In 1979, Elizabeth Weatherford organized the first Native American Film and Video Festival for the Museum of the American Indian, which became the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in 1989. The Festival was held at the Smithsonian’s location and host sites in New York until 2011. She was also a co-founder of the Native Cinema Showcase, which is held annually during Indian Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The 13th Native Cinema Showcase will be held August 12, 2013, to August 18, 2013, at the New Mexico History Museum. It is presented by NMAI and the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA), coordinated by NMAI’s Melissa Bisagni with the staff of SWAIA. The featured videos and films are produced by and about Indigenous peoples. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information about the Showcase, visit www.swaia.org/Events.

Elizabeth Weatherford is currently the director of the Film and Video Center at the NMAI in New York. With more than 40 years of experience with film, she continues to create projects and help Indigenous filmmakers across the globe.

The Film and Video Center (FVC) became the first international Native media arts center when it launched in 1981. It focuses on productions by and about Native peoples throughout North, Central and South America, the Arctic Circle, and the Pacific regions. It has shown nearly 2000 works and hosted hundreds of media makers to discuss their productions with the public and fellow filmmakers through its festivals, cinema showcases, daily and special on-site programming, national and international film and video tours, and Native Networks professional workshops for filmmakers and Native youth in media.

Written by Rebekka Schlichting.

Interviews conducted and edited by Rebekka Schlichting.