Vídeo Amazônia Indígena: A View from the Villages showcases award-winning productions by indigenous videomakers from the Amazon of Brazil. Screenings take place at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in New York and Washington, D.C., and other venues in both cities.

The showcase honors the work of the independent media organization Vídeo Nas Aldeias / Video in the Villages (VNA) which for twenty years has provided video training and production support to indigenous media-makers in the Brazilian Amazon to voice their stories and reflect the contemporary life of their villages.

Join us at our screenings to welcome indigenous videomakers from Ashaninka, Hunikui, Ikpeng, Kuikuro and Xavante communities, along with the VNA project directors, as they introduce and discuss their work.

All works are presented with English subtitles.

Additional screenings take place at the NMAI in New York City and other venues in that city from May 1 to May 5.

For a schedule and more information go to: http://www.nativenetworks.si.edu/eng/blue/vai_08_dc.htm

(2007, 17 min.) Director: Dax Thomas (Laguna/Acoma)

Artist Nora Naranjo-Morse (Santa Clara Pueblo), the first Native American woman to create an outdoor sculpture in Washington, DC, discusses the artistic process of creating an original sculpture in the landscape of the National Museum of the American Indian. She and her team explain the origin of ideas, the materials, and the people who helped in its creation.

An emotionally engaging film, A Thousand Roads is a fictional work that illustrates the complexity and vibrancy of contemporary Native life by following the lives of four Native people living in New York City, Alaska, New Mexico, and Peru. For ages 12 and up.

Marangmotxingo Mïrang/From the Ikpeng Children to the World (2002, 35 min.) Director: Kumaré Txicão (Ikpeng), Karané Txicão (Ikpeng), and Natuyu Yuwipo Txicão (Ikpeng). Produced by: Video nas Aldias/Video in the Villages.
In Ikpeng with English subtitles.
In the Xingu Park in the Mato Grosso, four Ikpeng children, filmed by videomakers from their community, introduce their village—its leaders, their friends, adult work—in a video letter addressed to other children.