The 2021 DSFF Program

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INDIGENOUS ANGLE

OPENING NIGHT PRESENTATION

maɬni

– towards the ocean, towards the shore

Director: Sky Hopinka (in attendance!)

USA/80 min/2021/Northland Premiere Friday, August 20th Zinema 1 and 2 8:00 PM Presented by: American Indian Community Housing Organization

This film follows Sweetwater Sahme and Jordan Mercier's wanderings through each of their worlds as they wonder through and contemplate the afterlife, rebirth, and the place in-between. Spoken mostly in chinuk wawa, their stories are departures from the Chinookan origin of death myth, with its distant beginning and circular shape.

Please join us for a reception in the Zeitgeist Atrium immediately following this screening.

This screening is presented by The American Indian Community Housing Organization

NORTH COUNTRY VIEWS

SPECIAL PRESENTATION

Storm Lake

Director: Jerry Risius, Beth Levinson (in attendance!)

USA/85 min/2021/Northland Premiere Saturday, August 20th 7:30 PM Zinema 1 Presented by: Duluth News Tribune

Dark clouds hang over the cornfields of Storm Lake, Iowa, which has seen its fair share of change in the 40 years since Big Agriculture came to town.

Farmers blow their life savings on new equipment they hope will keep their livelihoods intact. Migrant workers flock here - welcome and not - for their slice of the American Dream. The people of Storm Lake confront a changing community as global forces threaten their precarious existence.

Enter: 63-year-old Pulitzer-prize winner Art Cullen and his family-run newspaper, The Storm Lake Times. Day-in and day-out, the Cullens deliver local news and biting editorials on a shoestring budget for their 3,000 readers. Come hell or pandemic, they’ll fight to preserve this town they call home. There’s simply too much at stake.

This screening is presented by The Duluth News Tribune

GLOBAL VISIONS

LAND OF MY FATHER

Director: Matthew Koshmrl (in attendance!)

USA/85 min/2021/Northland Premiere Saturday August 21st Zinema 1 5 PM Presented by: The Twin Ports Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Collective

Set in the unresolved trauma of the Japanese occupation of Korea, LAND OF MY FATHER is a story about two individuals who take on the establishment in an attempt to change accepted historical narratives. A Korean farmer protests the Japanese government in Tokyo for claiming the disputed island territory of Dokdo after finding out his father was abducted and enslaved in an iron mine during the Japanese occupation of Korea. A Korean woman who lived on Dokdo with her father struggles to keep his legacy alive after the Korean government mysteriously erased their history of being pioneering residents.

Screening with BIG HAPPINESS This screening is presented by The Twin Ports Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Collective

CINEMA RE-FORMED

BELLY OF THE BEAST Director: Erika Cohn (Virtual Q&A) USA/81 min/2020/Northland Premiere Saturday August 21st Zinema 2 7:30 PM Presented by: NAACP-Duluth, MN Branch

When a courageous young woman and a radical lawyer discover a pattern of illegal sterilizations in California’s women’s prisons, they wage a near-impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. With a growing team of investigators inside prison working with colleagues on the outside, they uncover a series of statewide crimes - from inadequate health care to sexual assault to coercive sterilizations - primarily targeting women of color. This shocking legal drama captured over 7-years features extraordinary access and intimate accounts from currently and formerly incarcerated people, demanding attention to a shameful and ongoing legacy of eugenics and reproductive injustice in the United States.

This screening is presented by The NAACP

NORTH COUNTRY VIEWS

WET HOUSE

Director: Benjamin May (in attendance!)

USA/82 min/2021/Northland Premiere Sunday August 22nd Zinema 1 4 PM

Wet House offers an unflinching look at life on the fringe for residents in America’s largest harm reduction facility for chronic alcoholics.

Inherently controversial, “wet houses” provide residents monthly stipends and the ability to drink on premises, while aiming to save taxpayer dollars by keeping alcoholics out of detox, shelters, emergency rooms and jails. By observing humanity amid harrowing reality, the film makes the case for a highly accommodating care model for a disease with complex, individual manifestations.

Operating support is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

CINEMA RE-FORMED

CO-OP WARS

Director: Deacon Warner (in attendance!)

