Yesterday was another busy day for the AISI Students. They had lunch with speaker Eva Thomas, then attended a presentation from documentary filmmaker Yolanda Cruz, and ended the day with an evening panel titled "Sustainable Indigenous Storytelling in Film & TV," presented by the National Geographic All Roads Film Project.

Afternoon presenter Yolanda Cruz, an acclaimed filmmaker with seven award-winning documentaries under her belt, taught the students memorable lessons about filmmaking. Willie White recalls, "Yolanda Cruz said 'Film is like a gun'...that line struck me...you can't just shoot a gun when someone hands it to you, you have to learn and understand it before you can shoot it." Yolanda hails from the Chatino community of Oaxaca, Mexico.

The evening panel featured Jason Gavin, Tracey Rector, Steve Judd and Yolanda Cruz, and was moderated by Bird Runningwater. The students asked insightful questions and the panelists discussed their filmmaking backgrounds and how they got to where there are today. Panelist Jason Gavin (Blackfeet) is a screenwriter who has written for hit shows such as Royal Pains and Friday Night Lights. Stephen Judd (Kiowa, Choctaw) is a member of the WGAW (Writer's Guild of America, West) and has written for Disney XD and NBC.

Here's what the students had to say:

"Hearing from the [panelists] was the most interesting, insightful and funniest thing I have been to in a while. Too bad it is only a week long."
-Kyle Perron

"This evening's panel offered a lot of insight for the AISI participants and will allow us to continue to strive in the right direction as we look towards our bright future as indigenous people with big dreams...anything is possible!"
-Kelly McCabe

"Flawless"
-Nico Serneo

"Fabulous - I never want to leave!"
-Princilla Parker

The week will end with an amazing showcase of new International films hosted by the National Geographic All Roads Film Project. Buy your tickets today!

Check back daily for more updates on this exciting program!

Article by Claire Ensslin

Tracy Rector, executive director and co-founder of Longhouse Media/Native Lens was recently selected to receive Antioch University Seattle's Horace Mann Award given to individuals who promote social justice, community engagement or lifelong learning. Tracy is working to develop and empower the next generation of storytellers in filmmaking and new media among the Muckleshoot and Swinomish tribes. In other news, Taika Waititi continues to garner accolades for his work as a filmmaker and writer. Most recently, he was nominated for 2 Writers Guild Awards in the categories of Best New Series and Best Comedy Series as part of the writing team for HBO's Flight of the Conchords.

Big Props and continued success to Tracy and Taika!