Native American Culture Is Theme of Film Screenings

Middletown's Common Ground film festival, which focuses on cultural diversity, on Thursday will focus on Native Americans, with a screening of the 1994 drama "Dance Me Outside," set on a Native American reservation in Ontario, Canada.

But local aficionados of Native American culture will be most interested in the short films accompanying "Dance Me Outside." All were made by Connecticut- and Massachusetts-based filmmakers, and all focus on a different aspect of Native cultures.

Troy Phillips, director of "These Walls Are My Reservation," says he makes films "to remind people we are not of the past but also the present and the future. ... so there will be a better understanding of who we are."

The film tells the story of a young man growing up in an urban environment, Phillips says, "struggling to understand what it means to be an American Indian."

The Pittsfield, Mass.-based director is of the Nipmuc people and is commissioner on Indian Affairs for western Massachusetts. He will do a Q&A after the Thursday screening.

Other filmmakers whose works will be shown are Bruce Curliss and his daughter, Keely Curliss, who are Nipmucs and live in Ipswich, Mass.; and Rebecca Perry-Levy, an Eastern Woodland Pequot, of Waterford.

Perry-Levy's film, "Casino Indian," tells of how the opening of Foxwoods affected her life. In a statement, Perry-Levy says "I hope this short film will dispel myths about casino Indians. ... There's a misrepresentation that one, we're not real Indians, and two, that because we have a casino we have a lot of money and life is perfect."

Bruce Curliss' film, "Survivor," is a contemplation on how far Indian culture has come. Keely Curliss' film, "Hope for Bigger Than 16 Seconds," is about the reclamation of a sacred mountain.

People who watched "We Shall Remain," PBS' exploration of the history of Native Americans, will remember that Phillips and Perry-Levy appeared in the series. Phillips portrayed Tisquantum, and Pery-Levy portrayed Wootoneakanuske.

"Dance Me Outside" is about two young men whose lives change when one of their friends is murdered. Bruce McDonald's film, based on stories by W.P. Kinsella, is 84 minutes and is rated R. The other films will run about 18 minutes total.

•DANCE ME OUTSIDE AND SHORT FILMS will be shown Thursday at the Center for Film Studies on the campus of Wesleyan University, 301 Washington Terrace in Middletown. Showtime is at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

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