Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival

Our 8th Annual Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival. Festival events will take place at both the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Schedule of Events

9am: Coming Home (Wanna Icipus Kupi) (2023) - Canada
Produced by Rezolution Pictures
Directed by erica daniels
Created by jennifer podemski
Executive Producers: Catherine Bainbridge, Jennifer Podemski, Linda Ludwick, Michelle Van Beusekom, Ernest Webb
Coming Home (Wanna Icipus Kupi) reveals the impacts of the Sixties Scoop and explores Indigenous resilience through narrative sovereignty; as lived by the Little Bird series’ Indigenous creatives, cast, crew, and community members. The documentary delivers a hard-hitting reality check for viewers unfamiliar with the Sixties Scoop, providing insight into the policies that were created to separate Indigenous children from their heritage, and the systems that continue to dismantle Indigenous families today. Coming Home is the feature directorial debut from Cree/Ojibway filmmaker, Erica Daniels of Peguis First Nation.

10:30am: Little Bird (2023) - Canada
episode one
Little Bird is a premium, six-part limited dramatic series about an Indigenous woman on a journey to find her birth family and uncover the hidden truth of her past. Bezhig Little Bird was adopted into a Jewish family at the age of five, being stripped of her identity and becoming Esther Rosenblum. Now in her 20s, Bezhig longs for the family she lost and to fill in the missing pieces. Her quest lands her in the Canadian prairies where she discovers that she was one of the generation of children forcibly apprehended by the Canadian government through a policy, later coined the 60s Scoop.

11:15am: Unity - Cockacoeske's Dilemma (2024)
Presented By Sandra Richardson-Hope And David Grey Owl Carnes
Segment 1 of the Saving the Circle "Indigenous Women Through History" series. When present day descendants of Tsenacommacah gather to explore shared Powhatan Confederacy heritage, they will awaken the spirit of an ancestor and begin their journey through the history of Cockacoeske, the renowned "Queen of Pamunkey" signatory of the 1677 Treaty of Middle Plantation.

2pm: Wokiksuya (2024)
Presented By Chauncey Hopkins
Winner Of The Tribal College Journal 2024 Film Contest
Amidst the sprawling landscape of the Three Affiliated reservations, the Hopkins family is shattered by the devastating loss of their newborn, Leighton. Born into a world already clouded by tragedy, Leighton’s brief life is marked by the profound strength of his heart, earning him the Dakota and Arikara name "Strong Heart Boy". Drawing upon the memory of their loved ones, the Hopkins family embarks on a journey of healing and redemption. Through their shared sorrow, they discover a profound strength within themselves and their community, forging bonds that transcend even the deepest pain.

2:20pm: Hatarimuy (Rise Up) (2023) - Peru
Presented By Suni Sonqo (Former Tcj Winner)
Quechua, Spanish
Hatarimuy (Rise up in Quechua): After being injured in the protests, a Quechua young man experiences a supernatural encounter, which leads him to question his history, revealing his true identity and decolonizing his inner self.

3pm: The River (2024)
Presented By Rainbow Dickerson
The River follows Rocky, a Native woman struggling with problem gambling, as she tries to reconnect with her traditional family by showering them with gambling winnings. Set against the backdrop of the Gila River Indian Reservation, this story highlights the resiliency of family. It is a story about redemption, resilience, and the ties that bind us to our heritage and each other.

3:30pm: My Native America (2024)
Presented by Jim Warne
Gen7 Productions (formerly WSD Productions) presents "My Native America", a documentary film created in an episodic exploration and travel show format. This one-hour documentary will introduce "My Native America" creator and host, Jim Warne (Tasunka akân Wicakte) from the Oglala Lakota of the Oceti Sakowin (The Great Sioux Nations).
Jim has been a lifelong advocate, educator and storyteller addressing Indigenous Cultures, Public Health Disparities, Disability Challenges, and Protection of Tribal Sovereignty for Indian Country. As a university administrator he has created several indigenous programs at various medical schools and universities throughout the nation. He has devoted most of his professional life in the university systems indigenizing curriculum through academic program and organizational development.

Jim is a member of the NFL Alumni, a member of Arizona State University’s Rose Bowl Championship team as an All-Pac 10 tackle, a collegiate All-American Powerlifting National Champion, and a member of several Athletic and Academic Hall of Fame’s. Jim used his scholarship to earn his degree at ASU and later a master’s degree at San Diego State.

5pm: Stellar (2022) - Canada
Presented by Darlene Naponse
Written, Directed, and Produced by Darlene Naponse
As a meteorite catastrophically changes the planet outside, two lovers find each other in a small bar in Northern Ontario, Canada. Across their bodies and spirits, the star-crossed couple transcends the traumas of one world and finds a path to a new one. STELLAR observes human notions of connections between oneself, other people, and Mother Earth herself. The film stars Braeden Clarke and Elle-Maija Tailfeathers as an indigenous man and woman who meet and initiate a romantic relationship, setting off a cosmic chain of events that may save the world from destruction.

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