Producer/Director: Gianfranco Norelli
This
unique and highly visual documentary shows an ancient, sacred Apache ceremony
that has never before been filmed. The Sunrise Ceremony which marks the passage
from adolescence to adulthood for young Apache women, is disappearing under
the pressure of cultural assimilation. This documentary focuses on 13-year-old
Maureen Nachu, who lives on the Fort Apache Reservation, in Whiteriver, Arizona.
It captures the elaborate preparations for the ceremony: the mystical rituals of the Medicine Man who presides over the dance, the spiritual purification rites in the "Sweat Lodge," and the secret midnight appearance of the "Crown Dancers." The Sunrise Dance is a tremendous physical test, lasting three days. It proves that Maureen has the courage and strength of character to take her place in adult society. For Maureen, her family and her community, the dance is a reaffirmation of tribal identity and the celebration of the role of women in Apache society.
Margaret Mead Film Festival, 1994
Festival dei Popoli, Florence, 1994
ALA Selected Films for Young Adults, 1996
American Anthropological Association, 1995
28 min. Video or DVD. Sale $295. Video rental $55.
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