By Anika Singh ’24
Staff Writer
There is something about Anpa’o Locke ’21’s visual art that compels, draws you in and makes you listen. Hailing from Standing Rock Nation in Dakota Territory, Locke is a firebrand of a filmmaker, ready to engage her audience with confidence and determination.
Locke uses filmmaking as a tool to be heard. As a film studies major, the representation (or lack thereof) of her identity in the field has always been of interest to her, and Locke presents these concerns undeviatingly in her award-winning film “Representation.” This film won in the Best Experimental Film category at the 28th annual Five College Student Film and Video Festival, which took place on Feb. 27.
“Representation” was one product of a Mount Holyoke fellowship meant to center Indigenous voices. Recounting how she catalyzed this film, Locke said, “This film was created out of the ‘Water is Life’ or the Standing Rock protests that took place, which is actually the place I call home.”
As a part of the fellowship program, Locke attended a retreat in Pennsylvania. At the end of that time, Locke said, “We were asked to create a film [to] process all of the things we had learned about Indigenous people and media representation, what we’d like to say to them. As I gathered my thoughts and feelings regarding my own experiences and the current state of [the] portrayal of my identity, this visual piece was created,” she added.
“Representation” is direct in presenting its goal, engaging the audience with its auditory appeal and engrossing the viewer’s conscience. One of the ways this is achieved is through the sounds of footsteps. This almost makes it feel as though Locke is physically beside the viewer as she speaks about the unequal representation of Indigenous people and culture in mainstream media.
“This film was more of a visual poem for me, despite it not following the workings of a regular poem,” Locke said, recalling the filmmaking process. “I wrote down what I wanted to say about Indigenous media and looked around at nature. I felt a connection to land and water and thought, ‘Nature itself is the best representative of Indigenous culture, as it is our sacred kin, something that has nourished me, my ancestors and ancestors to come.’ I wanted to gauge that when I made this film.”
True to her word, Locke uses the imagery of the nature around her to strengthen her words, connecting them heavily to one another. Through Locke’s use of various camera techniques, including panning to shots of nature, long takes, zoom-ins and handheld camerawork, the viewer is urged to pay attention to her concerns regarding Indigenous representation in mainstream media.
In the dialogue, Locke cites examples from mainstream media, such as Disney’s animated film “Pocahontas,” as having had detrimental effects on her Afro-Indigenous, Húŋkpapȟa Lakota and Ahtna Na-Dené identities. Locke uses her emotive voice to convey a clear message to the audience: She is tired of being ignored, and will no longer tolerate the intentional invisibility that the Indigenous community faces in their homeland. This is illustrated astoundingly in the last shot of the film, where Locke’s face is brought into focus from a blurred frame as a visual amplification of her powerful words.
“Filmmaking is therapeutic for me and acts as a means of escape, and it’s often forgotten how accessible it is in today’s digital age,” Locke mused when asked about her experiences in filmmaking. “Cell phones have changed the concept of filmmaking, and it’s interesting how even something as simple as a TikTok is some form of art being created. Art in the form of filmmaking can be used to create a visual platform that does not make me feel insecure. … Instead, I feel myself.”
Locke seeks inspiration from noteworthy filmmakers such as Edgar Wright and Taika Waititi, the latter being her main source of encouragement in his method of filmmaking. He incorporates his Indigenous identity into his films while appealing to the general public, which is one of the goals Locke seeks to achieve as a filmmaker. Wright’s editing and technical filmmaking techniques also inspire Locke.
“I love how Waititi uses reservation humor in his films, and that is something that I, as an Indigenous filmmaker, aspire to execute in my work as well. Wright’s ability to do visual comedy through cinematography is also something I would like to try in future projects,” Locke elaborated.
As the cultural center assistant for the Zowie Banteah Cultural Center, Locke is also heavily involved in Mount Holyoke’s Indigenous community. “I’ve taken a lot of jobs that focus on bringing in Native representation on campus, especially in [the Office of Admission], as I try and make new Indigenous students feel welcome here at Mount Holyoke. My priorities at the moment lie in fostering a better environment for Native students, both at MHC and at the other Five Colleges,” she said.
Locke has been associated with the annual Five College Film Festival for several years and even served as a juror a few years back.
“I think filmmakers are rather self-critical when it comes to their films, and I was simply waiting for the right film to submit to the festival,” Locke explained. “Seeing that the festival’s focal point this time was to amplify BIPOC voices, ‘Representation’ felt suitable to submit, and here we are.”