There is an urgency with the national water dilemma dealings involving the Colorado River running through the seven states effecting through the Southwest. An ordeal that’s affected issues from the state level to the largest discussions about the climate change and rise in data centers that are geologically and environmentally throwing off the course and function of the River’s nature. So much of the controversies surrounding the issues at hand is held individually different based on which state’s prospects have been for and/or against the handling of the water from a federal level. All states scrambling to find out who is suppose to be granted the senior decision of what can be done with the River and who’s taking the charge on the fight for revitalizing the ecosystem of the beautiful waters. But the lives of those surrounding the river are people of differing backgrounds – farmers, ranchers, business folks, and Indigenous water rights advocates/leaders – all united under the majesty and growing concern of the Colorado River’s ever-changing depletion levels due to climate change factors and political influence/manipulation of the US federal government undermining the damage being made. “The River” (2026) is a film that calls for the national attention of providing and highlighting the significance of what makes the Colorado River the life line of the Southwest states affected by it, and why we need to fight harder now more than ever to preserve our greatest source of water in America.

What makes this documentary one of the essential watches of the festival is how much the invested production drew into wanting to cover the bases of Colorado River politics in a way that frames the river as a main character, with a supporting cast of advocates and leaders who each provide a choice perspective on the lives they lead. All these people come into picture with their storied accounts and personal experiences dealing with the Colorado River issues, the momentous tasks of calling for more action and attention towards preserving their livelihoods, and facing a terrifying potential of an abrupt end to their water usage if action isn’t done sooner. The filmmakers are keyed and tuned into the fight and advocacy of the river with their care and precision of profiling each person and their experience with even matched pacing and respect. But more than anything, the film in turn creating the river as a main character creates an apathy and emotional call towards feeling the plight of a momentous water being that has provided life sustenance to all the people’s along it’s side. By the end of the film, you wanna carry on the talks and communicate the harsh realities and prompting solutions that could help in the fight saving the water we all depend on. This is a film that respects and uplifts the stories of the river’s life and influence of there being a greater purpose to how we protect and heal our great water, “The River” wants audiences to carry on the good fight for our beautiful Colorado River.

Film Review by CRIT Media Tech Naythen T. Lowe

4/4 Seals ! ! !

Around the 1800s, with the establishment of boarding schools, Natives endured terrible conditions and suffered emotional and physical abuse from religious staff intent on erasing their Native identities. Students, taken from their families, were punished for speaking their Native languages or for practicing any sort of traditions, and received a very poor education. Many never returned home. In 1891, Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball, created as an “athletic distraction” while taking inspiration from other games, like the tribal originated sport of lacrosse. Later, Naismith noted how well the game was played among the Native children (and soon adults) when introducing the sport into the schools. From there, history shows the Native American university basketball teams that went onto great success and growth as state/national contestants and champions. Such is the case for two Indigenous students and basketball player’s: Lexus Redthunder (Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate) and Leroy Staples Fairbanks IV (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), attending college at the University of Minnesota Morris – whose campus is occupying the same location and partial remains of a former boarding school called the Morris Industrial School for Indians. Both learn more about the ingrained history about the Indigenous influence of the game, the boarding school’s assimilation of Indian children through sports, and the modern day reception and acknowledgement to break the cycle of trauma by embracing and enlivening Indigenous spirit through athletics in the documentary short, “Medicine Ball” (2026), directed by Twin Cities PBS producer Leya Hale.

You can feel the grace and quality of the filmmaking going on with each angle being covered on the sports culture mixed with indigenous influence, facing opposite the harsh history surrounding both players’ families having connections to the boarding school. The greatest strengths of this film would be in the direction and editing of the short’s cinematography and profiling of the students/academics/elders, and the post production flare seen on screen with the sound mixing and soundtrack blending seamlessly. The footage of the basketball games happening on screen feel visceral and magnetic, which makes the quieter more slice-of-life segments of the film breathe a calm light in the background and coverage of the students’ home/personal lives. Lexus explores the generational run of her family’s attendance of the school, her grandmother originally and later following after her sister – noting that she feels her family is “stuck” in a cycle of carrying the trauma and negativity of it’s history. Leroy discovers his past relatives being in the school system and having the courage to accept and carry on the legacy of the family he’s proud to represent today with embracing the advocacy side of being a forefront athletic leader for the face of Indigenous sports. Both meet and discuss with their academic/cultural advisors and elders on discovering more about the school’s past, and keying into the idea of carrying on the spirit of those who can’t be here today by building awareness and reconciliation for the tribal families and communities affected by these boarding schools. This is a film that asks you to breathe new life into the academia and cultural malaise surrounding Indigenous assimilation and exploitation history, using the great sport of basketball as the winning goal of Indigenous spirit growth – “Medicine Ball” is a film that heals and creates more space to rebuild our future.

