- [Announcer] This series was created in partnership with the Sundance Institute.

More information at sundance.org Funding for "Native Shorts" was made possible by a generous grant from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, and from viewers like you.

(bold drumming music) ♪ (singing in indigenous language) ♪ ♪ ♪ - [Bird] "Native Shorts", presented by Sundance Institute's Indigenous Program.

- Hello, and welcome to "Native Shorts."

I'm Ariel Tweto.

- And, I'm Bird Runningwater.

- And, on today's amazing episode, we are gonna watch two short films.

The first one is called "Little Chief", and the second one is "The Fourfold".

Bird, you wanna tell us a little bit about "Little Chief"?

- Well, yes I will!

(laughs) "Little Chief" is a short film by Seneca-Cayuga and Wyandot filmmaker Erica Tremblay, who's from Oklahoma.

And, she started out originally as a doc maker, working in the media corporation world doing content, and she wanted to make a transition into writing and directing fiction films, narrative films.

And so, this was her first short film that she ever made as a fiction filmmaker.

- And, her name sounds familiar.

Was she on a previous season?

- Well, she actually had a feature film that debuted at Sundance this year called "Fancy Dance"- - Oh!

- that we'll talk about a little bit later 'cause she collaborated with somebody else you might recognize.

- Oh, awesome!

Okay.

We should just jump in, and then we'll talk about it after.

- Let's do that.

- Grab your popcorn, and enjoy "Little Chief"!

(film machine whirring/clattering) (wind whistling) (wind whistling) (car engine rumbling) (door clicks) (light footsteps) (paper crinkling) (paper crinkling) (elevator beeping) (elevator clanking) (machines making musical noises) (ambient bells/whistles) [melancholy string music] ♪ (door clicks) ♪ (door slams) ♪ [melancholy string music] ♪ (truck engine rumbling) (splashing) ♪ [melancholy string music] ♪ (wind whistling) (truck engine rumbling) - [Sharon] What are you doin' out here without a coat on?

- [Bear] Walking to school.

- Get in here, then.

I'll take ya.

(wind whistling) You wanna get ran over?

(door clicks) Where's your mom?

- Work.

Dale was supposed to take me.

(engine rumbling) [melancholy string music] ♪ (road whining sounds) ♪ ♪ ♪ - Here.

Wear this.

(bag crinkling) Put these in the bathrooms.

(crinkling sounds) Girls', too.

Wash your hands.

And, your face.

(door clicks) - Then, she said to me... Oh!

Hi, Sharon.

- Oh, good.

We were just running out of these.

[light string music] ♪ (door squeaks) (indistinct social chatter) (kids laughing/chattering) ♪ (kids laughing/chattering) (school bell rings) (kids shouting) - Alright, alright.

(claps) Sit down.

Wrap it up.

(intercom buzzes) - [Teacher's voice] Good morning, Turkey Ford Little Chiefs.

A reminder that we have an earthquake and tornado drill Thursday morning.

Today we are having taco lunch, and don't forget that Friday's the last day to sign up for Oklahoma Mathletes.

Ohgwaygo dwahdawi esta.

[pronounced] - [Class] Ohgwaygo dwahdawi esta.

- Matter is made up of small particles.

These can be groups of autumn-?

Atoms called molecules.

- [Sharon] Good.

Alright, next paragraph.

Bear?

- [Bear] The atoms and molecules and gases are much more (student blows raspberry) spread out than in solids or liquids.

(students chuckling) They vibrate and move freely.

(blows raspberry) (students laughing loudly) - I would bet good money every single one of you have farted today.

If you didn't fart, your bellies would fill with gas and you would all die.

(students laugh) Alright, next paragraph.

Tyler?

(students chattering lightly) [light thoughtful string music] ♪ (students chattering lightly) ♪ ♪ (kids shouting/chattering) ♪ (Bear grunts) ♪ - Ugh!

(kids shouting/chattering) (thumping sounds) ♪ (Bear grunts) ♪ - [Bear] Ugh!

♪ (beads clacking lightly) (students' beads clacking lightly) (plink!)

(students giggling) (giggling stops) (students giggle lightly) (Sharon sighs) (students giggling) - [Bear] Sh, sh!

(Sharon sighs) (loud thump) (students laugh loudly) (beads clattering) (students gasp) - Bear!

You are gonna pick up every single one of those beads.

Bear.

Pick up the beads.

