Seven short films will be shown, totaling a runtime of 69 minutes.
A grandfather teaches his granddaughter, a young Gwich'in mother named Alisha, how reciprocity is embedded in all aspects of life: The northern lights warm the caribou; the caribou helps feed and sustain the community; the community honors the connections.
Filmed on the Qualla Boundary and Cherokee Nation, ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught) explores expressions of reciprocity in the Cherokee world, brought to life through a story told by an elder and first language speaker.
During a visit to her sister Amaliata, Rosa, a wise Wayuu woman, teaches her grandchildren the importance of reciprocity within their culture.
On the Eastern reaches of the occupied territory now referred to as North America, the children of Koluskap call upon ancestral teachings to guide them.
On these traditional homelands, Waponahkik (the people of the dawn land) bring gratitude to the sun where it first looks our way. Song and stories invite us to accept the new day and put behind us any harm done the day before.
Ma’s House was once the heart of a community for the Shinnecock peoples, who have remained in their same homelands for 10,000 years. As Ma’s grandson, artist and photographer Jeremy Dennis is on a quest to restore the family home to its central role as a community gathering place for a new generation of diverse artists.
The Fukumitsu ʻOhana (family) of Hakipuʻu are Native Hawaiian taro farmers and keepers of this generational practice. While much of Oʻahu has become urbanized, Hakipuʻu remains a kīpuka (oasis) of traditional knowledge where great chiefs once resided and their bones still remain.
Reciprocity Project is a US-based organization that works alongside Indigenous storytellers and communities worldwide. They aim to lift up the value of reciprocity in Indigenous ways of storytelling through film, podcasts, and other creative mediums with the goal of creating a paradigm shift that reframes our relationships to the Earth, other living beings, and one another.