The festival opens today with the world premier of the documentary, Maria Tallchief:
From the blog 'Censored':
This is the first full-length documentary on this legendary dance
figure who helped spark the founding of the New York City Ballet
Company in 1948. Maria Tallchief began ballet lessons at age four in
Fairfax, Oklahoma—an Osage Indian community—and went on to stardom in
roles created specifically for her by her husband and choreographer,
George Balanchine. In the film Maria Tallchief tells her own story,
accompanied by archival photos, rare dance clips, and interviews with
dance colleagues and historians.
Osawa, citing her
motivation to produce the film, said, “There is a lack of positive
stories about Native American women in film and although a television
tribute to her is long overdue, I am honored to be the one to introduce
Maria Tallchief to both old fans and a new generation of fans.” Maria’s
professional life is prominent throughout the film with clips from Swan
Lake, Firebird Pas de Dix, , Nutcracker and Le Baiser de la Fee.
Audiences will also long remember the more chilling aspects of Maria’s
Native American heritage. Shortly after Maria was born in 1925, the
Osage Tribe was the richest group of people in the world due to the
discovery of oil. This ignited what historians have termed a “reign of
terror” as non Indians began plots to rob the Osages of their fortunes.
Murder
was rampant and the tribe declined in population by almost 25 percent.
Maria’s mother was greatly affected by this period of history and
encouraged Maria and her sister to develop their own strengths and
skills, as those could never be stolen. At the age of seven, Maria and
her family moved to Los Angeles, where she studied with world class
teachers such as Mr. Belcher and Madame Nijinsky. By the late 1940’s,
television, the New York City Ballet, and even ballet as an American
art form were all emerging. Tallchief became a new prototype of the
ballerina that was distinctively American. The ballet world that was
dominated by Russian, French and English performers changed
dramatically in 1948. The night Maria Tallchief took center stage in
Orpheus, a thunderous ovation was heard and history was made with the
founding of the New York City Ballet. Author Francis Mason, who is
featured in the film said, “Maria Tallchief lit a fire under classical
ballet that is still burning.”
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ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
The film
Maria Tallchief is the third in a trilogy of films that highlights
contemporary American Indian themes, issues and people by the
production company, Upstream Productions, based in Seattle, Washington.
Sandy Osawa is a member of the Makah Tribe with a lifelong dedication to
bringing alternative images of Indians to the screen. Yasu Osawa, has
assisted her in all the films and has been lauded for his camera and
editing work . The two other previous documentaries were Pepper’s Pow
Wow and On & Off the Res ‘ w/ Charlie Hill, which were also broadcast on PBS stations and are now used as curriculum resources in college libraries across the country.
posted by:brendanorrell@gmail.com
Preview and orders available here: Upstream Productions
Full Schedule and Information on the film festival:
November 2 through November 10, 2007
American Indian Film Institute
SFStation
