20 Feb Fritz Bitsoie, Native American Filmmaking

Fritz Bitsoie, Native American Filmmaking

(5 minutes of value)

Shal Ngo: Director

Navajo Filmmaker Fritz Bitsoie discussed his filmmaking style and struggle in sharing the stories of Native Americans. Here’s some takeaways.

Here’s the full video :

Romanization vs. Realism 

The openness and freedom of the Native American lifestyle is romanticized. But that puts modern Native Americans behind a panel of glass making modern native stories difficult to be told.

Fritz was passionate about sharing the modern Native experience as is. Not trauma dumping, or guilting, but reality. He wants to normalize Native American life, and inspire the younger generation. 

Fragility of the Navajo

Navajo language, and culture are making a comeback. Film helps, showing the younger Navajo generations the fragility of their culture and ancestry.

Learning How to Lose 

Sometimes the loss is inevitable. Sometimes the only thing you can control is showing up, and fighting. 

In the case of the Red Lake Nation, it came with their football team that always lost. The story is about this 20-year losing team and the bond that it created through loss. 

Fritz told their story. 

Specialty over Generalism

We think that we have to do it all, especially starting out. By cutting down, we extend our reach. Teamwork and trust are key. 

Fritz was a jack of all trades: producer, filmmaker, director, editor, too many hats to count. At some point he realized he should just stick to directing. He gave trust and narrowed his focus. His success followed.