"Words from a Bear:" Public masterclass, "Making a Sundance documentary"

Join filmmaker and new Cornell faculty member Jeff Palmer Thursday, Oct. 17 for a public masterclass,"How to Make a Sundance Documentary."

Palmer, whose film "N. Scott Momaday: Words from a Bear" was a 2019 Sundance Film Festival selection, will discuss visual storytelling and how to pair writing with work on screen.

Guests are welcome to stay after for a reception featuring regional southwestern food and a talk by Gus Palmer, PhD, "Indigenous Storytelling and Literature."

At 7 p.m., Palmer will host a film screening of "Words from a Bear," which journeys into the mind and soul of Momaday, Native America’s most celebrated author of poetry and prose. “Words from a Bear” visually captures the essence of Momaday’s writings and storytelling, relating each written line to his unique Kiowa/American experience representing ancestry, place, and oral history.

After the screening, guests can stay for a post-show discussion about the film, which will be released as part of the American Masters series on PBS Nov. 18.

This event is the second in the Arts Unplugged series, an initiative of the College Arts & Sciences that seeks to engage the arts in a public way. All of the events are free and open to the public but tickets for the film screening should be secured on Eventbrite.

5-6 p.m.: Masterclass: "How to Make a Sundance Documentary"

6-7 p.m.: Reception featuring food and "Indigenous Storytelling and Literature"

7-9 p.m.: Film screening and post-show discussion

Parking is available in the Dryden Road parking garage at 118 Dryden Road.