the general marketingplan
for 2005 will be discussed.
2.	Theater production proposal.							In order to create more publicity
of which BGN could take profit I contacted a theatre organization and a
theatre. The organization ( Theaterburo Schmid, Houten) has many years
of experience with artists from Asia, South America and Eastern Europe,
individuals as well as ensembles. Their program for the season
2005-2006 still offers possibilities. They make arrangements with
theatres all over the Netherlands and Belgium. Within a few weeks I
will have a meeting with the managing directors to discuss further
details. The theatre I contacted is well known for it’s programs in
World Music and Dance. It is called RASA and is situated in the centre
of Utrecht.
3.	Festival Production proposal.							The World Music Festival
“Mundial” in Tilburg is the leading yearly festival in the Netherlands.
Artists and ensembles from all over the world are introduced to the
public during the three festival days, with performances throughout the
country. Thousands of visitors attend this festival every year. I will
contact the organization of this festival at the end of October to
discuss possibilities.
4.	Considering timing.									The festival Mundial is usually held in
the month of June. For activities in theatres and bookshops the best
period would be in the last four months of the year, or in the first
three months. The festival in June could be the start and generating
interest for a follow-up in the monthes after the summer holidays.


With regards,
Cees Hillebrand


															

Native Nations, Native Voices:  The Movie

Indigenous languages:  a thing of the past?  While English and other
dominant languages spread around the world, indigenous languages – and
the cultures they carry – are disappearing.

Native Nations, Native Voices, a documentary film, brings 20
written-word artists/authors from around the world to the screen.
Shown in both their own, local communities and in individual
performances at a festival, the film highlights the artists and the
importance of saving these languages.

The Native Nations, Native Voices festival will be held in the United
States in the summer of 2005.  At that time, the artists will give
public appearances, reading from their works, and will also have
private recording sessions for the purpose of making audio tapes of
their readings.

The documentary film will capture these performances, and another
important set of images as well:  the artists in their own communities.
  From Guam to Canada, from Peru to Greenland, the authors will show us
where they live, what inspires them, why they write.

How will these images be captured, these stories told?  We are seeking
funding to travel to these communities with resources to train a local
person in digital film production and to leave him or her with a
high-quality digital video camera.  It is essential to us that the
stories be conveyed through the eyes of someone who lives in the same
culture as the author.  This ensures a higher level of integrity and
authenticity to the film.

We also value training someone who wants to learn this process of
digital filmmaking.  As the digital film revolution spreads, it is
essential that the technology be in the hands of native and indigenous
peoples.  They are the ones qualified to tell their stories and we will
be proud to share the resources needed to ensure this capability in
more villages and cities around the world.

Between now and the festival next summer, the goal is to raise the
funds to accomplish the following:
•	Confirm the “above the line” professional staff for the film, nearly
all of whom will be native peoples.
•	Secure full production funding, including payment for the time
involved in traveling (as below).
•	Secure resources to travel to the communities where we want to tape
the authors in their own context.  This will include:  transportation,
local lodging, meals, and production expenses for 3 people per
location, for 8 days/location.
•	Resources for training a trainee in each location, including a
digital video camera, tapes, software, a monetary contribution, and,
ideally, a computer on which to do the editing.


This project is being spearheaded by Rebecca Jo Dakota,
Cinematographer, who will be the Director of Photography.  She owns
Visions, and may be contacted at:
Visions, 6339 Goldfield Pl. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111       (505)
858-1868 or rebdakota at aol.com