12th annual Native FilmFest opens in Palm Springs tonight

The 12th annual Native FilmFest, which features films by, about and starring Native Americans and other indigenous peoples, opens in Palm Springs tonight.
Organized by the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, the festival will open with a mixer at 7 p.m. and an 8 p.m. screening of Norwegian film “Pathfinder” at Camelot Theatres. Feature films, documentaries and shorts will be shown through March 3 at the theater, and filmmakers and actors will answer questions afterward.
Filmmaker and educator Chris Eyre, a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in Oklahoma, will receive the first Richard M. Milanovich Award for Distinguished Contributions to Indigenous Film. Milanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, was a film aficionado who regularly attended the festival before his death last year, according to organizers.
Eyre’s film, “Hide Away,” will be screened at the festival, and he will conduct film lecture workshops for local students. Students will get free passes to the festival.
Between the afternoon and evening screenings, receptions will be held daily, giving filmgoers the opportunity to buy food and drinks and talk with filmmakers, directors and actors.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for those 60 and over, 16 and under, students and active military. All Access Passes, which are good for all screenings, are $70.
For information, call (760) 778-1079 or go to www.accmuseum.org.