Cinematic Education – In Arctic Action.
Directed by Princess Daazhraii Johnson and Alisha Carlson. Director of Photography and Field Production by Maya Salganek.
A Gwich’in grandfather teaches his granddaughter how reciprocity is embedded in our lives. The northern lights warm the caribou; they feed and sustain us; we honor the connections, bringing new meaning and wishes for the next generation.
Produced by Nia Taro and Upstander Project as part of the Reciprocity Project: Season One; Episode One.
Pink Violet is a short film produced by the students of FLPA 271/431/498/499 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fall 2019. The film follows Dana, a theater-obsessed college student who goes to extreme lengths to get into the mind of her character. Her commitment scares her father, Jeffrey, and her friend, Jody, into believing that she is suicidal, pushing them to try to save her from herself.
“To Continue or Be Remembered” a film showcasing the work of perpetuating Alaska Native Arts at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Proudly presented by the University of Alaska Fairbanks FRAME Film Production Services in collaboration with KUAC-TV and the UAF Native Arts Center. Guided by Alaskan Native Artists Kathleen Carlo Kendall, Peter Williams, Joel Isaak, Marjorie Tahbone, and Da-ka-xeen Mehner, we discover the ongoing efforts underway to continue and expand Alaskan Native Arts such as fish skin and fur sewing, qupak design, and carving. Produced through the support of the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies. Directed by Maya Salganek. Edited by Keara Anderson and Keziah Anderson.
Broadcast as part of Native American Heritage Month on KUAC-TV in November 2019.
RT 25:54.
“Bodies of Water” is an exploration into loss, grief, guilt, and the confrontation of fear. The story follows Leona, a young woman who fails to prevent a tragedy. After her guilt drives her from home, she becomes involved with a vaudevillian performance troupe, through which she confronts her darkest fears.
Film Alumnae, Adrina Knutson, wrote the screenplay, “Bodies of Water” her final semester at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Adrina was tragically killed in a car accident in Tanzania while working on a documentary film in 2012. Faculty, students, alumni, and Adrina’s family collaborated to produce this film project in her memory.
The film is produced and directed by Maya Salganek, Associate Professor of Film/Video Arts in conjunction with current UAF Film students and support from the Department of Theatre/Film at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Film Reel Alaska Mentorship Experience – Film Production Training Program, and the Alaska Center for Documentary Film.
New Mexico In Focus, a Production of NMPBS
Published on Jul 19, 2019
July 19, 2019 – Correspondent Antonia Gonzales talks with producer Maya Salganek about a new PBS KIDS series about a 10-year-old Alaska Native girl, called “Molly of Denali.” The show weaves together literacy skills and Native values. It’s the first nationally distributed children’s television series to feature a Native American lead character. Salganek was born and raised in Santa Fe.
Episode 1303
What if we could say the right words at the right time, and save a life? “Power of Words” explores the ideas of childhood, memory, faith, and love to allow for healing and redemption. When Christina and David’s mother spirals towards suicide, only the power of words can save her from herself.
UAF Film and Performing Arts Alumni , Joseph ‘Waats’asdiyei Yates (Haida) from Craig, Alaska wrote the screenplay, “Power of Words” based on a true story. While in production, Waats’asdiyei also welcomed his first child into the world!
Script developed in course FLPA 231: Previsualization and Preproduction for Digital Cinema – Instructed by Maya Salganek. Produced in 2017 through the UAF course: FLPA 271/431 Film Set Production I/II – Instructed by Maya Salganek.
WARNING: This film contains depictions of suicidal ideation and substance abuse.
MOLLY OF DENALI, a new animated series that debuted nationwide in summer 2019 on PBS stations, the 24/7 PBS KIDS channel and PBS KIDS digital platforms. Produced by WGBH Boston, MOLLY OF DENALI is an action-adventure comedy that follows the adventures of feisty and resourceful 10-year-old Molly Mabray, an Alaska Native girl. MOLLY OF DENALI is the first nationally distributed children’s series in the U.S. to feature an Alaska Native lead character. Molly helps her mom and dad run the Denali Trading Post, a general store, bunkhouse, and transport hub in the fictional village of Qyah, Alaska. Each episode follows Molly, her dog Suki and her friends Tooey and Trini on their daily adventures in Alaska, from fishing to building snow forts to delivering a camera to friends on a volcano via dog sled.
