From Nov. 7-9, the AlterNative Film Festival is taking place at the Mid-America All-Indian Museum. The festival, which is free to the public, will screen a variety of films that are by or about indigenous people.
The centerpiece of the event is “The Arrangement,” a comedy-drama that’s told almost entirely in the Diné (Navajo) language with English subtitles. The film’s director, Shonie De La Rosa, is excited to show his film to a whole new audience.
“I’ve never been to Wichita ever,” said De La Rosa, who lives in Kayenta, Arizona in the Navajo Nation. “I’ve been to many places all over the world, but I’ve never been to Wichita, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
When making the film, De La Rosa was inspired by his wife’s love of Korean rom-coms, his friend’s experiences with arranged marriages in the Navajo Nation and his own desire to preserve the Diné language.
“The purpose of the film was to encourage people to try to learn it, pick up some words and even if you do butcher the language, it’s okay to be corrected and learn,” De La Rosa said.
“And that’s what I really hope the film does — is help encourage people to learn the language.”
Festival founder and director Rodrick Pocowatchit praised the film for its unique storytelling and perspective.
“I mean, aside from the fact that it’s the Navajo language, it’s just a fun story about how traditional ways are still happening amongst their tribe, such as arranged marriages,” Pocowatchit said. “That’s what this is about, but it’s also told with a comedic view and you can just tell that there was a lot of heart and support from the community in making this film.”
This festival has been a labor of love for Pocowatchit, who seeks to prioritize proper native representation when deciding on films.
“I look for different off the beaten path kind of films and films just about everyday people showing native people in a modern positive light,” Pocowatchit said. “I stay away from historical, mostly historical type tales, just because that’s been done so many times before, and … one of my main goals is to see more Native American people represented in mass pop culture.”
Accurate and positive representation in popular media is also important to De Le Rosa.
“I’ve had many, many opportunities to go to New Mexico because New Mexico is like the new Hollywood,” De La Rosa said. “Back in the day, I’ve had many opportunities to go out there, write, direct, all that stuff, but the whole reason why I got into native filmmaking is for proper representation of our Navajo people and our stories.”
Overall, Pocowatchit is proud of how far the festival has come over the years and is looking forward to its future.
“I can’t believe we’re on our fourth year, which is pretty incredible,” Pocowatchit said. “It’s no small feat, for sure, but yeah, I’m excited. I’m excited to see how it’s growing, how we’re attracting more filmmakers to come here and present their works.”
“The Arrangement” will be screened on Nov. 8 at 7:15, and a Q&A with De La Rosa will take place afterwords. For more information about the festival, check out the AlterNative website and Facebook page.
