Sky Hopinka | 2025 | USA | 88’ | digital | English spoken  

Artist and filmmaker Sky Hopinka’s second feature film documents a Native American powwow, a gathering where Indigenous people celebrate their culture through dance, song, and ceremony. Made over the course of several days at Seattle’s Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, the filmmaker invited dancers, drummers, and community members from across the powwow circuit to participate not only in the event, but also in the making of the film itself. 

Following participants as they arrive, prepare, and perform, Hopinka’s vérité-style camera observes the rhythms and textures of the powwow as it unfolds. Voice-over testimony intertwines with the presence of Master of Ceremonies Ruben Littlehead, whose guidance structures the flow of the day. Culminating with an extraordinary 30-minute single take of a Northern Traditional dance special, Powwow People offers a vivid, immersive portrait of indigenous culture, traditions and community.

Followed by a Q&A with Sky Hopinka