(desk clanking/shuffling) G-- d----t. (door clanks) Teachers, we have a runner.

I repeat.

Teachers, we have a runner.

(clicks off) ♪ Nobody moves an inch, not a single inch.

(clank!)

(fast footsteps) ♪ [slow sober string music] ♪ (footsteps crunching grass) ♪ (sighs) (Sharon groans lightly) What's goin' on here?

- [Bear] I don't wanna be in trouble.

- I know, (wind whistling) but it seems like trouble to me (sighs) out here runnin' to nowhere.

You drinkin' again?

You hittin' your mom again?

It's okay.

You don't have to talk about it.

We are just going to sit here for a few more minutes.

[light thoughtful string music] ♪ ♪ (fabric scratching sounds) (crinkling paper) [slow thoughtful string music] ♪ ♪ [light string music] ♪ [slow melancholy string music] ♪ ♪ [slow melancholy string music] ♪ - [Ariel] Oh, my heart.

Ugh.

It makes you so sad, and it makes me angry too, just because it's so honest and so real, and you see that everywhere, the bullying, the abuse.

Like, just how vulnerable it is.

And, I don't think you could actually share this type of story without experiencing it, 'cause it's so vulnerable.

And so, yeah.

Can you tell us a little bit about why this was made?

How it was made?

- [Bird] Yeah.

Well, I guess, you know, this style is much like our native Hawaiian film that we saw, which is a very contemporary slice of life, what we would call "social realism", you know?

And, Erica wrote and made this short film as a tribute to her mother, a schoolteacher, and basically all of these things that this teacher does in the film are things that her mother used to do.

Like, she used to have to go and "borrow" things, you know, to supplement the school in different areas, whether soap or toilet paper and all these other things.

And also, you know, she was really responsible for raising a lot of children, you know, who came from particular circumstances.

- Yeah.

- And so, that's what this film I think is really a tribute to not only her mother, but all the teachers, you know, who are doing that; who are woefully underpaid, you know?

- Yeah!

- And, under-recognized, I think.

- Yeah.

And it's so hard, too.

Like, seeing-- seeing, like, how you can't catch everything as a teacher.

Like, you see the little boy throwing things, but the teacher doesn't see it.

And you're like, "no, you didn't see it!

It wasn't his fault!

It wasn't Bear's fault!

Ugh!

- And, I really feel like-- well, Erica developed this short film through the Sundance Institute's Native Lab, the Native Director's Lab, and that was one of the discoveries that she made in terms of kind of the arc of the two lead characters, the teacher and the student.

It's kind of like, when the teacher doesn't see that the kids are bullying him and picking on him, it's actually kind of like a little bit of an emotional betrayal.

Because, they establish such a close, you know, familiarity at the beginning.

And then, he doesn't see-- or she doesn't see what he's going through, so he rebels and runs off.

- Yeah.

- And then, they reconnect at the end of the film, which is actually is a-?

It's a really little, quite a bit of a sweet resolve in a way.

- It is.

- I mean, it's unfortunate, but you know, at least that child feels cared for.

- Loved or cared for, yeah.

- And, loved.

Yeah.

- Yeah, it's such a beautiful story.

And then, so the main actress, she looks familiar.

- Yes!

Very familiar.

She is Lily Gladstone, and she actually was in Erica's feature film called "Fancy Dance", that premiered at the January 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

Called "Fancy Dance".

- Yeah.

- Erica is a co-star in the "Killers of the Flower Moon", that Martin Scorsese just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

- That's awesome.

- That film's coming out this fall.

And so, there's a lot of buzz about Lily and her being discovered in a major "Hollywood way."

But she's been doing this kind of work, indigenous short films, as well as, you know, some other work like "Fancy Dance", and other independent films that she's kind of developed a bit of a, you know, a kind of small indie rep for.

And so, "Killers of the Flower Moon" is kind of like her big Hollywood kind of debut.

- Right.

So, do you know, like in these types of films, would the director, or like, would they cast kids from the reservation?

Or, are they just background actors?

Because all the like little kids are so good in this film, too.

- Well?

You know, the interesting thing about Erica is, she's Seneca and Cayuga.

And so, when she left her, you know, corporate media job out of New York City to go forward into this venture, fiction filmmaking, she actually decided to go to the Six Nations Reserve in Canada, where there are some of her tribal people, as well.

And, they have total immersion language schools.

And so, she went through a three-year program to become fluent in her indigenous language of Cayuga.

