
Jaw-Dropping Adventure with the Sensational Native Reel Cinema Festival!
Back for another exciting year at the Seminole Tribal Fair & Pow Wow, the Native Reel Cinema Festival (NRCF) is packed with Indigenous films, special screenings, and celebrity guests. The Seminole Tribe of Florida will host the Tribal Fair & Pow Wow January 31st through February 2nd at the Hard Rock Hollywood. During that time, the NRCF will run January 31st and February 1st, with both days packed full.
This week, join us for all the inside details on the film screenings, celebrity guests, and more! You can find the full schedule for NRCF below. Remember, although Tribal Fair and Pow Wow is a family-friendly event, viewer and parent discretion is advised. We recommend that you follow parental guidance ratings for these films, and plan accordingly.
Full Length Films
At this year’s NRCF there will be three full length movie screenings during the weekend. Follow along to learn more about Rezball, Prey, and The Last of the Mohicans! NRCF will have representatives from each film as celebrity guests for the Q&A and Meet and Greet portions of the weekend.
Rezball
Released on Netflix just last September, Rezball follows the Chuska Warriors. The high school basketball team competes in the state championship despite losing their star player. A true underdog story, it showcases Indigenous resilience and the power of community. Directed by Sydney Freeland (Drunktown’s Finest), Sterlin Harjo (Reservation Dogs) co-wrote the script; LeBron James produced. In a Netflix interview about the film, Freeland shared that “For us, this film is an invitation to see a side of America — a community — that [everyone] may not be familiar with. But for myself, for these kids, for the cast, for the crew, this is something that we’ve lived and breathed our whole lives.”
Jessica Matten, who stars in the film as coach Heather Hobbs, draws another real-life connection to the film’s story. She herself states that joining basketball as a teen saved her life. In a Teen Vogue interview, she shares that she has lofty plans for the future and helping native youth. She hopes that Rezball can be part of this. “I have pretty big goals to uplift as many communities as possible. I know I can’t save everyone, but I’m hoping that Rezball sheds light on how intensely our Indigenous youth are impacted and that it can be part of our collective healing journey as Indigenous people.”
Matten is also one of NRCF’s celebrity guests this year, so make sure to stick around for the Celebrity Q&A and Meet and Greet.
Prey
Last summer, we shared a blog post that talked about Seminoles and Natives in film. It included 5 Excellent and Essential Native Movies. If you recall, Prey was one of those films. NRCF’s lucky attendees will be able to experience this fantastic sci-fi thriller at this year’s festival! Part of the Predator franchise, Prey follows young Comanche woman Naru facing off with the extraterrestrial predators. It is set in the Northern Great Plains in 1719.
Folded into the production, casting, language, and set choices was a desire to accurately and genuinely portray the people and culture and do justice to those cultural experiences. In addition to being released in English, Prey was also released in Comanche. It also features an almost entirely Native cast. Jhane Myers (Comanche/Blackfeet), who will be present at NRCF as a celebrity guest, is Prey’s creative producer.
In an ICT interview, Myers shared how excited and grateful she was to be able to put so much of her own culture and experience into the film. “You know I don’t know what I’ll be remembered for in my career, but if this is it, I’ll be thrilled, because it’s really been an honor for me to use all my vast resources, being a fine artist, a traditional artist, working in museums, working in films, everything just culminated in this, working all my life coming down to this moment. That’s why you see Native representation everywhere,” she shared.
“In the end. I put my heart and soul into this project so it would be an authentic reflection of Comanche people.”
The Last of the Mohicans
In a special 30th Anniversary screening, NRCF is proud to present a breakthrough for Indigenous film, The Last of the Mohicans. The Last of the Mohicans is set among the backdrop of the French-Indian War, where the last three members of the Mohican tribe are tasked with rescuing the daughters of a British colonel from the clutches of the Huron scout Magua.
Wes Studi, who plays Magua in the film, is one of the biggest Native stars of the past decades. By some, Magua could be seen as a villain, especially given the framing of the film itself. He plays a similarly ‘villainous’ role in the 1990 Dances with Wolves. In a 2021 interview with Tommy Orange for GQ,
Studi challenges that perspective. “I play those guys like they know they’re doing the right thing,” he shares. “As far as they’re concerned, they’re not villains. They’re doing what they have to do in order to either maintain their life or further their own interests. I think it’s only human.” Orange, who recalls seeing the roles as a child with his family, also rejects this perspective. For those in the Native community, he was “a hero channeling decades of righteous anger.”
Homegrown Shorts
In addition to the full-length feature films outlined above, NRCF is proud to share that there will be a selection of Homegrown short films that will be screened from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Saturday, February 1st. This is the first time NRCF will be showcasing short films from filmmakers, producers, and directors from both the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida. All the crew, directors, producers, and actors of the short film will be in attendance, and there will be a Q&A panel discussion immediately after the short film block screening.
FilmFreeway Partnership
This marks an exciting milestone as Native Reel celebrates their 10th anniversary. The festival has always been dedicated to amplifying local voices and filmmakers they have worked with in the past. This year they expanded their submission process through FilmFreeway for the first time, and the response was nothing short of inspiring. Through this partnership, they were able to broaden their scope and bring even more diverse stories to the Native Reel audience.
