stories i didn't know
We are happy to announce that Stories I Didn’t Know will show on the PBS WORLD Channel during November 1-12, throughout the U.S. Our film will be on in 71% of tv households ! To check the airing date and time please check your local listing using the:
OR
or simply go to our Screenings page and use the station finder.
Stories I Didn’t Know will screen at the Hanifl Performing Arts Center in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, Oct. 11 at 7PM
The event is FREE and kindly sponsored by the Lakeshore Players Theatre company in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
Director Rita Davern, Dakota educator, activist and artist Ramona Kitto Stately and Dakota and Ojibwe recording artist Reuben Kitto Stately, who both feature in film, will be there for a post-screening discussion.
We are looking forward to seeing you in person!
To book a FREE seat click on the button bellow:
NOTE: Masks and proof of vaccination or a negative Covid Test are required for indoor events at Lakeshore Players Theater.
We’ve released Stories I Didn’t Know during a pandemic and we’ve never had the chance since then to get together the cast and crew to celebrate the successes of our film. We’ve seen each other plenty online but not enough in person.
Last Sunday, we finally managed to gather together most of the crew and cast for a small outdoor party. Some managed to join us virtually, some couldn’t make it but we were happy to have the chance to see and hang out with everyone!
On Monday, April 26, 2021 co-director Rita Davern, Dakota educator Ramona Kitto Stately and Dakota artist Reuben Kitto Stately participated in a panel organised by Alexander Valley Film Society alongside filmmaker Shane Anderson ( Guardians of the River) and Sammy Gensaw, Yurok Native and Director of Ancestral Guard (Guardians of the River), filmmaker Daniel Byers (Aguilucho: Dance of the Harpy Eagle) and José De Jesús Vargas González, Co-Director Panama Programs - The Peregrine Fund (Aguilucho: Dance of the Harpy Eagle).
The AMPLIFYING INDIGENOUS VOICES panelist had a thoughtful conversation around how to create more seats at the table for indigenous folx to tell their own stories and what can they as creators and allies do when funding and access to resources can be an issue.
Watch the full conversation down below.
Credit: Alexander Valley Film Society
Sunday, March 28 Stories I Didn’t Know co-directors Rita Davern & Melody Gilbert, Ramona Kitto Stately, Dakota educator & Reuben Kitto Stately, Dakota artist who are both featured in the documentary, participated in a discussion about the film and the many benefits of story sharing.
Thank you to everyone who attended the event and shared their thoughts about our film, participated in group discussion and sent lovely messages afterwards. We hope the film and the event has made you learn more about yourself and maybe even encouraged you to further explore or better understand a story in your family’s history.
If you attended the event and haven't yet filled in the feedback form, you can do so here: https://bit.ly/3fDDGKZ
A big thank you to Minnesota Humanities Center, TPT - Twin Cities PBS & Moving Lives Minnesota for organizing and moderating the event !
We can finally share with you a secret we’ve been keeping for awhile! STORIES I DIDN’T KNOW will air on TWIN CITIES PBS - TPT on
Monday, March 22 at 9 pm on TPT 2
Sunday, March 28 at 4 pm on TPT 2
On March 28 right after the film (5pm CST) co-directors Rita Davern and Melody Gilbert, together with Dakota educator Ramona Kitto Stately will discuss the film and the ways one can create empathy and understanding through story sharing.
To RSVP for the discussion event on March 28, click the button bellow:
More news about other broadcasts around PBS stations around the country very soon. Stay tuned!
Stories I Didn't Know is screening on the West Coast at San Francisco IndieFest between February 4 and February 21, 2021! Don’t forget to check out the Q&A and the short film “Hope's Home” by Yue Li screening alongside our film.
Tickets available here: https://bit.ly/SF-Indie-Fest-Tickets
We have so many interesting events to share that will take place during the first half of next year. The first one is a special screening of “Stories I Didn’t Know” at Minnesota Humanities Center followed by a community conversation with our director Rita Davern, educator Ramona Kitto Stately, and artist Reuben Kitto Stately.
Join us and Minnesota Humanities Center on January 14 between 6:30pm and 8:30pm for a lively discussion on “ how one person’s discovery of truth can create a significant positive impact on a personal and statewide level. Explore with us the transgressions made by the federal government and non-Native leaders and how together we can confront current systemic failures as we work to create a more just Minnesota.”
For those who have seen our documentary film, Stories I Didn’t Know, you may wonder, “Who is Ramona Kitto Stately, and what is she up to these days as an educator and leader?”
Below find Ramona’s profile, along with part 1 of a recent interview with Ramona and Rita about Stories I Didn’t Know. The interview comes from Inclusivi-Tee – a company committed to “co-creating a sustainable, kind, and equitable future through the sale of earth-friendly books and fashion, the organization of workshops and podcasts, and participation in strategic partnerships.”
Ramona Kitto Stately is an enrolled member of the Santee Sioux Dakota Nation. She has a BA in Dakota Art and Culture, and a Masters of Education with an emphasis on Teacher leadership from Augsburg University. After 15 years teaching Indian Education in Minnesota, she is now Project Director for the We Are Still Here Minnesota, creating action for narrative change. Ramona is the mother of two children, an accomplished beadwork artist with moccasins on display in the Science Museum of Minnesota, a part of the scholars' team with of the Minnesota Humanities Center’s for Learning from Place: Bdote and has served as the Chairperson of the Minnesota Indian Education Association since 2016.
Ramona Kitto Stately - Santee Sioux Nation
Project Director - We Are Still Here Minnesota (WASH-MN)
MA Education & Teacher Leadership
ramonastately@gmail.com / (651) 263-0942
"Fostering cultural, social, and policy change by empowering Native Americans to counter discrimination, invisibility, and the dominant narratives that limit Native opportunity, access to justice, health and self-determination."
Ramona Kitto Stately (Still from Stories I Didn’t Know)
Such a pity that we couldn’t attend Cucalorus Film Festival in person this year but nonetheless we had a wonderful time being part of it virtually! Thank you Cucalorus!
Climate Change Leaders (CCL) are an amazing group of farmers pivoting their land use to be sustainable and to help battle climate change. Members of this group saw Stories I Didn’t Know yesterday and had a private Q&A with director Rita Davern and Ramona Kitto Stately, a Dakota educator that features in our film. We want to thank this thoughtful committed group of land leaders for having a discussion with us about what reparations to Native nations might look like and discussing hard topics with one's family.
Read more about CCL's work here: https://bit.ly/3ii1cuA
Cualorus Film Festival shares early films for 26th annual festival and Stories I Didn’t Know is one of the documentaries announced!
Events for the 26th annual festival will take place online and at the Curbside Cinema drive-in
November 11 - 25 (Wilmington, NC). More details about our screening at Cucalorus coming soon!
Our outdoor screening at Moldox International Documentary Film Festival in Eastern Europe went well and even though we couldn’t be present in person at the event, we were grateful to be there via Zoom and chat with the local audience. Take a look at some of the photos from the screening below:
Stories I Didn’t Know was selected to screen at Moldox International Documentary Film Festival for Social Change on September 10 in the small country of Moldova in Eastern Europe. We are excited to bring the film to this corner of the world !
We are thrilled to be one of the 10 films showing at the BEST OF FEST - MSPIFF 39 Redefined.
If you missed our documentary during the festival’s virtual edition, you have the chance to watch it again starting Thursday, June 25. You will have 24 hours to finish watching the movie once you start viewing and must start watching the film by Sunday, June 28 at 11:59 pm in order to finish before the end of the screening engagement. Virtual seats are limited, so reserve a ticket down below:
Screenshot from the MSP Film Society website
