San Francisco-based American Indian Film Festival Centers Native Stories and Creators

For 46 years, the San Francisco-based American Indian Film Festival has showcased features, documentaries and animated works from Native filmmakers. This year’s festival kicks off Friday with more than a hundred films at a time when filmmakers and audiences are clamoring for more representation of Native communities. Although, Native creators are seeing more interest in their stories and projects in recent years, films made by and about Native Americans rarely, if ever, reach mainstream success. The Hollywood Diversity Report found that Native Americans account for less than 1 percent of on-screen and behind the scenes talent in the U.S. entertainment industry. We talk about Native representation in film and the challenges of making and distributing Native American-centered films.