SXSW 2022 | Long Line of Ladies Review

It’s not often that American hear indigenous voices in the entertainment field. Sure, we’re used to hearing the disclaimers before Sundance films, but not in stories that we can watch, much less connect to as colonizers of land that is rightfully theirs to begin with. However, that’s starting to not be the case with Reservation Dogs which won the Gotham Award for Breakthrough Series - Short Form & Spirit Awards for Best New Scripted Series and Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series. There are also films like Wild Indian that was nominated for several Spirit Awards for Best Male Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best First Feature, and Best First Screenplay.

A similar comparison could be made about Long Line of Ladies’ central topic: a coming of age ceremony called an Ihuk, which prior to this ceremony, hadn’t been celebrated since the California Gold Rush as a result of sexual violence targeted towards Native American girls & women.

Directors Rayka Zehtabchi (who you may remember from Period. End of Sentence.) and Shaandiin Tome (who you may remember from Mud, which is also known by the name Hashtł'ishnii, which screened during Sundance 2018) captures the preparation for Ahty’s Ihuk through the eyes of her community, the Karuk tribe located in Northern California.

In Long Line of Ladies' twenty-two-minute runtime, it becomes apparent that community is a big part of the Ihuk ceremony. Not only does Ahty’s mother and father help prepare her for the ceremony, but the entire tribe. Through this community coming together, we get great moments like Ahty’s father talking to members of his community about his daughter’s first period & how supportive he was during that vulnerable time.

Other than the story, top marks should be given to the gorgeous cinematography by Sam A. Davis for his wonderful use of close-ups during interviews, as well as mediums and wides to get a complete picture of what’s going on in the ceremony.

All in all, Long of Ladies is a wonderful docushort that everyone should check out as soon as it releases.

Long Line of Ladies is currently making a festival run that started with Sundance 2022 and continued with SXSW 2022.

★★★★/★★★★★

Until next time!

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