Great Films: CAIIFF Opens at Pechanga

"One of the largest Native film festivals in the U.S." brings panels and screenings galore to the Temecula-based resort during Native American Heritage Month.

A CINEMATIC CELEBRATION... fêting some of the best current works by American Indian & Indigenous filmmakers? It is a falltime tradition at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, the setting for California's American Indian & Indigenous Film Festival, which has now brought a bevy of wonderful films, talks, and happenings to the public over the last half decade. How will the three-day screens-and-stories to-do, which is on from Thursday, Nov. 2 through Saturday, Nov. 4, highlight its big 5th year? With more marvelous happenings, including "...dozens of films, shorts, and documentaries by American Indian & Indigenous filmmakers, producers, directors, and actors" to "...several Q&A sessions with star actors..." to live hilarity on stage at the Pechanga Theater from The 1491s.

THE OPENING NIGHT FILM... is "Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World," a work that delves into the music scene, while "Hostiles," which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in September, closes out the festival on Nov. 4. There's plenty of cinematic amazingness to delve into between the opening and end of the run, from a comedic shorts line-up on Friday evening (which will be complemented by the live show from The 1491s) to an afternoon of shorts on Saturday, Nov. 4. A program of youth shorts and an environmental program are also on the docket, as well as a screening of a documentary spotlighting Wilma Mankiller, "...the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation who led her people in building one of the strongest Indian tribes in America." For...

TICKET PRICES, times, directions, and all of the great films on the CAIIFF grid, click.

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