MOLLY OF DENALI is designed to help kids ages 4-8 develop knowledge and skills for interacting with informational texts through video content, interactive games, and real-world activities. A foundational aspect of literacy education, informational texts are designed to convey information, and include written words, images, and oral language. In each episode, Molly’s life and adventures are enhanced, illuminated, and broadened by using and creating a variety of informational texts, including books, online resources, field guides, historical archives, indigenous knowledge from elders, maps, charts, posters, photos, and more. Molly also shares the information that she gathers through a vlog, offering short-form videos in which she shares aspects of her life in Alaska with kids in the lower 48 states and around the world.
Television Interview with New Mexico PBS – Molly of Denali – New Mexico Focus
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20413536/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt
Written and Directed by Kade Mendelowitz and produced by Maya Salganek Fall 2018 in the course: “Film Production I/Film Production II” – FLPA 271/431 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
“A Night for Conversation” is the story of William and Julia, a young married couple who seem to have it all, but there is a dark and unhappy side to the family – and Julia soon finds herself trapped in an abusive relationship.
Keeping University of Alaska Fairbanks students working on productions gives them hands-on experiences and a professional portfolio before they graduate from college. For this reason, I established UAF FRAME FPS – Film Production Services. FRAME (Film Reel Alaska Mentoring Experience) provides ongoing professional film services for researchers, programs, and students across the University of Alaska.. As an ongoing production company, we have worked with local, national and international clients, including WGBH, the National Endowment of the Arts, SAG-AFTRA, and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Should your project include video production needs, we can work with you to develop a comprehensive plan for grant submissions, curriculum development, or other components of outreach support. We have worked under NSF, NIH, and NEH grants, and provide outreach content, promotional videos, and long format documentary work, all while training our students in film production using an experiential practicum model. Students and earn credit and paid work experience while working with FRAME. Please visit our youtube link below for some of our recent production content.
In 2015 I launched the first Film Production Service company at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in an effort to marry the needs of the University with the education of our film degree students.
I serve as the Executive Producer of FRAME-FPS. FRAME established itself within a year as being nearly self-sustaining. We produce dozens of corporate and educational video projects over the course of the year with 3 staff, and 9 student employees.
We have produced content in contract with the National Endowment for the Arts, PBS (WGBH-Boston), Wildlife Conservation Society, and through grants funded by National Institute for Health, National Science Foundation, and National Endowment for the Humanities. We work across the state to deliver meaningful media for our client/partners.
Students in FLPA 231 :Previsualization and Preproduction for Digital Cinema are pushed to get ready to shoot their first film. They worked in production teams and each student:
Here are some links to a few of their sites:
Joe Yates and Daniel Walker: FBX Films
Janis Carney: http://jjanis44.wixsite.com/carneysshowhouse
Emily Moretz: https://emilymoretz21.wixsite.com/design/cloud-x
It’s been an incredible journey producing and directing the film Bodies of Water at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Each day the film has become richer and deeper, and the enthusiasm of the students has only grown through the weeks. Making art. What a gift.
One amazing evolution of UAF FRAME-Film Production Services is being able to connect with other programs of the University of Alaska Fairbanks system, and learn more what they do. Here’s an example of a FRAME project I mentored this spring with a film major at the helm.
The Emerging Scholars Academy prepares incoming, first-time-freshman for college, and provides 8 academic credits saving the average student over $1000 in classes.
Sometimes, you just need to do something different. Had a blast making this impromptu video with the talented Silver Jackson and OCnotes in Juneau, Alaska. My boy even got his first cameo!
Shot by Maya Salganek, Zak D. Wass, TJ Cramer, Nicholas Galanin, & OCnotes
Directed by Silver Jackson & OCnotes
Mister asks Leona if she fears anything…. must try a take of laughing… She is so terrified, so tormented, that the question itself is ludicrous. The “laughs in the face of fear” approach eases everyone into her space. She takes the upper hand.
Job 39:22
Leona is three different characters within Bodies of Water.
Leona is a child – confrontational, rebellious, but still a child.
After the death of Willow – Leon cuts her ties with her family -she is tired of being judged. She chooses to enter the world (reborn) on her own terms, but quickly gets drawn into another family – the troupe.
