Recently, Sistah Sinema hosted an event featuring four short films about Gender and Sexual Minority in Native American women.
Isis Asare, co-creator of Seattle-based organization Sistah Sinema chose the following four films for the event: “Queer the Museum Digital Storytelling Project,” “Dos Almas,” by Danielle Villegas, “Miss Nizhoni,” by Carey Tulley and “Natives,” by Jeremy Hersh. The films were evidently well received, as the more than 35 students and faculty attended and stayed for the discussion afterwards.
Natalie Martinez, organizer of the event and an English instructor at BC, proposed the series on campus after attending a Sistah Sinema event over the summer. The Office of Equity and Pluralism Director Yoshiko Harden, and by Isis Asare from Sistah Sinema. Asare, one of the SS founders, selects films that represent a range of identities; though, as their website says, their main objective is always to “showcase the nuances of Queer Women of Color culture.” In other words, they want to showcase films made by queer WOC that might not normally get distributed.
They also aim to highlight the intersection of women’s rights, queer rights and POC rights. It’s an objective that not many have tried to accomplish.
“Part of what my vision for my participation on campus is to do things
that highlight this intersection,” Martinez said. “This is what I care about, this is my passion. The film series is a way to start a conversation on campus.”
Martinez shared her experience as a self-identifying queer mixed-raced Chicana with Native American heritage into the discussion.
The event was well-received by attendees; the next Sistah Sinema will likely get positive a reaction, if not an even better one.