The Artistry of Painter Kevin Red Star & Earth Magic Media . . .

The 34th Annual American Indian Film Festival will take place in San Francisco, November 6-14, 2009. National American Indian Heritage Month is celebrated every year in the month of November to honor and recognize the original peoples of this land, and, since 1975, the American Indian Film Festival has displayed over 2000 films providing inspiration and support for Native film projects.

The festival encourages filmmakers to present Native voices, viewpoints, and stories that have been historically excluded from mainstream media; to develop Indian and non-Indian audiences for this work; and to advocate tirelessly for authentic representations of Indians in the media. This year the festival will premiere over 80 new feature films, shorts, public service announcements, music videos, and documentaries from US American Indian and Canada First Nation communities.

A highlight of this year's events will be a 24-minute documentary short on American Indian artist KEVIN RED STAR created by Earth Magic Media, a Canadian film company. It is one of seven half-hour documentaries produced for the From the Spirit series III.

The Kevin Red Star film is the first about a US Native American and the team is thrilled it was selected for festival screening. Earth Magic’s team consists of Raymond Yakeleya, an award-winning Dene television producer, director, and writer originally from Tulita (formally Fort Norman) in the central Northwest Territories; Bill Stewart, a producer, writer, and director based in Edmonton with over 35 years experience in the film and television industry; and Carol Chapelski, production coordinator, with over 12 years of experience in the television industry.

Kevin Red Star, a member of the Crow tribe, was born and lives and paints today in Lodge Grass, Montana. This film traces his journey as an artist from Montana to Santa Fe's American Indian Art Institute, to the San Francisco Art Institute and 1969's Woodstock, and back home to Montana. He works primarily in acrylic, ink, and collage, and, as can be seen by the photo above, creates bold, evocative images (with a contemporary twist) of his ancestral Crow tribe, culture, and history. His work is available in galleries across the western United States (a listing of representatives and many original works and prints can be seen by visiting his website.

The Kevin Red Star film will screen Wednesday, Nov. 11, 7:00 p.m. at the Landmark Embarcadero Center Cinema. Prices are $8 general / $7 students and seniors. For a full schedule of events, go to http://www.aifisf.com/

-- Rosemary Carstens
Carstens Communications