American Indian Film Inst. Announces Winners

SAN FRANCISCO - The American Indian Film Institute (AIFI) announces award show winners for the 35th annual American Indian Film Festival. The awards were presented at the American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.

The American Indian Motion Picture Awards Show, recognizing excellence in USA American Indian and Canada First Nations cinematic achievement, making the annual awards show one of the most prominent Indian Country and Native Cinema showcases.

Outstanding performances varied across the talent venue, on awards night including:
Singer Andrea Menard, blues band The Plateros, singer Paula Bowers- Sanchez, Yaaw Tei Yi Tlingit Dancers from Juneau, Alaska, singer Jeremy Good Feather, indie singer/songwriter Samantha Crain, and violinist Swil Kanim.

Best Film- A Windigo Tale, Director: Armand Garnet Ruffo, CAN
Best Director – Jeremy Torrie, A Flesh Offering,CAN
Best Actor- John Cook, Of Mice and Men, CAN
Best Actress – Andrea Menard, A Windigo Tale, CAN
Best Supporting Actor- Stanley Wood, Of Mice and Men, CAN
Best Supporting Actress – Jani Lauzon, A Windigo Tale, CAN
Best Documentary Feature – A Good Day to Die, Director: Lynn Salt & David Mueller, USA
Best Documentary Short – Unconquered: Allan Houser and the Legacy of One Apache Family, Director: Bryan Beasley, USA
Best Live Short Subject – The Cave, Director: Helen Haig-Brown, CAN
Best Animation- Wapos Bay: The Hardest Lesson, Director: Trevor Cameron, Canada
Best Music Video – The Road Forward, Director: Marie Clements, CAN
Best Public Service – The Healing Lens, Director: Michelle Derosier, CAN.
Eagle Spirit Honorees: Buffy Sainte-Marie, Eloise Cobell, and Billy Frank Jr.


Special Achievement awards, the Eagle Spirit, were presented to personages that exemplified outstanding character, fortitude, and career accomplishments in music/ media-arts, eco-political/ fishing rights activism and governmental accountability. The 2010 Recipients: Buffy Sainte-Marie, Kaua’i Hawaii, Eloise Cobell, Browning Montana, and Billy Frank Jr. Olympia Washington.