Filmmaker Randy Redroad presents two events at CU Cinema, Oct. 18-19

In conjunction with the multidepartmental, yearlong event "Indians' Indians: (Re)presentation of Native American People in the Arts," Cornell Cinema welcomes filmmaker Randy Redroad this weekend. Admission to the events is $4.50 general/$4 students and seniors. All screenings are in Willard Straight Theatre.

Filmmaker Randy Redroad will present his feature film debut, "The Doe Boy" (featuring, above, Gordon Tootoosis and James Duval), on Friday, Oct. 19, at 7:15 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre. The event is part of the multidepartmental program "Indians' Indians: (Re)presentation of Native American People in the Arts."

Redroad, whose films draw on his own experiences as a Native American, will introduce a program of his short films tonight, Oct. 18, at 7:15. "Cowtipping: The Militant Indian Waiter" (1992, 17 minutes) is an original drama about a Cherokee café waiter who encounters ignorance and racism from his customers. The film blends humor, rage and information, including clips from westerns that help make his point. "Haircuts Hurt" (1992, 10 minutes) portrays the everyday racism a Native American woman and her son encounter when they visit a local barbershop. It's an incisive and witty portrait that speaks to issues of acculturation, identity formation and assimilation. "High Horse" (1995, 40 minutes) is, according to the Sundance Film Festival: "a provocative narrative on the concept of 'home' for Native Americans. The film opens in what Redroad calls 'the artificial world of the colonizers' -- a modern American city. From a cop to a young bike messenger, dislocated Native people search for and sometimes find their figurative and literal homes. ... A freedom myth that rides to the rhythm of a naturally conceived justice." Redroad received awards for "Haircuts Hurt" and "High Horse" at the American Indian Film Festival and Festival d'Amiens, France.

Redroad presents the Ithaca premiere of his feature film debut, "The Doe Boy," Friday, Oct. 19, at 7:15 p.m. The film tells the story of Hunter (James Duval), a mixed-blood Cherokee growing up in Oklahoma who must prove himself according to his culture and his father's standards. When he mistakenly kills a doe rather than a buck, he seeks refuge in the forest and learns, with the help of his Cherokee grandfather (Gordon Tootoosis), the difference between hunting and killing. Redroad won the Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award for "The Doe Boy."

These events are co-sponsored with the Cornell Council for the Arts. For more information about the program "Indians' Indians: (Re)presentation of Native American People in the Arts," visit http://www.arts.cornell.edu/cca/indiansindians.