USA/60 min/2021/Northland Premiere Saturday August 21nd Zinema 2 11 AM

THE CO-OP WARS is a one-hour documentary that tells the story of the tumultuous early years of the Twin Cities’ natural food co-op movement, the largest in the US. The metro area’s co-ops are models of mainstream success, boasting seventeen locations and hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. Yet they were founded by young radicals pursuing revolution, not profit. Inspired by their experiences in rural communes and hippie collectives, they began a series of ever-expanding food retail projects that led to the creation of the Cities’ first natural food co-op. Its success sparked an explosion of food and other co-ops in the area, forming a cooperative economy unparalleled in the rest of the country.

Funded in part by the Wirtanen Family Fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation.

ENVIRONMENTAL LENS

SEASONS OF CHANGE ON HENRY'S FARM Director: Ines Sommer

USA/83 min/2019/Northland Premiere Saturday August 21 st Zinema 1 2:30 PM

For a quarter-century, Henry Brockman has worked alongside nature to grow delicious organic vegetables on his idyllic Midwestern family farm. But farming takes a toll on his aging body and Henry dreams of scaling back.

While his former apprentices run the farm, Henry spends a “fallow year” with his wife Hiroko in Japan. But things don’t turn out as planned, and Henry must grapple with the future of farming in a changing climate on personal, generational, and global levels.

acknowledgements

ENVIRONMENTAL LENS

OPERATION WOLF PATROL Director: Joe Brown (subjects in attendance!)

USA/86 min/2021/Northland Premiere Sunday August 22nd Zinema 2 11:30 AM

"Operation Wolf Patrol," is a feature length documentary about eco-activist, Rod Coronado, and his attempt to end wolf hunting in the United States.

Over the course of three years, we watch Rod work to redefine his activism in an era– post 9/11, where some have called him an “eco-terrorist.” The film comes to a climax when Coronado's "Wolf Patrol" is met with a tightening of "hunter harassment" laws that prohibit photography on public lands. Now Coronado has to ask himself is he willing to go back to prison to fight a law that some are calling "unconstitutional."

TICKETS/BADGES/HOSPITALITY TICKETS: Tickets are for individual films or shorts blocks. Tickets cost $15.

BADGES: Badge holders have access to the whole festival line-up + all of the parties. Badges cost $50.

FESTIVAL HQ AND HOSPITALITY CENTER: Festival information and general lounging can be found here, in The Zeitgeist Arts Atrium. You may also pick up All-Access Badges and mingle.

Zeitgeist Arts Atrium 222 E. Superior St. Duluth, MN 55802

ENVIRONMENTAL LENS

THE FALCONER Director: Annie Kaempfer

USA/73 min/2020/Northland Premiere Saturday August 21st Zinema 2 5:30 PM

This intimate portrait film follows master falconer Rodney Stotts on his mission to build a bird sanctuary and provide access to nature for his stressed community. The Falconer weaves Rodney's present-day mission with the story of his past, both of which are deeply rooted in issues of social and environmental injustice, and consistently orient the viewer to his worldview: nature heals. The Falconer captures beauty and hope in a forgotten corner of our nation's capital, as Rodney takes the time to break through to those too often dismissed as "hard to reach". This is a story of second chances: for injured birds of prey, for an abandoned plot of land, for a group of teenagers who have dropped out of high school, and for Rodney himself.

CINEMA RE-FORMED

THROUGH THE NIGHT Director: Loira Limbal

USA/75 min/2020/Northland Premiere Sunday August 22nd Zinema 1 2 PM

To make ends meet, people in the U.S. are working longer hours across multiple jobs. This modern reality of non-stop work has resulted in an unexpected phenomenon: the flourishing of 24-hour daycare centers.

THROUGH THE NIGHT is a verite documentary that explores the personal cost of our modern economy through the stories of two working mothers and a child care provider - whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center.

FESTIVAL STAFF Co-Director Matthew Koshmrl Co-Director Jordan Brown Community Outreach Director Dahee Kim Head Programmer Graham Richardson

Programmer Khayman Goodsky Programmer Megan McGarvey Marketing Manager Katie Lindow Founder Richard Hansen

ROOTS UNCOVERED

NEGRA

Director: Medhin Tewolde Serrano Mexico/71 min/2020/Northland Premiere Sunday August 22nd Zinema 2 2 PM

I was about seven years old the first time someone called me “black” on the street. I turned around to see who they were talking to, until I realized it was me. That day I understood I was black, and the laughter it caused among the people nearby made me think being a black person wasn’t that great...

