Film

A short film titled “How the Land Remembers Us” premiered at the Mountains of Color Film Festival in Jackson on June 9. The film documents efforts to shine a light on ongoing Indigenous connection to what is now called Yellowstone National Park through the Yellowstone Revealed project, which first took place in 2022 during the park’s 150th anniversary.

For the past two years, Wyoming tourism advocates have tried to pass a film rebate incentive program through the state legislature. Filming in the state has its challenges, mainly because it does not offer financial incentives for filmmakers like other surrounding states including Montana, Utah, and Colorado. Although this year a film rebate incentive program wasn’t introduced during the legislative session, advocates in Cody are taking another route to try to attract films to the region.

The Park County Travel Council in Northwest Wyoming has created a film office to try and attract more movies, TV shows, documentaries, and other types of projects to the area.

A short film called dêtetsi vo'i oninjakan Winding Path was nominated for this year’s Sundance Film Festival – the largest independent film festival in the U.S. The film follows Eastern Shoshone descendant Jenna Murray, who’s currently an MD-PhD student at the University of Utah School of Medicine & Department of Population Health Sciences. Wyoming Public Radio’s Hannah Habermann talked with Murray about identity, access to medical care, and the importance of culturally-informed mental health support.

A new short film on PBS is a follow-up to the recent Ken Burns documentary, “The American Buffalo.” “Homecoming” focuses on bison restoration in Indigenous communities.

The name Ken Burns has become synonymous with American history documentaries. You probably know some of them like “The Civil War,” “Country Music,” and “The Roosevelts.” Now Burns has done something he’s never done before: released a new PBS series that traces the history of an animal. It’s called “The American Buffalo.” Wyoming Public Radio’s Melodie Edwards talked to Burns about why he chose this subject and why now.

Netflix and the Indigenous social justice group IllumiNative recently announced their first cohort in a training program for Native film and TV producers. The year-long program provides fellows with training, mentorship and a $25,000 grant to support their work.

A legislative committee has voted to support a film incentives bill.

A few years back, the Northern Arapaho Tribe's historic preservation officer Yufna Soldier Wolf sent a letter to the U.S. Army, asking to exhume the graves of three boys buried at a former Indian boarding school. The army wrote back, refusing. But Soldier Wolf wrote again and again until the army relented. Now a new documentary traces this story of how the tribe brought back their children to rebury on the Wind River Reservation. Wyoming Public Radio's Melodie Edwards sat down with Soldier Wolf after the film's premiere on the University of Wyoming campus and asked her why it felt important to share this story with the world.

Story House Inc., is looking to build a film studio in Sheridan and develop Wyoming's film industry.