Longhouse Media’s SuperFly Filmmaking Experience Gives 50 Youth a Voice through Educational Peer-to-Peer Collaboration

Lincoln, Neb .: Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc. (NAPT) is an official sponsor of the

7th Annual SuperFly Filmmaking Experience offered by Longhouse Media in partnership with the Seattle International Film Festival. Five Native youth, sponsored by NAPT, will join 45 other young filmmakers from across the country, convening in Seattle for this one-of-a-kind opportunity. SuperFly is a 36-hour filmmaking challenge between the dates of May 31 and June 3, 2012, that asks young filmmakers to collaboratively comment on their world using multimedia and digital tools.

“We are excited to be in partnership with NAPT in making this opportunity available for a number

of diverse students,” commented Tracy Rector (Seminole/Choctaw), Longhouse Media’s

Executive Director.

The SuperFly Filmmaking Experience exists to expand cinema through education that empowers youth to work collaboratively, communicate ideas, exercise potential and take positive action in their communities.

“To bring together 50 youth and 30 mentors from across the country to collaborate on such a concentrated project is amazing and truly unique experience. The energy leading up to this year’s SuperFly is palpable. If the laws of physics hold up, the collective work will prove spectacular!” added Lou Karsen, SuperFly Coordinator and Program Coordinator for Longhouse Media.

Divided into five teams, the 50 youth filmmakers are provided with an original script—this year’s is Cupcakes, written by Sierra Teller Ornelas— where they will have less than two days to storyboard, shoot and edit their films. Within four hours of completion, their films will premiere at the SuperFly and Native Showcase Shorts Program screening on June 2 as part of the Seattle International Film Festival.

NAPT Executive Director Shirley K. Sneve (Rosebud Sioux) commented, “The SuperFly experience will most definitely ensure that we can continue a strong tradition of digital storytellers. We are grateful for the partnership with Longhouse Media in helping us achieve this goal.”

Cupcakes, a comedy that explores the theme of “spectacular,” will screen June 2 at 4 p.m. Pacific at the Harvard Exit Theater. Tickets to the screening are available while supplies last at http://www.siff.net.

Additional funding for the SuperFly Filmmaking Experience was provided by: Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc .; the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation; SpiritWalk; The Suquamish Tribe; DGTL/NVJO; Eltana; Cafe Presse; Caffe Vita; The Essential Baking Company; Makah Indian Nation; National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI); Whole Foods Market; Seattle Indian Health Board; Red Eagle Soaring; Piecora’s Pizza; and Tully’s Coffee.

The five multimedia interns sponsored by NAPT in this year’s SuperFly Filmmaking Experience include:

Dylan Elwood (Chippewa)

Andre Graves (Shoshone-Bannock)

Leilani Pavel (Skokomish/Yakama/Muckleshoot)

Shelby Ray (Navajo)

Erica Thomas (Yu’pik)

About Cupcakes Screenwriter, Sierra Teller Ornelas (Navajo)

A graduate of the University of Arizona, Ornelas worked as a writer/producer for Comedy Corner, the longest running weekly college sketch comedy show in the country. After graduation, Sierra lived in Washington D.C. and worked as a film programmer at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). She is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts Summer Television & Film Workshop and National Hispanic Media Coalition’s Fall Television Writers Program. In 2010, Sierra started on the premiere season of the ABC sitcom Happy Endings, where she was invited to return for the second season. Sierra is an award-winning sixth generation Navajo weaver and currently resides in Los Angeles, Calif.

About Longhouse Media

Longhouse Media, a Washington state nonprofit organization, serves to catalyze Indigenous people and communities to use media as a tool for self-expression, cultural preservation and social change. Longhouse Media draws from the traditional and modern forms of artistic expression, storytelling, teaching and inquiry. For more information, visit http://www.longhousemedia.org.

About NAPT

Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc. (NAPT), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) which receives major funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, shares Native stories with the world through support of the creation, promotion and distribution of Native media. Founded in 1977, through various media—Public Television, Public Radio and the Internet—NAPT brings awareness of Indian and Alaska Native issues. NAPT operates VisionMaker, the premier source for quality Native American educational and home videos. All aspects of our programs encourage the involvement of young people to learn more about careers in the media—to be the next generation of storytellers. NAPT is located at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln. For more information, visit http://www.nativetelecom.org.