Was this only happening to me? Or did it happen to other black women?

“Negra” shows the director in her search of exploring what it means to inhabit Mexico as a black woman. It tells the story of five afro-descendant women from southern Mexico, exposing racism, resistance and processes of self-acceptance, strategies for transcending stereotypes, and the celebration of their identity.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

NORTH COUNTRY VIEWS

BOB DYLAN: DON'T LOOK BACK Director: D.A. Pennebaker USA/96 min/1967 Sunday August 22nd Zinema 2 4 PM

In 1965, the iconic troubadour Bob Dylan toured the United Kingdom at the age of 23, and director D.A. Pennebaker was allowed behind the scenes to provide one of the most intimate glimpses of the private and frequently cantankerous songwriter. The film chronicles Dylan's concert appearances, hotel room conversations, and transportation downtime, pulling back the curtain on the folk messiah at the end of his relationship with Joan Baez and on the cusp of his creative shift toward rock music.

DULUTH SUPERIOR FILM FESTIVAL IS A PROGRAM OF THE NORTHERN FILM ALLIANCE, A 501C3 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

SHORTS PROGRAMS SHORTS BLOCK 1 ZINEMA 1, 6:00 - 7:30 PM Filmmaker Q&A to immediately follow each screening.

Earth had issues Loading… the I's have it A Slight Wrinkle In The Strata Feed The Bears SHORTS BLOCK 2 ZINEMA 1, 11:00 - 1:00 PM Learning Tagalog Garden City Beautiful Hear Me Sometimes Old Met Microwave Spider The Truth About Hastings Kintsugi Chicken Boy Madweyaashkaa: The Waves Can Be Heard A Cure for All things SHORTS BLOCK 3 ZINEMA 2 2:30 - 5:00 PM Hand Me Down Nighthawks Bubble Master Servant The Groomsman Bathroom Break SHORTS BLOCK 4 ZINEMA 1 11:30 - 1:00 PM A Simple Mistake Letter From your Far Off Country Department of Injustice The Peace Pipeline Hizia UMD STUDENT SHOWCASE ZINEMA 2, 3:00 - 5:00 PM Select films created by University of Minnesota Duluth Students.

INDIGENOUS ANGLE:SHORTS Madweyaashkaa: The Waves Can Be Heard Moira Villard; 2020; 11 min With images of the Grandmother moon (Nokomis), fire, earth, water, and the jingle dress dance entwined in swirling colors, Madweyaashkaa is an animated film

by Moira Villiard, exploring themes of homecoming and finding connection within ourselves to culture, to ancestors, and to nature, no matter how distant they may sometimes feel.

The Peace Pipeline Gitz Crazyboy & Tito Ybarra; 2021; 24 min (World Premiere) Comedians and activists Gitz Crazyboy and Tito Ybarra pose as an indigenous energy company sharing plans to reroute Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline through the wealthy white suburbs of Duluth, MN, to more fairly share the risks oil pipelines bring to indigenous lands—with shocking and hilarious results.

LOCAL NEWS, LOCAL PEOPLE.

K R I S T E N VA K E WATCH WEEKNIGHTS AT 6 AND 10 • CHISHOLM, MN NATIVE

NORTH COUNTRY VIEWS:SHORTS Old Met John Haley; 2021; 6min On a large plot of land in Bloomington, MN, the relentless forces of capitalism transform the landscape time and time again.

The Groomsman Nick Hansen; 2019; 29 min Will Knight is the perpetual Groomsman.

He has finally met the woman of his dreams, Courtney, and now he just has to propose. And that is where we pick up our story. the I's have it Kayla Schiltgen; 2021; 8 min (world premiere) the I’s have it explores what happens when we listen and respond to our innermost voice.

The Truth About Hastings Dan Schneidkraut; 2021; 10 min Witness Marjorie’s 93rd birthday descend into an intergalactic psychedelic nightmare.

A Slight Wrinkle In The Strata Ryan Clancy; 2021; 29 min A portrait of northern Minnesota's Mesabi Iron Range.