Finally- Leona births herself. The Water Cell as Womb into this persona – still stuck. Still reliving the tragedy, but finding freedom and even grace within it. As close to the edge of life as she can be. The edges of life – before birth-into death. In the water.
We Breathe Again Teaser #1 from Gwanzhii on Vimeo.
For centuries, Alaska Native peoples survived the harsh conditions of life in the far north, while their social, cultural, and spiritual practices thrived. In the 1900’s, the battle to claim Alaska and its peoples began, setting in motion disruptive changes that led to many painful inter-generational scars. In a landscape as dramatic as its stories, We Breathe Again is a documentary film that intimately explores the lives of four Alaska Native people, each confronting the impacts of historic and contemporary trauma.
Supported in part by ITVS and Visionmakers Media. Released on America Reframed in September 2017 as part of a National PBS broadcast. America Reframed. Season 5 Episode 12. Produced in part by UAF FRAME Film Productions.
https://www.amazon.com › We-Breathe-Again-Marsh-C…
We Breathe Again intimately explores the lives of four Alaska Natives who are determined to break free from personal histories of trauma and suicide.
See more about this project and download the discussion guide: https://www.webreatheagain.com/
In Conjunction with the Arctic Science Summit Week 2016 in Fairbanks, Alaska.
A curated evening of Arctic Cinema along with support from the Anchorage Film Festival and the Denaa Film Celebration.
March 12, 2016. Fairbanks, Alaska.
The Muse is a short film that follows the story of an artist as he learns to find creative inspiration through visits by a benevolent, supernatural entity. The Muse also brings forward a whimsical explanation for the seemingly random bouts of creativity that artists of all types are prone to experience, and the struggle to maintain that source of inspiration.
Written by Molly Putman, Directed by Christopher G. Tucker, Produced by Maya Salganek. Starring Mallory Smyth. Editing by Asmeret Payne. Original Composition by Trevor Adams. Produced with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Film Course 271, Fall 2014.
Directed by Graduate student, Jill S. Shipman, this film explores the relationship between international artist, Junko Yanagida, and Alaska Native artistic practices.
Junko was a MFA recipient in Native Art from the Native Art Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2016.
Produced as a student project in FLM 271, Fall 2015.
Jack (Daniel Ponickly) is a widowed “end-of-the-roader” struggling with his continued depression as he falls for Ruby (Antoinette Kalaj), a passionate environmental engineering grad student who is embroiled in a poisonous waste controversy that threatens to shut down the biggest industry in her state.
Directed by Zoe Quist for Film Reel Alaska Mentoring Experience (FRAME) 2013. Starring Misha Barton, Billy Zane, Daniel Ponickly, Antoinette Kalaj, Carrie Baker. Executive Producers Maya Salganek and William St. Pierre.
Produced as a part of the Film Reel Alaska Mentoring Experience (FRAME) film training program with UAF students on set under Keys as mentors. As an effort to grow and establish a competitive film industry for Alaska, FRAME developed to pair a public/private partnership between the University as a training facility and the film industry as producing partners.
Mining for Ruby is available through iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play.
In 2014 Fairbanks hosted the International Arctic Winter Games with athletes from around the circumpolar north. I curated the Alaska selection of films to showcase during AWG in collaboration with the Fairbanks Arts Association.
Schedule of Films screened at Arctic Winter Games included a special screening of Spirit of the Wind, which tells the semi-autobiographical story based upon the early life and rise to prominence of Native American dog musher George Attla, Jr. Attla was a leading star of the 1960s and 1970s in the sport of sprint dog sled racing. The general theme of the story centers around Attla’s rivalry with the other leading sprint competitors of the day, fellow Alaska Native Gareth Wright and Massachusetts musher Roland “Doc” Lombard, the preparations for an upcoming big race, and his first major race victory. Filmed in Fairbanks, Alaska in 1976, and released in 1979.
A special appearance of George Attla Jr. himself was part of the screening, during which time he reflected on his legacy, his current dog mushing programs, and the film.
