Upcoming Doc ‘Without Arrows’ Aims to Break Down Native American Stereotypes
variety.comWill Tizard Contributor The story of a Lakota Native American man torn between his ancestral home and a career in the big city inspired two U.S.
filmmakers to invest 13 years into “Without Arrows.” Their doc, which is slated to premiere onscreen in December or early next year, was one of eight U.S.-made projects pitched at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival this week as part of the New Visions Forum development program.
Alongside other upcoming creative docs on subjects ranging from a sci-fi take on the deadly effects of heat in Phoenix, Arizona (Lynne Siefert’s “Valley of the Night”) to Riley Hooper’s “Vestibule,” a look at the societal challenges faced by women with vulvar disorders, “Without Arrows” impressed Ji.hlava industry attendees with its compelling story.
Co-director Elizabeth Day, herself a member of the Ojibwe nation from Minnesota, joined forces with co-director Jonathan Olshefski, she says, after she saw some of the dramatic footage he had been filming on the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe reservation in South Dakota. “Jon’s cinematography was just exciting to work with,” she says, describing dramatic images of the community constructing a massive ceremonial tent, which then blows down in a tremendous storm.
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