Gloucester celebrates Indigenous Film Festival

As part of the Gloucester 400+ festivities, Gloucester will hold a week-long Indigenous Film Festival to celebrate the indigenous peoples that have inhabited Cape Ann for centuries.

The decision to brand this year as the Gloucester 400+, and not simply the Gloucester 400, is very intentional. Though Gloucester was first established in 1623, 400 years ago, indigenous groups such as the Pawtucket have lived on these lands for around 10,000 years. The “+” in “400+” attempts to acknowledge that fact, recognizing that though the community of Gloucester is 400 years old this year, it was not the first community established here.

Mary Ellen Lepionka, one of the event organizers, is a historian specializing in the study of local indigenous peoples. “I was glad to help choose films for this event, and I think the producers have done a great job lining up screenings and venues, ” she said. “To me, the Indigenous Film Festival is a capstone event for my own research on the indigenous history of Essex County, which is finally being acknowledged and celebrated.”

The festival will take place from Monday, October 9th to Saturday, October 14th, and will feature films spanning genres and including everything from comedy, to drama, to historical retellings. Directed by indigenous creatives and featuring indigenous actors, these films are meant to be a celebration of the history, longevity, and beauty of indigenous culture and heritage. Several of the film screenings will also hold a live Q&A with a panel of indigenous filmmakers, actors, and historians after the film is done. 

Ms. D’Antonio is a history and political science teacher at GHS, who helped find student volunteers for the event. “I’m really excited that this event is coming to GHS,” D’Antonio said. “I’m most excited that it is free and super accessible for all to enjoy. I think that the people that are putting it on have made a real effort to have indigenous voices moving the narratives and the purpose behind it. It’ll be great, and I encourage everyone to go.”

All screenings are free to attend, and reserving a seat in advance online is recommended. The complete schedule for screenings can be found here, and descriptions for each film and trailers can be found here. For those interested, a list of the featured panelists and the screenings they will be presenting at can be found here.

The poster for the Indigenous Film Festival