Sundance Institute at the Autry Presents a Behind-the-Scenes Look at Sydney Freeland’s Drunktown’s Finest

An American Indian Arts Marketplace Event Saturday, November 9, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

Los Angeles, CA — The Autry National Center of the American West, Sundance Institute, and University of California, Los Angeles American Indian Studies Center proudly present a sneak peek of a work-in-progress by filmmaker and Sundance Institute lab alum Sydney Freeland (Navajo). On Saturday, November 9, Freeland will show clips from her feature film debut, Drunktown’s Finest and discuss her creative journey and process in a conversation with N. Bird Runningwater, Director of the Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Program.

The event takes place during the Autry’s American Indian Arts Marketplace weekend, which attracts over 180 contemporary American Indian artists to Los Angeles. This is free and open to the public; guests are invited to attend a special catered reception with Freeland and Runningwater in the museum lobby following the program. Reservations are recommended; visit TheAutry.org to reserve tickets.

“Working with organizations in the community to promote Native arts through unique programming is vital to continuing the cultural narrative of Native Americans through the present and into the future,” said Diana Terrazas, the Autry’s American Indian Outreach Manager. “The Autry is pleased to partner with the Sundance Institute and UCLA’s American Indian Studies Center once again to showcase Native American film during our Marketplace weekend.”

“It has been a privilege to work with Sydney through Sundance Institute’s artist support programs,” said Runningwater. “We look forward to sharing and discussing her moving story of three Navajo teenagers who strive to escape the hardships of life on an Indian reservation and end up finding something different.“

About the American Indian Arts Marketplace
November 9–10
The Autry National Center presents a weekend-long celebration of Native American arts and culture centered on the annual American Indian Arts Marketplace. Featuring more than 180 Native American artists selling their works of art in various mediums, the weekend will also host performances, children’s activities, panel discussions, and theatre by the Autry’s world-renowned theatre company, Native Voices at the Autry. For more information, visit TheAutry.org/marketplace.

About Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Program
Celebrating its 20th anniversary and rooted in the recognition of a rich tradition of storytelling and artistic expression by Native American and Indigenous peoples, Sundance Institute’s Native American and Indigenous Program operates the Native Forum at Sundance Film Festival, as well as the NativeLab Film Fellowship and the Native Producers Fellowship established for emerging Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian filmmakers. The program has also established filmmaker labs in New Zealand and Australia. The program has supported such projects as Bran Nue Dae, Here I Am, Four Sheets to the Wind, Barking Water, Eagle vs Shark, Boy, Miss Navajo, Grab, Sikumi, On the Ice, and Mosquita y Mari. www.sundance.org/native

About Sundance Institute
Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a global, nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to nurturing artistic expression in film and theatre, and to supporting intercultural dialogue between artists and audiences. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to unite, inform, and inspire, regardless of geo-political, social, religious, or cultural differences. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival and its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights, and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born Into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Sin Nombre, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Light in the Piazza, and Angels in America. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

About UCLA American Indian Studies Center
The UCLA American Indian Studies Center was founded in 1969 at the University of California, Los Angeles, as a research institute dedicated to addressing American Indian issues and supporting Indian communities. The Center also serves as a bridge between the academy and Indigenous peoples locally, nationally, and internationally. Today, we foster innovative academic research, publish leading scholarship in the field of American Indian studies, and support events and programming focused on Indigenous issues.

About the Autry National Center of the American West
The Autry is a museum dedicated to exploring and sharing the stories, experiences, and perceptions of the diverse peoples of the American West, connecting the past to the present to inspire our shared future. The museum presents a wide range of exhibitions and public programs—including lectures, film, theatre, festivals, family events, and music—and performs scholarship, research, and educational outreach. The Autry’s collection of more than 500,000 pieces of art and artifacts includes the Southwest Museum of the American Indian Collection, one of the largest and most significant in the United States.

Museum admission is $10 for adults, $6 for students and seniors 60+, $4 for children ages 3–12, and free for Autry members, veterans, and children age 2 and under. Admission is free on the second Tuesday of every month.

Hours
Museum and Autry Store: Tuesday–Friday, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. / Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Crossroads West Cafe: Tuesday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. / Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
The museum, store, and cafe are closed on Mondays. Visit TheAutry.org for more information.