And, while she was on the Six Nations Reserve, she met this little boy who is also from that reservation, and I believe he might actually be Mohawk.

- Okay.

- But, that's where she met this young boy and cast him in the film, brought him in from Canada, you know, to star opposite Lily.

And, you know, just kind of a really interesting background of how she-- her personal journey is like to leave a big job, you know, and to dive into her culture and this new effort at filmmaking?

It's really, you know, impressive and amazing.

- It is.

And, she tells-- Yeah, like I said earlier.

Like, what a vulnerable story.

It's so honest.

It's so real, so relatable.

- Mm hm.

- And, yeah.

Go Erica!

I really like her.

- Yay!

Go Erica.

One of our very-- I think she's probably only the third Native American women to direct a feature film.

- Awesome.

Well, I'm gonna keep my eyes on her.

You guys should, too.

- Definitely, yeah.

- So, I think we should just dive right into this next film and then we'll talk about it after?

- Let's do it!

- Let's do it So, enjoy "The Fourfold".

(film machine whirring/clattering) (wind whistling) [slow light orchestral music] ♪ (narrator speaks Mongolian language) [vocalizing/singing] (narrator speaks Mongolian language) [vocalizing/singing] (wind whistling/rustling) [vocalizing/singing] (splashing/splattering sounds) [vocalizing/throat singing] (wind whistling/rustling) [vocalizing/throat singing] (wind whistling/rustling) (narrator speaks Mongolian language) (narrator speaks Mongolian language) (narrator speaks Mongolian language) [intense vocalizing/ throat singing] ♪ ♪ (gentle water splashing sounds) [vocalizing/throat singing] (crashing water wave sounds) [vocalizing/throat singing] ♪ (narrator speaks Mongolian language) (narrator speaks Mongolian language) (fierce wind rustling sounds) (leaf rustling sounds) [vocalizing/throat singing] ♪ (gentle water splashing sounds) [vocalizing/throat singing] [intense vocalizing/ throat singing] ♪ (wind whistling/rustling) [vocalizing/throat singing] (fire crackling sounds) [soft vocalizing/ throat singing] (fire crackling sounds) [vocalizing/throat singing] (intense fire crackling) (narrator speaks Mongolian language) (narrator speaks Mongolian language) (thunder rumbling) [vocalizing/throat singing] ♪ ♪ (thunder rumbling gently) [vocalizing/throat singing] ♪ [vocalizing/throat singing] ♪ (waves splashing gently) ♪ [vocalizing/throat singing] ♪ [intense vocalizing/ throat singing] ♪ ♪ [soft vocalizing/singing] - [Ariel] That was cool!

It's just mesmerizing?

Memorizing?

(chuckles) - [Bird] Both!

(chuckles) - Both!

- [Ariel] So, I'll be honest.

Like, in this type of film, I am so, like, into the art and the music that I almost forget to, like, read the subtitles.

- That's great!

- Huh?

Is it?

- Yeah.

- Okay, good.

Tell me about the story!

(chuckles) - I dunno what it's-?

(both laugh) Well, I mean, we've seen this style of work before.

Because Alisi, this is her second time coming to Sundance, and also to our show.

Alisi Telengut.

Well, the film is narrated by her grandmother, and Alisi herself comes from Mongolia.

And so, she's from that region.

And so, she's a really well-known Canadian.

Now, she's Canadian.

I think her family immigrated, you know, from Mongolia to Canada.

And so, she's been doing a lot of really great animation impressionistic work with that beautiful-- I think that might be Siberian throat singing in the background.

- Yeah.

- Because it's very melodic and harmonizing, and kind of soothing.

- So soothing.

- Kind of like would rock you to sleep.

- Well, that was super fun.

- Yes.

- I think it's time to go...sadly.

- We'll be back.

- Yeah, we will be back.

I hope you guys will, too.

- Better than ever.

- Thank you!

- Bye!

(bold drumming music) - [Ariel] So for today's episode, my clothes are brought to you by Arviso 78, earrings by Moth to the Flame, and rings by Milford Calamity.

- [Bird] Today, my T-shirt is by Lauren Goodday, my shoes are Rez Stompers by Josie Kai, and jewelry by Cody Sanderson.

♪ (Bird chuckles) - [Announcer] This series was created in partnership with the Sundance Institute.

More information at sundance.org Funding for "Native Shorts" was made possible by a generous grant from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, and from viewers like you.