2025 Special Screenings

Click here for the full 2025 MFF Schedule


THURSDAY, AUGUST 21 / Douglass Theatre

7:15 pm–10 pm (doors open 6:45 pm) 

TIGER, Directed by Loren Waters / USA
Special Guest: Dana Tiger

A portrait of award-winning, internationally acclaimed Indigenous artist and elder Dana Tiger, her family, and the resurgence of the iconic Tiger T-shirt company.

Loren Waters (Cherokee/Kiowa) is an award-winning filmmaker whose creative work spans directing, producing, and casting through her production company, Waters Media. Named to the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 list, Loren is also the Executive Director of the Lindy Waters III Foundation, where she is dedicated to serving Native youth and uplifting Indigenous communities. Her work has been showcased at esteemed festivals like Sundance, SXSW, and Hot Docs. Her Academy Award-qualifying short documentary film, Tiger, received the Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, along with 6 other awards on the festival circuit.

Dana Tiger is an award winning, internationally acclaimed artist. She is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and is of Seminole and Cherokee descent. Dana was just five years old when her father, legendary artist Jerome Tiger, passed away. She turned to his art as a way to know him and that engagement, coupled with the tutelage of her uncle, renowned painter Johnny Tiger Jr., exposed Dana both to the richness of her culture and to the bounty of her family’s artistic tradition.

REMAINING NATIVE, Directed by Paige Bethmann / USA
Special Guests: Paige Bethmann, Delmar Stevens

Ku Stevens (17) is the solo runner at his high school with no coach. Living on the Yerington Paiute reservation in Northwest Nevada he needs more to be seen by his dream school, the University of Oregon. As Ku trains, unreconciled emotions unearth the memory of his great-grandfather, Frank Quinn. At 8 years old, Frank ran 50 miles across the desert to escape an Indian boarding school. Frank’s story becomes interwoven with Ku’s journey to run a collegiate qualifying time. Will Ku outrun his history or will he learn to run in parallel with it to achieve his dreams?

Paige Bethmann is a Haudenosaunee woman and first-time feature filmmaker based in Reno, Nevada. Over the last 10 years, Paige has worked in non-fiction television for various digital and broadcast networks such as ESPN, PBS, Vox Media, Youtube Originals, USA, and NBC. Her directorial debut Remaining Native premiered at SXSW winning a special Jury Award and Audience Award. In 2024, Paige was named by DOC NYC’s 40 under 40 list of filmmakers to watch. 

Delmar Stevens is an enrolled citizen and former Vice Chair of the Yerington Paiute Tribe. Over the last 20 years he has served as a social worker for Child Protective Services for the State of Nevada. A strong community member, Delmar has stressed the importance of Native values and education by facilitating cultural workshops in his community. Delmar is a husband, father, and grandfather.

The Thursday Special Screening will be followed by an Afterparty at the McEachern Art Center to celebrate the exhibit Ocmulgee to Okmulgee featuring Indigenous artists Dan Beaver (Muscogee/Alabama), Carly Treece (Muscogee/Cherokee), Amanda Rutland (Muscogee/Seminole). All Access pass required, must be 21+.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23 / DOUGLASS THEATRE

7:45 pm–10 pm (doors open 7:15 pm) 

40 ACRES, R.T. Thorne / USA
Strong Language, Violence
In a post-apocalyptic world with food scarcity, a Black family of Canadian farmers, descended from American Civil War migrants, defend their homestead against cannibals trying to seize their resources.

Visionary, award winning filmmaker R.T. Thorne has emerged as one of Canada’s most eclectic visual storytellers since debuting on the music video scene over a decade ago. A versatile triple threat, he is a director, screenwriter, and producer focused on telling stories that break new ground representing the unrepresented.
In the fall of 2024 Thorne’s critically acclaimed indie debut feature film 40 Acres starring Danielle Deadwyler, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and was named one of TIFF’s top 10 films, before having its international premiere at the Red Sea Film Festival, and its U.S. premiere at SXSW. 40 Acres has been certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and had a limited release across North America through Magnolia Pictures in summer of 2025.
Known for his bold photographic eye, and character first approach, R.T. has directed for series at Netflix, Amazon, Disney, HULU, Skydance, NBC Universal, Warner Television, and The CW. His directing work has taken him to three continents, earned him multiple Canadian Screen Awards, Director’s Guild of Canada nominations, and Playback Magazine’s Director of the Year in 2023.
R.T. continues to follow his passion for storytelling, creating, and developing commercially viable filmmaking properties from diverse cultural perspectives.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 24 / DOUGLASS THEATRE

7:30 pm–10 pm (doors open 7:00 pm) 

BOY GEORGE & CULTURE CLUB, Directed by Alison Ellwood / Australia
Language, Adult Content
With humor, heart, and a lot of glitz and glam, Boy George & Culture Club is an endlessly charming documentary that dives headfirst into the chaos, charisma, and enduring bond of one of the most iconic bands of the ‘80s. Straight from the mouths of its four legendary members, Boy George & Culture Club is a love story about the undeniable fondness that flowed beneath the surface of these musical legends—and the drama and heartbreak in between.

Alison Ellwood is an award-winning documentary director, producer, and editor. Most recently, she directed Laurel Canyon (2020), a two-part documentary nominated for an Emmy Award, which tells the intimate story of the artists who sparked a musical revolution. The documentary The Go-Go’s (2020) won Best Music Film at the Critics’ Choice Awards. Alison has made numerous other documentaries and series.