2025 Mother Tongue Film Festival

2016 The Beginning - Shimásání

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The Beginning was a week-long inaugural Mother Tongue Film Festival that presented nineteen Native languages from eight different regions. It began on International Mother Language Day, February 21, 2016. Here are two films from 2016 that capture the spirit of that first year: Shimásání and Breath of Life: Revitalization of North America's Native Languages.  


El inicio: el primer Festival de Cine de la Lengua Materna duró una semana y presentó obras en 19 lenguas indígenas de ocho regiones diferentes. El 21 de febrero de 2016, Día Internacional de la Lengua Materna, la Iniciativa Recuperando Voces de la Institución Smithsonian organizó el primer Festival de Cine en Lengua Materna. A continuación, se presentan dos películas de 2016 que sintetizan la programación de ese año: Shimásání y Breath of Life: Revitalization of North America's Native Languages. 

In the late 1920s, on the serene Navajo reservation, Mary Jane must decide whether to retain her traditional lifestyle at home with her másání (grandmother) or seek a new life “just over the mountain.” 


A finales de la década de 1920, en una serena reserva Navajo, Mary Jane debe decidir entre continuar su estilo de vida tradicional en casa con su másání (abuela) o buscar una nueva vida al otro lado de la montaña. 

  • Year
    2009
  • Runtime
    15 minutes
  • Language
    Navajo
  • Country
    United States
  • Subtitle Language
    English
  • Director
    Blackhorse Lowe
  • Screenwriter
    Blackhorse Lowe
  • Producer
    Heather Rae, Nanobah Becker, Chad Burris
  • Cast
    Brigadier Brown, Noelle Brown, Carmelita B. Lowe
  • Cinematographer
    Smokey Nelson