Southern Ute tribal elder, Casandra Atencio and Rhianna Carel during the Native Lens reception. Atencio and Carel, both participated in the film of the ice-climbing expedition in Ouray, Colo.

Shannon "Spencer" Spencer (right) stands alongside, Rhianna Carel and her family at the reception. Spencer is one of seven Native Lens Media fellows who worked on the Native Lens films, while Carel participated in the recent ice climbing excursion in Ouray, Colo.

The Collins family assemble just prior to the premier of the Native Lens, both Leander and Leland Jr. Collins (front) worked on. The film premiered during the Durango Independent Film Festival.

Assistant Professor, Creative Media Production at The University of Oklahoma, Collen Thurston was the evenings emcee, introducing the two new Native Lens films that premiered at the Durango Independent Film Festival, as well as other Native Films previously released.

Southern Ute tribal member and Native Lens film participant, Cyrus Naranjo speaks about his Ouray ice climbing adventures with fellow Southern Ute tribal member youth who participated in the program sponsored by SunUte Community Center.

Award-winning poet Esther G. Belin and Fort Lewis College Native American instructor, speaks about her experience during the filming of the Native Lens film she was the subject in.

Native Lens Media fellows, Brooke Swaney Pepion, Kimey Begaye, Shannon Spencer, Isreal Duran, Laelah Jaye-Kizzia , Jaycherie, Leander Collins and Leland Jr. Collins assemble for a group photo after the premier of the two Native Lens short films they developed and showcased at the Durango Independent Film Festival at the Durango Arts Center.

Photo Credit: Robert L. Ortiz | The Southern Ute Drum

Native Lens hits Durango Independent Film Festival

Friday - March 10, 2023 by Robert L. Ortiz | The Southern Ute Drum

Native Lens fellows, actors and others attend the reception during the Durango Independent Film Festival at the Sorrel Sky Gallery in Durango, Colo, Saturday, March 4. KSUT Radio hosted the event, while attendees mingled with members of the Native Lens Fellowship sponsored by Rocky Mountain PBS and KSUT Radio. A screening of the two Native Lens films premiered at the Durango Arts Center. One about ice climbing in Ouray, Colo., the other film is about poet Esther G. Belin, a Native lecturer at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.

Tags: Brooke Swaney Pepion, Cassandra Atencio, Collen Thurston, Isreal Duran, Kimey Begaye, Laelah Lalabah Jaye-Kizzia, Leander Collins, Leland Jr. Collins, Native Lens, Ouray Ice Park, Precious Collins, Rhianna Carel, Robin Duffy-Wirth, Rocky Mountain PBS (RMPBS), Shannon Spencer, Southern Ute Behavioral Health Department, Southern Ute Cultural Preservation, SunUte Community Center, Yllana-Chanelle Howe