Arctic Winter Games Film Festival and Local Performance Series
Monday, March 17- Friday, March 21
Pioneer Park Theater
Monday, March 17, 2014
1:00 Special Live Performance: Yukon Performing Arts Ensemble
1:30 Games of the Inua (Alaska)
Maya Salganek, Director. 19 minutes- An inside view of the World Eskimo Indian Olympics, guided by esteemed Alaska Native athlete, Carol Pickett. Played since time immemorial, we witness the challenge of these traditional sports, and the effort being made to pass the embedded knowledge of the games down to future generations.
2:00 New Gold for Alaska (Yukon)
Dennis Sawyer, Director. 50 minutes- Reports on the Third Arctic Winter Games in Anchorage, Alaska, where teams from the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Arctic Quebec, and Alaska matched skills in indoor and outdoor sports on ice and snow and in pool and gymnasium, with Alaska winning most of the gold medals.
3:00 Finding Their Own Dance
Robert Prince, Director. 60 minutes- This hour-long documentary tells the story of the Alutiiq Natives in Alaska and their mission to rebuild their culture after Russian and American imperialism nearly destroyed it.
4:00 Native Time
Sean Morris, Director. 9 min- An Inuit hunter from ages ago scours the barren landscape in search of food. An expert of this harsh wilderness he is prepared for absolutely everything… except this: a crosswalk in modern day Anchorage, Alaska. Ready to hit the button?
Documenting our Land: Diinah Kat Geegirinkhi – i
Matthew Gilbert, Director. 22 min.- Matthew Gilbert foregoes his professional career and stalls it in order to take his aging Gwich’in grandfather upriver from Arctic Village to visit ancient trails and ancient camp sites and hear him tell stories of them.
4:30 Blue Bead
Written by and Starring Naaqtuuq Dommek. 12 min- Blue Bead/ Suŋauraq is a journey of an Alaskan Iñupiaq student who carves her own life. Using Alaska Native carving traditions as a means towards self-acceptance she discovers her own vision through mask making and begins to heal from loss.
In Our Own Image: Alaska Native Doll Makers and their Creations
Leondard Kamerling, Director. 20 minutes- In Our Own Image: Takes viewers into the world of seven accomplished Alaska Native doll makers,where we learn first-hand about the traditional, cultural and financial realities of being a contemporary Alaska Native artist. Originally produced as part of the UA Museum of the North’s special exhibit, “Not Just a Pretty Face.”
5:00 Unipkaat (Our Stories)
Stephen Blanchett and Anna Hoover, Directors. 30 min.
5:30 Band set-up & sound check
6:00 Special Live Performance: Sabe Flores w/ Travis Burrows & Gary Westcott
7:00 On the Ice (Feature)
Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, Director. 96 minutes- Two teenage boys who have grown up like brothers go about their lives in the comfortable claustrophobia of an isolated Alaskan town. Early one morning, on a seal hunt with another teenager, an argument between the three boys quickly escalates into a tragic accident. Bonded by their dark secret, the two best friends are forced to create one fabrication after another in order to survive. The shocked boys stumble through guilt-fueled days, avoiding the suspicions of their community as they weave a web of deceit. With their future in the balance, they are forced to explore the limits of friendship and honor.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
2:00 Yukon- Short Film Series
A selection of short films which highlight flora, fauna, research, culture in the Yukon. Contributed by AWG Yukon Contingent.
4:00 Fantastic Tundra Journey
A Russian film Contributed by AWG Yamal Contingent.
5:00 Tradition in Tune
Sarah Becher, Director. 17 minutes- This is an Athabascan Fiddle Association promotional film. It includes interviews, live performances, and dancing from the 30th Athabascan Fiddle Festival.
5:30 Introduction of Special Guest George Attla
6:00 Spirit of the Wind
George Attla, Director. 98 minutes – The movie is a semi-autobiographical story based upon the early life and rise to prominence of Native American dog musher George Attla, Jr. Attla was a leading star of the 1960s and 1970s in the sport of sprint dog sled racing. The general theme of the story centers around Attla’s rivalry with the other leading sprint competitors of the day, fellow Alaska Native Gareth Wright and Massachusetts musher Roland “Doc” Lombard, the preparations for an upcoming big race, and his first major race victory. Filmed in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Suŋauraq/ Blue Bead is a journey of an Alaskan Iñupiaq student who carves her own life. Using Alaska Native carving traditions as a means towards self acceptance , she discovers her own vision through mask making and begins to heal from loss. Written by and Starring Naaqtuuk Dommek. Directed and Produced by Maya Salganek.
