Acadia: Yo-Yo Ma and the Wabanaki Play for the Dawn

“Ana González: Would you describe yourself as an outdoorsman? 

Yo-Yo Ma: No. No, I'd like to pretend that I am. I have many fantasies of parachuting someplace and going, you know, fly fishing or rock climbing. But I, I'm not … is this being recorded? 

Ana González: Yes. 

Yo-Yo Ma: What is this? 

Ana González: Well, I want to know why are you making a podcast about being outside so much?

Yo-Yo Ma: Oh, that's a very good question. Well, first of all, it's what doesn't exist in my life that I know is missing. 

ANA GONZÁLEZ: Hi, I'm Ana González and this is Our Common Nature, a musical journey with Yo-Yo Ma through this complicated country to help us all find that connection to nature that so many of us are missing. We climb mountains, play music, play music, drive dirt roads, recite poetry, traverse rivers and oceans and our own brains –  all to figure out how to better live on our planet. Together.”

Continue lisenting or reading at WNYC Studios.

It’s Our Time: ‘Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya’ Comes to SIFF

“The iinnii (Blackfeet for buffalo) and Indigenous filmmakers are having a moment. 4th World Media Lab alumni Ivy and Ivan MacDonald (Blackfeet siblings and filmmakers) and Daniel Glick’s (Thunderheart Films) award-winning feature documentary, Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya, will be playing at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) Cinema Uptown May 16 and 18, with the filmmakers, their families, and a new cohort of 4th World Indigenous filmmakers in attendance. Opening this feature is the short film Tahnaanooku’, written by Indigenous filmmaker Justin Deegan (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) Nation, Oglala, Hunkpapa) and co-produced by Seattle-based Tracy Rector. It is part of the second season of the Reciprocity Project, which includes Indigenous shorts from around the world that explore a return to land, languages, and reciprocal relationships.”

Continue reading at the South Seattle Emerald.

Bentonville Film Fest Sets ‘Out of My Mind’ as Opener, Unveils Competition Lineup

“Amber Sealey’s Out of My Mind will open the 10th annual Bentonville Film Festival, which aims to amplify female, nonbinary, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and people with disabilities’ voices in entertainment. 

The 10th edition of the festival, which was founded and is chaired by Geena Davis, runs June 10-16 in Bentonville, Arkansas. The lineup of premieres — including narrative, documentary, short film and episodic selections — was announced Tuesday by the Bentonville Film Foundation, founding partner Walmart and presenting sponsor Coca-Cola. The Hollywood Reporter is a media sponsor of the event.”

Continue reading at The Hollywood Reporter.

Indigenous Storytelling Honored by The Webby Awards

“Two Indigenous-made storytelling projects supported by Nia Tero have been honored by the 2023 Webby Awards. Seedcast, a podcast about Indigenous experiences of relationship to the Earth, is nominated for Best Podcast Episode in the area of Arts & Culture. Reciprocity Project, a global storytelling movement supporting Indigenous creatives, is an honoree in the category of "Websites and Mobile Sites - Diversity, Equity & Inclusion."

"Indigenous stories are essential for being in better relationship with the planet," said Tracy Rector, Managing Director, Storytelling at Nia Tero. "In order to bring more of these important narratives into the world, along with invaluable long-held knowledge and practices from their communities, it is our responsibility to provide support and resources for learning, creating, and building together."

Continue reading at PR Newswire.

The New Maine Classics

“Nothing but love for Kenneth Roberts, Edna St. Vincent Millay, E. B. White, and other old-school heavyweights, but the last 25 years have also given us a bumper crop of motley, memorable Maine storytelling — and not all of it on the page. We sifted through the last quarter-century of Maine media and plucked 25 gems — a sundry set of books, films, digital projects, and more — that’ll hold up in another 25 years.”

Continue reading at Downeast.com

In "Reciprocity Project," Indigenous voices reframe our relationship to the Earth

“In one episode of the docu-series Reciprocity Project, Connecticut-based educator and member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe Chris Newell teaches acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma a pow-wow song. Together, they play at sunrise, "singing up the sun" in the tradition of the Wabanaki or People of the Dawnland, a confederation of four tribes in Maine including Passamaquoddy.

This hour, we hear about this film series from Newell and executive producer Tracy Rector, and about the increasing urgency of centering Indigenous perspectives on our planet and the climate. The series is intended to inspire conversation and action on climate; "to create a paradigm shift that reframes our relationships to the Earth, other living beings, and one another."‘

Listen at Connecticut Public Radio.

The best films of 2022, according to our critics

“2022 was the year Tom Cruise saved the movies. Hollywood inexplicably continued to shoot itself in the foot, skimping on theatrical runs for sure-fire sequels such as “Prey,” “Disenchanted” and “Glass Onion” while chasing an unsustainable streaming business model by rushing everything to your living room, sometimes only days after opening. Meanwhile, movie theater aficionado Cruise used his considerable clout to keep his exorbitantly entertaining “Top Gun: Maverick” a big-screen only proposition all summer. The result was an event movie that actually felt like an event, making history by topping the box office both Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends while providing a lifeline to exhibitors wobbling on the post-pandemic ropes. I saw a lot of terrific films in 2022…”

Continue reading at WBUR.

A new short documentary gives voice to Maine’s Wabanaki people

“This was the first step of many, and the right direction for healing.”

Listen at News Center Maine.