Durango, Colo. • A group of artists is seeking Navajo speakers with a knack for storytelling to submit shorts to the inaugural Navajo Film Festival.
The Durango Herald reported Wednesday that filmmakers of all ages are asked to submit four-minute films, entirely in the Navajo language, for a potential cash prize and a public screening on June 23.
Tacey Atsitty, a Navajo poet and director of the festival’s organizing board, made rounds in April to promote the event and seek filmmakers in Arizona, New Mexico and Southwest Colorado.
Atsitty says filmmakers do not have to be Navajo to submit an entry. That’s because organizers would like to encourage more people to learn the language.
The deadline for submissions is June 2.