Macon Magazine

30 maconmagazine.com | August/September 2024 A head of their documentary's international premiere at the Macon Film Festival, the award-winning Québécois lmmakers behind Red Fever o er MM readers a sneak peek into the profound yet hidden Indigenous in uence on Western culture. In the vein of their landmark lm Reel Injun (2009), a documentary that tackled stereotypes of Indigenous people in Hollywood cinema to the tune of three Gemini Awards and a Peabody Award, co- directors Neil Diamond and Catherine Bainbridge set out to make a movie about cultural appropriation. (Think: fans tomahawk-chopping at a Chiefs game, music festivalgoers in faux-ceremonial headdresses). Yet as lming unfolded, what the team uncovered was "the profound yet hidden Indigenous in uence on Western culture," Bainbridge tells MM. "I know that sounds huge, but that's the truth of it." Many of the secrets showing the magnitude of that Indigenous in uence, says Diamond, who is Cree, were "secrets so well-kept, they were hidden, even from us." The lm bears witness to that in uence in fashion, sports, politics, and the environment. Amid countless examples in the lm's 104 y-by minutes, here are two hidden histories to whet your curiosity: The Founding Fathers found democracy, modeling fundamentals of the Constitution on the oldest participatory, federal democracy in existence, then and now – that of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. Footballers from Carlisle Indian Industrial School invented modern gameplay, Get ready for Red Fever's premiere with lmmakers N E I L D I A M O N D A N D C AT H E R I N E B A I N B R I D G E throwing the rst spiralized pass and crafting clever plays that would upend the sport with a defeat of top-dog Harvard in 1911, before one of those athletes would go on to be an Olympic gold medalist and the rst president of the NFL. Perhaps the most exceptional aspect of the lm is the generosity behind its premise. Rather than (rightful) indignance, a mission to shame viewers for participating in this cultural heist, its guiding principle is curiosity. In his decades of travel as a journalist and lmmaker, Diamond saw countless instances of appropriation stemming from romanticized stereotypes that permeate pop culture, where people are powerfully drawn to a fantasy version of what Indigenous people are perceived to be, without any of the accountability for what the loss or depth those stereotypes hide. What Diamond asks isn't, "What's wrong with these people?" Instead, tongue-in-cheek as he speaks the opening voiceover, he asks, "Why do they love us so much?" Diamond invites viewers along on his journey of discovery, traveling thousands of miles across North American and Europe, interviewing dozens of scholars, artists, and activists, somehow maintaining an aura of love, openness, and humor while nevertheless speaking truth to power. Openness of that kind stems from con dence in your truth. "Our history and cultures are so rich," Diamond's voiceover states, "that when people take the time to really get to know and understand us, they will see that the real thing is so much better than the fantasy." And you have the chance to be among the rst to join Diamond on this journey of discovery without leaving your hometown. Red Fever will be screened for the rst time outside Canada on August 15 in Downtown Macon. The lm was selected for the opening night of 19th annual Macon Film Festival, in partnership with Fire Starters Film Festival, which was launched in 2023 and showcases lm and visual art made by Indigenous creators, with a particular emphasis on the Muscogee (Creek) experience, and in support of the initiative to designate the Ocmulgee Mounds as Georgia's rst National Park and Preserve. By Sierra Stark Stevens Visit maconmagazine.com for a Q&A with the lmmakers, discussing Red Fever, the source of its humor and love, their key takeaways for Central Georgia audiences, and the inside scoop on their surreal next project. FROM TOP A lm still of Haudenosaunee singers. Neil Diamond. Catherine Bainbridge. Red Fever poster.

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