NORTH COUNTRY VIEWS-SHORTS Garden City Beautiful Ben Balcom; 2019; 11 min One sunny afternoon in the middle west, suspended in a time between, two commuters daydream about a life lived otherwise.

Hand Me Down Jon Bartholomew; 2020; 11 min A young man tries to make a quick exit from his parents’ home after a weekend visit, but he can’t get away until his father finds just the right way to say goodbye.

Hear Me Sometimes Sofia Pierce; 2020; 14 min The monarch migration and an unearthed cassette tape correspondence form a storm speaking towards motherhood, loss, expectation, care and legacy.

Master Servant Julie Koehnen; 2019; 12 min An ambitious, young railroad executive comes face to face with his own moral decay in his blind pursuit of wealth and status among the social elite.

Microwave Spider Derek Bauer; 2021; 18 min (world premiere) Family tensions rise when a father becomes injured and is unable to work.

Nighthawks Dominic Howes; 2020; 28 min Alone in an empty roadside motel, an artist and a newly-returned local find quiet solace as they each struggle to escape their painful pasts.

ROOTS UNCOVERED:SHORTS A Cure For All Things Katherine Chou; 2021; 6 min A woman finds a mysterious vial while cleaning out her late mother’s fridge, transforming her into their ancestors and descendants. A Cure for All Things is a story of what we leave out and what we leave behind.

Big Happiness Dahee Kim & Matthew Koshmrl 2020; 14 min A meditation on transnational adoption, identity, and colorblindness growing up in a transracial family.

Kintsugi Melissa Moua; 2021; 7 min (World Premiere) The internal life of an Asian-American victim who suffers from the silence of their childsex abuse and yet discovers years later the recipe to liberty.

Letter From Your Far Off Country Suneil Sanzgiri; 2020; 17 min Filmed in expired 16mm stock amid the antiCAA protests in Delhi, the filmmaker traces lines and lineages of ancestral memory, poetry, history, songs, and ruins through a multitude of digital interventions, found footage, and more.

Learning Tagalog with Kayla Kayla Abuda Galang; 2020; 4 min In this lesson, Kayla teaches you Tagalog, the language of her homeland.

GLOBAL VISIONS-SHORTS Bubble Haonan Wang; 2020; 14 min (China) This is an urban tale of love and sacrifice set in a mysterious restaurant hidden in an alleyway.

On an ordinary night, a man eats a lot of herbal plants in front of a woman, transforming himself into the woman’s food.

Hizia Chabname Zariab; 2020; 20 min (France) As Louise prepares to go out of her building, a man hands her a bag before being picked up by the police.

Pursued by the police, Fahim entrusts his newborn to Louise, a woman he encounters while taking refuge in a building entrance hall. He promises to come back for his child. When Fahim gets arrested, Louise goes up to her apartment with the baby.

ENVIRONMENTAL LENS:SHORTS Earth had issues Loading...

Leonardo Pirondi; 2020; 9 min A meditation on the relationship between humans, nature, and technology.

Feed The Bears Jessie Auritt; 2020; 15 min If you’ve ever gone hiking or camping in bear country, you’ve probably seen signs that read “Don’t feed the bears”.

But what happens when people do?

CINEMA RE-FORMED:SHORTS A Simple Mistake Nathaniel Coward, Seraphia Gravelle; 2021; 5 min (World premiere) A shared experience of everyday racism at a northern Minnesota cafe.

Department of Injustice Travis Wood; 2020; 5 min A fictional caller contacts the U.S. Department of Justice to report an incident of killing by the police. Department of Injustice comments on the state of justice and accountability regarding police violence in America, in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Chicken Boy Kayla Arend; 2019; 8 min Jacob receives some of the harshest bullying he has ever experienced on his bus ride home from school. Once he arrives home, Jacob takes to his normal routine of feeding the chickens and taking care of his mother.

Jacob hears a noise coming from the chicken coop. He investigates and discovers a raccoon attacking the chickens. He goes to tell his mother but she is unsympathetic. She angrily urges Jacob to pick up a gun and do what his daddy taught him, rid the chicken coop of the pest.

Bathroom Break Simone LeClaire; 2020; 8 min Mari secretly prefers to spend their night out in the club bathroom, where they connect with many strangers and eventually themself.

FESTIVAL AT A GLANCE

Operating support is made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Funded in part by the Wirtanen Family Fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.