4/4 SEALS ! ! !

This will be the first film to premiere on Thursday, September 24th for NatiVisions Film Festival at Blue Water Cinemas Parker. Support the film and your local festival. A film review by Naythen T. Lowe.

The year 1680 saw the insurgence of the Pueblo people of the Southwestern New Mexico territory against the Spanish overlords that had dominated them, their lives, their lands, and their souls for eight decades prior. 1540 saw the first wave of Spanish invasion by the conquistadors and explorers who destroyed twelve Pueblo communities. By the turn of the 17th century, Spanish leaders and their forces had taken back control with full force, and turned villages and communities into settlements of slavery and missionary duties forced upon the Indians. Then in August 1680, lead by medicine men and leaders like Po’pay and Luis Tu’pa’tú, the Pueblo revolt that conquered and drove out the Spaniard influence led to growing number of sister tribes to start kicking down the Crown that enslaved and brutalized them. The main point of contention about the background was the true motives behind it – some say it was politically geared, others say it was religiously charged, differing set ups all under the guise of impunity from consequences by the Spanish courts for decades. And here, in the documentary “No Greater Act: Pueblo Resistance” (2026), we have the academic and tribal historian recollection of what was the timeline and events of the entirety of the Indigenous strength and survival of a people.

There is a grand execution of journalistic nature to the filmmaking of this documentary, matched with an impressive and immersive production showcasing the Pueblo experience and livelihood of a people that stand stronger today. Narrated by Academy Award winner Wes Studi, the direction of the production relies heavily on the recounted interviews of the Pueblo community members and guests – from the academic circles to the former tribal council folks who hold the stories and testaments of the events/profiles/persons around the 1680 Revolt that deserve more spotlight to craft the entire picture. The strongest aspect of the documentary is in the editing and pacing, as the film’s presentation is smooth and steady on allowing the audience to fully envelop themselves into the time period through usage of artists renditions that colors each moment and sense of history. Not a stitch of what is shared and chronicled is made to be deterring or frustrating with the overload of knowledge on Pueblo community ties, the atrocities enacted by the Spanish, and the aftermaths of what led the Pueblo to establish more of their voices and presence through the decades to follow into the present day. If there was one grievance that I had with the film, there’s an inconsistent usage of generative AI imagery that I felt should’ve been made known for the sake of not confusing authentic artist rendition pieces alongside AI generated visuals that honestly doesn’t match or lend much other than filler for what could’ve called for actual artists to collaborate on (true stories deserve true artworks). Otherwise, there is a sincerity and greatness of composure for the filmmakers and those involved in the production to want to be able to craft and relate the documented history of a proud people who are making sure this is always going to be their story. “No Greater Act: Pueblo Resistance” proves that there is always a platform of Indigenous folks ready to sound and share the stories of our overcome adversity and survival into today.

2/4 Seals

Review written by CRIT Media Tech Naythen T. Lowe

So much about the California history as we know is rooted in the brighter and louder chapters of a land’s appropriation over time in a culturally evolving world. What we perceive as an ingratiated time in a lands’ growth and prosperity into the generations that came before and followed after, actually hides a deeper indigenous history of a time scorned by the European colonization and brutal genocides that left entire populations nearly decimated. That’s a history – much like all of indigenous people’s footprint – left unaddressed and buried in the backgrounds of the Spanish take over with the Doctrine of Discovery (any non-Christian land Spain “discovered” was divine right to claim in name of the crown) and later the Americana influence of Manifest Destiny carried out West that tore apart Indian communities in the name of “societal enlightenment”. What is rarely addressed is how much of the history is fully acknowledged and upheld in the eyes of American culture and the Indigenous influence over how we uphold our representation and history. Entire nations of tribes all with their own lands and peoples and communities heavily affected and thriving today are all given the spotlight of documented and oratorial accounts of knowledge, history, culture, and reacknowledgment of a heavy stain in California’s early established history in the docu-series “People of the West” (2025) – by creator and Executive Producer Brad Munoa and Executive Producer Nicolas Magee.