Ron Brower – Sila and Sungauraq in Iñupiaq culture from FilmUAF on Vimeo.
This video features University of Alaska Fairbanks Iñupiaq instructor, Ronald Brower, as he speaks about the concepts of Sila and Sungauraq. Both of these elements feature prominently in the short narrative film “Blue Bead/ Sungauraq” written and starring Naaqtuuq Dommek and produced by the University of Alaska Fairbanks class, “Let’s Make a Movie” – Film 271 during Spring 2013.
Cast
Lynn / Sungauruq – Naaqtuuq Dommek
Taata Charlie – Ron Brower
Professor – Sean Topkok
Aana Hannah – Elsie Eckman
Student #1 – Sandra Demmert
Student #2 – Hillary Lynn Presecan
Student #3 – Daniels Calvin
Student #4 – Alix Connor
Student #5 – Theresa Woldstad
Student #6 – Marina Anderson
Student #7 – Jacob Metoxen
Crew
Director/Producer – Maya Salganek
Writer – Naaqtuuq Dommek
First Assistant Director – Stephanie Sandberg
Production Designer – Sallis Koistinen
Camera Operator – Dj Tyson
Editor – Shawn W.
Storyboard Artist – Lindsey Von Borstel
Production Audio – Johnny Stickman
Script Supervisor – Fionna Fadum
Location Manager/Production Management – Brian Wooster
2nd Unit Camera – Robert “Gonzo” Gonzales, Shawn W.
Iñupiaq Translation by Ronald Brower
Original music performed by Joel Forbes and Naaqtuuq Dommek
Self-Portrait Mask carved by Da-ka-xeen Mehner
Wind Masks carved by Joel Isaak
Slide show images provided with permission from the UA Museum of the North
SPECIAL THANKS
UAF Native Arts Center
Da-ka-xeen Mehner
KUAC-TV/AlaskaOne
UA Museum of the North
Angela Linn
David Boxley and Git Hoan Dance Group
Denny Mehner
UAF Technology Advisory Board
UAF Provost, Susan Henrichs
Copyright 2013 University of Alaska Fairbanks
ALASKALAND – a film by Chinonye Chukwu. Produced by Maya Salganek with the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
AlaskaLand tells the story of Chukwuma, an Alaskan-raised Nigerian struggling to balance the expectations of his traditional Nigerian parents and the larger world around him. After a tragic car crash, Chukwuma is separated from his younger sister, Chidinma, who moves to Nigeria with their Uncle until she becomes of legal age.
Two years later the siblings reconnect to find their estrangement has created new personal and cultural frictions in ways that bring them closer to each other and their roots, as well as help them define what it means to be a Nigerian in Alaska.
Chinonyne Chukwu (director) was a former student of mine at UAF, and worked on Chronic Town in 2007. Several years later, she returned to Alaska and shot her first feature film with UAF students on her own set.
See behind the scenes with AlaskaLand and UAF Film Students on set. Dedicated to Adrina Knutson and Chris Kern.
Sea ice plays a critical role in the global climate system and has a strong impact on ecosystems and human activities in the polar regions. With the recent urgency surrounding socioeconomic, geopolitical, and climate change in the North, the scientific community has called for an authoritative handbook on sea ice research techniques. This DVD was originally designed to accompany the text Field Techniques for Sea Ice Research edited by Hajo Eicken, Rolf Gradinger, Maya Salganek, Kunio Shirasawa, Don Perovich, and Matti Leppäranta, published by the University of Alaska Press, 2009. Now the DVD is available for separate purchase, augmented by additional resources for grades 6-12.
This DVD-ROM illuminates and expands on the text, allowing for a more sensory experience of the information in the book. The DVD provides an inside look into the world of sea ice research, discusses the concept of sea ice as a social-ecological system, includes extensive footage of the techniques described in the book, explores Native knowledge of sea ice with the voices of Iñupiat Eskimo elders and ice experts, tells the story of sea ice use and research over time, and includes helpful animations illustrating key sea ice processes and lesson plans for grades 6-12.
Cover illustration Camden Bay, Beaufort Sea, by David Mollett, © 1990
Student reflection on working on the film crew:
Maya Salganek 