Saturday Feb 1st, 1p-5pm in Ballroom D
Celebrity Guests
Wes Studi
NRCF is proud to announce that legendary Native actor and activist Wes Studi (Cherokee) will be one of the talented celebrity guests in attendance for this year’s festival. Studi received an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, becoming the first Native American to be recognized by the Academy.
Studi, who built much of his career on Westerns, acknowledges the struggle for Native actors to escape this typecasting. “We Natives have kind of a love-hate relationship with Westerns…. They’re a way for Native-looking people to get into the business. It was the only way I got in.” he shared. Throughout his career, he dreamed of an all-Native film, from producers to actors and directors. For many, it is his work throughout the decades that is bringing about that renaissance for the up-and-coming artists of today.
In the same GQ interview shared above, Sydney Freeland emphasizes the impact of Studi’s career. “He laid the groundwork for a lot of the stuff that people are doing now,” said Sydney Freeland “There’s a lot of roles coming up, but they’re contemporary roles. They’re not period pieces. It’s not ‘We’re going to make a Hollywood Western with cowboys and Indians.’ That’s due in large part to the foundation that he’s put out there for everybody.”
Eugene Brave Rock
Eugene Brave Rock (Blackfoot) is a Canadian actor and stuntman, best known for his role in the 2017 superhero film Wonder Woman. He has also worked in television and film roles for The Revenant, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Hell on Wheels, Jamestown, and Dark Winds. In addition to his film career, Brave Rock founded The Oki Language Project in 2022. The mission of the project is “To create thriving and proud Indigenous communities for future generations by focusing on our history, language and culture.”
Brave Rock, who spoke Blackfoot in Wonder Woman, reflected on the impact that has had on him and fans in an ICT interview. “It is great to represent my people. It’s tough working in the movie business. Sometimes they are telling you how to speak a language or something else. It is so often a non-Native interpretation of how Native people are or were. It’s been great to share my cultural values with the world. It is these cultural values, my long hair, my language, my singing and dancing, my flute playing, that sometimes we might take for granted—that have literally taken me around the world.”
Martin Sensmeier
Martin Sensmeier (Tlingit/Koyukon-Athabascan) is an American actor, model, and activist. He has been in a number of high profile roles in the last few years, including The Magnificent Seven, Westworld, Wind River, and 1883.
In a 2017 interview following his role in The Magnificent Seven, Sensmeier shared this advice for up-and-coming Native actors. “You can’t get bummed out about not getting a role after an audition, no matter how big the production. You have to have thick skin and not take things personal. We need more Native actors and models — I really encourage everyone not to give up and to stick with it. But you have to work, and that is really all there is to it.”
Jhane Myers
Jhane Myers (Comanche/Blackfeet) is an artist of many talents. Although recently recognized for her creative producer role in the film Prey, she has contributed number of different roles in the film industry, including those related to Native language, Native cultural advising, acting and fine art. In the past, she has also studied fashion design, worked for Ralph Lauren, and is a well-respected traditional artist. Above, Creative producer Jhane Myers left, and actress Amber Midthunder as Naru, discuss a scene during the filming of, “Prey,” released in 2022. (Photo by David Bukach, courtesy of Disney Studios).
“The one thing that has always guided me is wanting to see Native people in the forefront,” said Myers in a Variety Interview, “I gave [Prey] everything I could, because I wanted to bring something back to our Comanche people.” In addition to being instrumental in providing the Comanche version of the film, she also created an internship program during filming which provided opportunities for native actors and crew to learn.

Above, Jessica Matten during the filming of Rezball. Courtesy of Netflix.
Jessica Matten
Jessica Matten (Red River Metis, Cree, Chinese, and European) is a Canadian actor, producer, and activist. Dedicated to helping Indigenous communities, Matten has spent a significant amount of her career advocating for Indigenous youth, mental health, rights, and resources. She has appeared in Rezball, Dark Winds, Frontier, Tribal, and The Empty Man.
The team in Rezball loses their star player to suicide, an all too real reality in many Indigenous communities, and one that Matten deeply identifies with. She has worked with Native youth for more than 20 years, particularly combatting suicide and addressing mental health issues. In the same Teen Vogue interview released the same day as the film, Matten shares the fallout of intergenerational trauma on these communities. “A lot of people ask why these things happen,” Matten told Teen Vogue. “It’s the result of being in an isolated community without access to necessary resources like clean water, where you’re fighting for your land and your rights. It’s all connected.”
This weekend, while you enjoy the festivities of this year’s Tribal Fair, be sure to stop by NRCF for an exciting lineup you won’t want to miss! Stay tuned and follow Native Reel Cinema Festival for any last-minute changes, updates, and announcements.
Author Bio
Originally from Washington state, Deanna Butler received her BA in Archaeological Sciences from the University of Washington in 2014. Deanna moved to Florida in 2016. Soon, she began working for the Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Tribal Historic Preservation Office. Deanna was the THPO’s Archaeological Collections Assistant from 2017-2021. While at the THPO, Deanna worked to preserve, support, and process the Tribe’s archaeological collection. She often wrote the popular Artifact of the Month series and worked on many community and educational outreach programs. She lives in Lakeland, FL with her husband, two sons, and dog.