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Sports Documentaries Featured for August Specials
Home $24.95 Sale $14.95
EDU $150  Sale $75

Home & EDU $24.95  Sale $14.95

Home $29.95  Sale $19.95
EDU $225  Sale $125

Home $29.95  Sale $19.95
EDU $225  Sale $125

Home $29.95 Sale $19.95
EDU $225 Sale $125

Home $29.95 Sale $19.95
EDU $225 Sale $125
VMM Announces Funding for 11 New Film Projects
Vision Maker Media is supporting 11 new projects for production and completion, postproduction, research and development, and new media.The projects include a total of 26 producers and/or Public Television stations which were selected for funding their documentaries by and about Native Americans. With funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), Vision Maker Media's Public Media Content Fund awards support to projects with a Native American theme and significant Native involvement that ultimately benefits the entire Public Media community.

Since 1990, filmmakers have been invited to submit proposals in various stages of their film--from research and development, to production, post-production/completion and new media. All proposals are reviewed by a group of Public Television professionals, station programmers, independent filmmakers, educators and executives from Indigenous organizations.

"The goal of the Public Media Content Fund is to increase the diversity of voices available to PBS viewers," said Shirley K. Sneve (Rosebud Sioux), executive director of Vision Maker Media.

The final slate of documentaries represents Native voices and stories from across the United States including Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, and New York. In this funding cycle, of the selected projects, 33 percent are mid-level filmmakers, and 67 percent are veteran filmmakers. Of this, 47 percent of the filmmakers are women, 53 percent are male. More than half, 57 percent, are enrolled in a federally recognized tribe.

Funding was awarded as 39 percent production, 39 percent post-production and completion, 8 percent research and development, and 14 percent new media. Production provides funding for producers to film, record and produce their documentaries. Post-production funding allows for completion of documentaries already in progress. Research and Development provides funding for developing story lines and identifying engaging characters. New Media provides for programs with primary distribution over the Internet such as vignettes and webisodes, as well as creation of community engagement materials.
Rebekka Herrera Joins VMM Staff as Assistant Director

We welcome Rebekka Herrera (Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska) as the Assistant Director of Vision Maker Media. Rebekka earned a master's in professional journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She earned her bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Kansas.

She has served as an adjunct professor and graduate teaching assistant at the University of Nebraska's College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Rebekka also taught Native leadership workshops and skills at the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, SNYL Academy. Rebekka served as producer at KUJH TV News in Lawrence, Kansas, and she interned at Kansas Public Radio and Vision Maker Media. She is the chair of the powwow committe for the Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.

Her awards include: Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights award, 2017; Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Grand Prize 2017; Outstanding Graduate Student, 2016; Franco's List for Integrity, 2015; First and Second place for "Best Feature Story" in TV/Online by NAJA, 2014; Academic Achievement by SES Trio, 2010 to 2014; and Best High School News Story by NAJA, 2008. 
New Viewer Discussion Guide: Metal Road
Viewer discussion guides help increase the impact of Native content beyond the film's broadcast. Vision Maker Media works with qualified educators to develop grade appropriate materials (using core curricula standards) for classroom use. Viewer discussion guides also are developed for use by general audiences and/or in community screenings.

Our newest viewer discussion guide focuses on Metal Road, which follows three Navajo railroaders from the 9001 Heavy Steel Gang as they leave their homeland to replace aging railroad tracks from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean under extreme weather conditions.

For decades, thousands of Navajos worked the railroads, maintaining the trans-continental network. Metal Road explores the dynamics of livelihood, family and the railroads through the lens of a Navajo trackman. The film follows three Navajo railroaders from the 9001 Heavy Steel Gang as they leave their homeland to replace aging railroad tracks from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean under extreme weather conditions.
'Red Power Energy' Emmy Award

We are thrilled to announce that our producer Charles "Boots" Kennedye has been honored with another Emmy -- No. 8!

He received the Heartland Emmy award for his work on the film Red Power Energy, a provocative film from the American Indian perspective that reframes today’s controversial energy debate while the fate of the environment hangs in the balance. Red Power Energy illustrates the complex realities of Indian reservations grappling with how to balance their natural resources with their traditional beliefs.

Tribal lands are the microcosm of today’s controversial energy debate. Between the fears that fossil fuels cause climate change and the hope that renewable energy can save the planet, lies the complex reality of American Indian reservations grappling with the balance of culture verse progress, poverty versus new-found wealth and the fate of the environment.

The 2017 Heartland Emmy® Awards Gala took place July 15 in Denver, Colorado.The film was produced by Rocky Mountain PBS: Lisa Olken, Writer, Director, Executive Producer; Larry Pourier, Director; Charles "Boots"Kennedye, Director of Photography; Dave Wruck, Editor.
'Tribal Justice' Premieres on POV August 21

Outside Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theater before the premiere: Front row: Claudette White, Anne Makepeace, Abby Abinanti. Back row: Claudette’s sister Dorena, Claudette’s son Zion, Claudette’s sister Mary.

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Tribal Justice recently won the Cinetopia Film Festival's Directing Award. The film introduces audiences to two strong Native American judges who reach back to traditional concepts of justice in order to reduce incarceration rates, foster greater safety for their communities and create a more positive future for their youth.

By addressing the root causes of crime, they are providing models of restorative justice that are working. Mainstream courts across the country are taking notice and forging innovative justice systems in their tribal courts. By following compelling and dramatic cases in and out of their courts, the film shows how their methods work, and is inspiring new ideas in broad ranging events and conversations across the country.The film screens on POV Aug. 21. Check local listings.
40 Years | 40 Films | 40 Weeks Completes Successful Celebration

It's been an exciting year for our free film streaming that celebrated our 40 years. We're pleased with the response from our audience. We recorded nearly 6,800 views between Nov. 1 and Aug. 7.

It was a pleasure working with American Archive of Public Broadcasting over the past year. WGBH and the Library of Congress have preserved the 40 films for posterity in the American Archive, and they continue to provide access to researchers who visit the Library of Congress reading rooms and WGBH's facilities. 
Upcoming Screenings 

Smithsonian Native Cinema Showcase, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Aug. 15

Smithsonian Native Cinema Showcase, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Aug. 19

Smithsonian Native Cinema Showcase, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Aug. 20

POV
Aug. 21

Reairs on America Reframed
Aug. 29

Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville, New York
Aug. 16

Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, Toronto, Canada
Through Aug. 17

Landmark Ritz at the Bourse, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Aug. 25-31

Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, Atlanta, Georgia
Aug. 25-31

Landmark Lagoon Cinema, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sept. 1-7

Nebraska
Open Until Position Filled

California
Open Until Position Filled

Nebraska
Open Until Position Filled

Oregon
Deadline: Sept. 15

Nebraska
Open Until Position Filled

California
Deadline: Sept. 22

Rolling Deadline