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Powwow People

Directed by Sky Hopinka

USA | Documentary | 88

8 Nov
Sat, Nov 8 at 2:00 pm PT

Guests Expected

Director and Producer Sky Hopinka and Producer Adam Piron will be in attendance for a post screening Q&A.

Description

Following his Persistence of Vision Award at the 2025 San Francisco International Film Festival, Sky Hopinka returns with a stirring new vérité documentary. Presented as a single day at a contemporary powwow gathering, Hopinka observes rituals, regalia, and song. The film team organized the powwow event themselves, inviting dancers, singers, and vendors to both participate and help make this film. In documenting the shared and the personal experience, Hopinka interrogates the act of viewing and the construct of filmmaking. His loose structure allows viewers to experience the rhythm and movements of dancing, the sacrality of traditions, and pull of heritage. It is both a powerfully immersive experience and a cinematic testament on the strength of the Indigenous community. – Jessie Fairbanks

Director Sky Hopinka

Born and raised in Ferndale, WA, Sky Hopinka is a descendant of the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians. He is a video artist, photographer, writer, and teacher, in addition to being a filmmaker. His films include Trade (2013), Jáaji Approx. (Festival 2016), Visions of an Island (2016), Dislocation Blues (2017), Lore (2019), Kicking the Clouds (2022), Sunflower Siege Engine (2023), and maɬni – towards the ocean, towards the shore (Festival 2025). He is the recipient of a 2022 MacArthur Fellowship and the 2025 SFFILM Persistence of Vision Award.

Trailer

Film Details

LanguageEnglish

Year2025

PremiereCalifornia

Runtime88

CountryUSA

DirectorSky Hopinka

ProducerAdam Piron, John Cardellino

Executive ProducerSterlin Harjo, Rachel Chanoff, Noah Bashevkin

EditorSky Hopinka

CinematographerShaandiin Tome

Closed CaptionsClosed Captions are confirmed for this film

Audio DescriptionAudio Descriptions aren’t currently confirmed for this film

American Sign Language (ASL) InterpretationAmerican Sign Language Interpretation isn’t currently scheduled for this film