Aug 7 – PEMBROKE – The fourth annual Lumbee Film Festival returns to the big screen with 18 new films from local filmmakers, which will be shown over two days at the Thomas Entrepreneurship Hub on Main Street.
This year’s festival is presented by the North Carolina Museum of Art and includes live music, film, food, and community. The festival opens on September 17th with an outdoor showing of “RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World,” an electrifying look at Indian influence in popular music – despite attempts to ban, censor and eradicate Indian culture .
The film shows how early pioneers of blues and jazz had Indian roots and how artists like Link Wray from North Carolina helped determine its development and changed the development of rock ‘n’ roll forever.
Before the film, Charly Lowry, who was born in Robeson County and is a member of the Lumbee Tribe, will perform a mixture of her well-known songs and new works. Lowry appears in “RUMBLE” with mentor Pura Fé and many other well-known Lumbee musicians.
Lowry first gained international recognition as a semi-finalist on American Idol in 2004, but has since built a following for her unique, energetic, and captivating performances. She is also active as an advocate for Indian rights and women’s rights.
“Every year the Lumbee Film Festival just keeps getting better and better,” said Kim Pevia, the festival’s founding director. “I’m so excited about this year’s line-up of short and feature-length films. Some are traditional and some make us think outside the box. Some are local and some are far away. Just like in real life. Something for everyone. You will be glad you did. “
The festival is organized through a partnership between the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and the Cucalorus Film Foundation, with the aim of showcasing films by Indians while raising awareness of the legacy of indigenous artists. The festival creates a platform for emerging native artists, especially those who work in the southeastern United States.
The story goes on
Three blocks of short films will be shown on September 18 from 2 p.m. in the Thomas Entrepreneurship Hub Ethan Deese, produced by the Unlocking Silent Histories project. The film examines climate change and its effects on local and global communities.
The block also shows films by the Canadian collective Wapikoni Mobile, which uses the media to raise awareness of indigenous cultures, issues and rights.
The shorts block “Roots Run Deep” starts at 3:30 pm and includes the poetic and observational documentary “Concrete 49” by LFF alum Justin Deegan. The short film is a subtle and effective exploration of the lives of the Native Americans living in New York City.
The short film block “All My Relations” combines five dramatic works to round off the afternoon overview of the indigenous short film cinema.
Several short films showing the Lumbee culture will also be screened during the festival.
“Lumbee Accent,” directed by Gabby Maynor and Lexie Caulder, examines the prevalence of the lumbee accent and how it affects its speakers. This film explores the concept of code switching and how it has influenced the indigenous language.
Members of the Lumbee Tribe will discuss the importance and relationship of the Lumber River in Denise Hunt’s film “Lumber River”.
A special screening of “The Trancscenders”, a feature film by Montana Cypress (Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida), will be shown immediately after an award ceremony on September 18 at 8 pm at the Thomas Entrepreneurship Hub. The film follows the struggles of two brothers who, transitioning from urban life, which is very different from their upbringing on the reservation, find a cure that promises to “change their primitive behavior”.
The directors Catherine Oxendine and Nolan Oxendine will deal with the topics of colorism and the different hues of the Lumbee Indians in the film “The Lumbee Indians: The Color of the Sun”.
Tickets, passes and the full festival schedule can be found at https://www.cucalorus.org/lumbee-film-festival/. The Lumbee Film Festival is a partnership between the Lumbee Tribe of NC, the Cucalorus Film Foundation, ARRAY, SouthArts and the NC Arts Council.
