An Evening with Sky Hopinka

Join us virtually for a livestream of this Billy Wilder Theater program.

Sky Hopinka, a Ho-Chunk Nation member, is a renowned contemporary Indigenous filmmaker whose work explores memory, language and place. While his films intertwine personal stories with larger contexts, they are meditative with their use of imagery and soundscapes. In Jáaji Approximately, he highlights the intergenerational relationship between people and land. Dislocation Blues captures the Water is Life movement complexities against the Dakota Access Pipeline via activist voices. Fainting Spells shares an imagined Xąwįska plant myth, preserving traditional knowledge. Cloudless Blue Egress challenges historical narratives via Fort Marion's traumatic history for Indigenous people. Sunflower Siege Engine meditates on the reservation system and moments of resistance from Alcatraz to ancestors' repatriation. This collection of shorts places earlier works from Hopinka in conversation with his most current film, Sunflower Siege Engine, showcasing the woven narrative of resiliency and resistance. Hopinka's films offer a powerful reflection of contemporary Indigenous life and an essential perspective on Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination struggles.

We are honored that Hopinka will appear in person to discuss his work, along with an in-depth conversation on his style and approach to the moving image.

Jáaji Approximately

U.S., 2015

Color, 8 min.

Dislocation Blues

U.S., 2017

Color, 17 min.

Fainting Spells

U.S., 2018

Color, 11 min.

Cloudless Blue Egress

U.S., 2019

Color, 13 min.

Sunflower Siege Engine

U.S. 2022

Color, 12 min.