The Russell Bates Indigenous Peoples Screenwriters Award
by Leslie Owen @simeyowen and Troy P. Bernier @troybernier
The Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival is proud to recognize two productions for the Russell Bates Indigenous Peoples Screenwriters Award. This award will be given annually to a screenwriter, director, or cast member of a submitted/nominated screenplay/film who is a member of the worldwide community of Indigenous Peoples.
By furthering the memory and the work of Kiowa writer Russell Bates, we will continue to recognize Indigenous contributions of fantastic themed content.
Russell Bates was the first Native American writer to win an Emmy Award for the 1974 episode of Star Trek The Animated Adventures, “How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth.”
This season’s short film is Brolga, (Australia) and the feature film is Blood Quantum, (Canada). Brolga is about a ravaged future-Australia, a solitary hermit guarding a priceless treasure is forced to offer sanctuary to a young girl who is fleeing murderous scavengers. With danger around every corner, can they learn to survive together? (ReadMore) Blood Quantum is a story about the dead who are coming back to life outside the isolated Mi’gMaq reserve of Red Crow. One exception is for its Indigenous inhabitants who are strangely immune to the zombie plague.
Both films illustrate indigenous artistic and cultural messages.
Brolga is still in its festival run, but reachable via youtube and facebook. Blood Quantum picked up distribution while screening at the Boston SciFi Festival. It has been available since May 2020 via Shudder.com, catch it with friends, it’s a very social film too.
The Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival is an experience. Not only for the attendee but the filmmaker too. We meticulously select films that represent the very essence of science fiction. As a result of our internationally recognized founders, we receive a considerable amount of films and screenplays from dozens of countries each year.
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