Writer-director Marie Clements is premiering two new projects – the feature film “How We Stand” and the documentary series “Reclaim My Skin” – both focused on the experiences and voices of Indigenous women. She also recently interviewed Gloria Steinem with Indigenous activists.
Clements’ latest feature, “How We Stand,” which adapts her 2011 stage play “Tombs of the Vanishing Indian,” will have its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. The film follows three young Oklahoma sisters and their single mother as they relocate to Los Angeles in the 1950s, lured by promises of jobs. The story then follows the sisters as their lives diverge in 1970s L.A. after a tragedy. Clements describes the film as showcasing “modern Indigenous young women who want to grab their futures.”
The cast includes Amber Midthunder (“Prey,” “Novocaine”) as a doctor, Alyssa Wapanatâh (“Peter Pan & Wendy”) as an activist, and Isabel DeRoy-Olson (AMC’s “Dark Winds”) as a woman grappling with trauma. The stage play was originally commissioned by the Native Voices series at the Autry National Center in L.A., and Clements spent time researching at the Autry.
Alongside “How We Stand,” Clements’ three-part documentary series, “Reclaim My Skin,” will premiere next month at the Vancouver International Film Festival. The series focuses on the power of Indigenous women’s actions and voices to create change. Clements recently had the opportunity to interview Gloria Steinem alongside Indigenous activists Louise Wakerakats:se Herne and Michelle Schenandoah. She noted that, “even at their most passionate they never spoke over each other,” adding, “They gave space and listened, acknowledging differences while also understanding that we have more in common than what works to divide us.”
“Reclaim My Skin” is a production of Marie Clements Media, Screen Siren Pictures and Rezolution Pictures, commissioned by British Columbia’s Knowledge Network in 2024. Myriad Pictures is handling international sales for “How We Stand,” with Photon Films as the Canadian distributor.
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