Program

Cosmographies is a hybrid film that draws from speculative fiction, observational and poetic documentary, Indigenous futurism and Indigiqueer perspectives. It interweaves stories of resistance and environmental justice against extractivism in the Atacama Desert, Chile, as an allegory for contemporary plans to colonise the Moon and Mars. Set across 2023 and 2051, it weaves parallel stories of Lickan Antay land and water defenders, engaged scientists and fishing communities in Atacama, with the story of Māori astrobiologist Xuě Noon who finds solace in Mars and slipstreams across spacetime with an urgent message.

Directed by Jesse Short Bull (Lakota Nation vs. the United States) and David France (How To Survive a Plague, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, and Welcome to Chechnya), and produced by Bird Runningwater. Leonard Peltier, one of the surviving leaders of the American Indian Movement, has been in prison for 50 years following a contentious conviction. A new generation of Native activists is committed to winning his freedom before he dies.

Mariluz Canaquiri says her river is a more than a body of water, it’s a living being. Beneath the surface lies a world of spirits led by the Karuara, the ‘people of the river.’ The film’s stunning hand painted animations take viewers into this magical universe. Behind their playfulness, the Karuara are metaphysical ecologists who maintain the delicate balance of life. But contamination from oil spills threaten the spirits and their river. Mariluz files a lawsuit demanding her river be recognized as a legal person, with rights. In a world that puts a price tag on nature, this film reminds us of our sacred connection to water.

In the Bolivian capital of La Paz, Martín is a teenage shoeshine boy and orphan with few friends or resources. His best client, Mr. Novoa, is a lonely tailor whose only companion is Astor, a beautiful German Shepherd he treats like a son. Out of desperation, Martín steals Astor—but as he and Mr. Novoa spend more time together, an unexpected bond begins to grow between them.