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.”
“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.”
“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
“Special mentions to Dale Dickey in “A Love Song.” Season one of the Boston-produced Reciprocity Project, particularly “Weckuwapok (The Approaching Dawn).” Donkeys. They deserve better. And a shout out to Providence documentary producer-director Sara Archambault (“Riotsville, U.S.A.," “No Time to Fail,” “A Decent Home”), and Boston documentary director-festival founder Sabrina Aviles (“Raising the Floor,” CineFest Latino Boston) for knocking 2022 out of the park.”
“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 to an interview with filmmakers Lauren Stevens and Chris Newell.
“This was the first step of many, and the right direction for healing.”
Listen at News Center Maine.
Why We Should Listen to Indigenous Voices About the Climate Crisis
“According to the United Nations, areas managed by indigenous peoples are among the most biodiverse and well-conserved on the planet.
The Reciprocity Project is a series of 7 Indigenous-made films exploring the concept of reciprocity in Indigenous cultures, or “the way of life that centers mutual exchange and sharing amongst all beings, past, present and future, seen and unseen, and the Earth.” And through these films and Indigenous perspectives, the project aims to spark conversation and action on the climate crisis.”
“According to the United Nations, areas managed by indigenous peoples are among the most biodiverse and well-conserved on the planet.
The Reciprocity Project is a series of 7 Indigenous-made films exploring the concept of reciprocity in Indigenous cultures, or “the way of life that centers mutual exchange and sharing amongst all beings, past, present and future, seen and unseen, and the Earth.” And through these films and Indigenous perspectives, the project aims to spark conversation and action on the climate crisis.
We speak with Kavita Pillay, a producer of the Reciprocity Project, and Brit Hensel, director of "ᎤᏕᏲᏅ," which is nominated for Best Short Documentary for the IDA Documentary Award.”
Listen at The Takeaway from WNYC Studios.
Generations later, Mainers confront a genocide that still remains overlooked
“Dawn Neptune Adams dreams of being hunted.
For much of her life, the nightmare remained the same: Adams runs in the woods, chased by unseen captors.
“It is intergenerational trauma,” Adams explained, “from my ancestors being hunted and tortured.”
Adams is a member of the Penobscot Nation and the bounty that was placed on her Indigenous ancestors more than 250 years ago still torments her sleep and her waking hours.”
“Dawn Neptune Adams dreams of being hunted.
For much of her life, the nightmare remained the same: Adams runs in the woods, chased by unseen captors.
“It is intergenerational trauma,” Adams explained, “from my ancestors being hunted and tortured.”
Adams is a member of the Penobscot Nation and the bounty that was placed on her Indigenous ancestors more than 250 years ago still torments her sleep and her waking hours.
In November 1755, Lt. Governor Spencer Phips of Massachusetts Bay Colony offered rewards for hunting, killing and scalping Penobscot men, women and children living in what is now known as New England.
The brutal murders of her people, Adams said, runs through her blood and the blood of many other tribal members. The trauma of one generation, she said, is passed onto the next.”
Continue reading at The Maine Monitor.
We Are the Seeds 2022 celebrates Indigenous arts at Cherry Street Pier
“Over 14,000 people identify as Indigenous in the Philadelphia region, and director of We Are the Seeds Philly, Tailinh Agoyo wants you to explore their untold narratives this weekend at Cherry Street Pier.
With the backdrop of the Delaware River, Philadelphians will gather at the Pier on Nov. 18 and 19 to celebrate We Are the Seeds, a local organization that honors the voices of Indigenous and Native artists, performers, educators, and change-makers.”
“Over 14,000 people identify as Indigenous in the Philadelphia region, and director of We Are the Seeds Philly, Tailinh Agoyo wants you to explore their untold narratives this weekend at Cherry Street Pier.
With the backdrop of the Delaware River, Philadelphians will gather at the Pier on Nov. 18 and 19 to celebrate We Are the Seeds, a local organization that honors the voices of Indigenous and Native artists, performers, educators, and change-makers. “By bringing together indigenous artists and culture bearers to tell their work and their own stories, we’re celebrating who we are,” Agoyo said. “We’re celebrating our continuance and showing that we have not only survived but that we’re thriving.””
Continue reading at The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Roger Paul speaks with Rich Kimball from Downtown with Rich Kimball on WZON
“Roger Paul joined us to discuss his work on the documentary, Weckuwapok (The Approaching Dawn), part of the Reciprocity Project, a series of Indigenous-made documentaries designed to inspire conversation and action on climate.”
“Roger Paul joined us to discuss his work on the documentary, Weckuwapok (The Approaching Dawn), part of the Reciprocity Project, a series of Indigenous-made documentaries designed to inspire conversation and action on climate.”
Listen at Downtown with Rich Kimball from WZON.