The series, divided into 10 episodes, charters and follows a timeline of pre-colonial contact up into the present day of the California tribes preserving their heritage and generational impact into a bright future ahead. Each episode follows a time period of quarter centuries from the first contacts of the Spanish to the shores of Kumeyaay Ipai land, the Christian missions that affected the Ohlone of the 1600s, battles of the Ahwahneechee and the creation of reservations and boarding schools with the Paiute of the 1800-1900s, into the modern exploitation of Indigenous lives and reinvigoration of a proud people, including the Chumash and Yurok fighting for their human and cultural rights to never be wiped off the maps into the 21st century. We get a documentary series that’s covering all of an established timeline in the plights and survival of an Indigenous peoples seen in ways never before imagined. The filmmaking on display with episodic nature is concise and expansive in it’s pacing and screen time devoted to the tribal interviewees ranging from communities leaders to cultural scholars working in their own fields to voice the personal and cultural backgrounds of each of their respective tribes/nations. We get re-enactment scenes of the tribal communities facing up to and being challenged and exploited by European contact, where the Native actors speak English against the others languages as (what an open text before episodes states) “…a reflection of forced assimilation rather than cultural authenticity”. The editing is shaped around the narration of those interviewed matched with the through line story of the tribes highlighted with family units and individuals who empower themselves and those around them with the resilience against colonizer tactics. Everything that unfolds on each episode enraptures and pulls audiences into the time periods and allows for a storytelling medium matched with a high grade cinematic lens and production to showcase the eras and peoples as we’re to be properly represented and portrayed on screen. This series doesn’t shy away or try to coddle the expectations of today’s way of research and events that were seriously brutal and devastating to an effect that speaks throughout all nations residing and homes to the lands. But to the darkness that was the past, there is a bright light of progression and evolution at hand seen in the ways the filmmakers/producers/interviewees are able to recall and talk insightfully about what we now know as our collective knowledge and history-defining efforts of carrying on stronger and wiser into our future. “Peoples of the West” is a shining example of docu-series excellence and an Indigenous media representation that will be one for the books of our cultural and human history.4/4 Seals !

The short film “Our Father” relates the story about a pair of siblings’ commitment to following the exact funeral wishes of their departed patriarch and the final goodbye proving that there is a beauty in the afterlife waiting us. The two main leads, the brother and the sister, start the short film off by bickering away about the coordination and operation of their duties; we get the sense that they’re pressured by the circumstances of an arbitrary situation. But when the reveal of them and their departed father is brought forth, there’s a greater sense of sentiment and relatability when they follow through and give their father a traditional memorial send-off. As a short film, I’m impressed by the technicality and quality of the filmmakers almost feeling like it was a run-and-gun/on-the-fly direction of a story that breezes so quickly that it allows you to want to revisit the filmmaking on screen, especially during the final few minutes and the clean and bright cinematography. Addressing the dialogue, the Caddo language being represented and exemplified on screen by the talent and credits is especially exceptional when I discovered it’s a current language of the Natchitoches people being revived after losing their last native speaker in 2025; this brings the writing and delivery of these lines and the credits a higher level of appreciation and one that must be shared with those larger audiences. This film shows the importance of Indigenous filmmaking at it’s most resourceful and presented with a magnetic touch of humanity that everyone – especially those handling the loss of a loved one – can find beautiful and memorable.   3/4 Seals!

The short film “Kusi Smiles” presented here showcases the identity of a character that’s grappling with the signature of loss of a parent while upholding and signifying her culture as her bedrock. There is such a beauty with the filmmaking going on on screen that it might just be the unsung hero of the short – the production and cinematography truly make every scene shine with the authenticity of Indigenous Peru seen on screen. The story revolves around a young Peruvian woman named Kusi that travels to her extended family home in Peru to engage in the festivities and celebrations of her family and culture with traditional song and dance – her struggle comes in the form of having to acknowledge and grapple with having just lost her mother. Through the involvement of her family and the repairing of her emotional well-being, we see what lies in the acceptance of loss and the embrace and declaration of wanting to carry on one’s legacy. So much of this short film surprised me with it’s enrapturing visuals brought by the vibrant color and vivid location/atmosphere of the Peruvian experience on display with the set decoration and spectacular regalia wardrobes – each moments natural flow and engagement feels like you’re transported into the scenes themselves. There’s a great pleasure in watching the story unfold in what feels like a slight cinéma vérité style: raw authenticity matched with such emotion and storytelling unfolding with a grace and patience for the characters and the audience. I do actually believe this would make a great basis for an expanded feature (in my opinion), and I’m very interested in what the filmmakers have to offer up as their next feature; a film like this deserves to be seen as a great showcase on the grandest screen.    4/4 Seals!