Filmography
O'OTHAM RHAPSODE
Directed and Composed by D.A. Navoti
2023, 20 minutes
O'OTHAM RHAPSODE (2023), a multimedia exhibition in collaboration with Jack Straw Cultural Center, depicts the lives and homelands of the Akimel O’otham, whose ancestral lands—named the Gila River Indian Community—are located south of Phoenix, Arizona. The word O’otham translates to people, whereas the term rhapsode comes from Ancient Greece to describe an orator of epic poems. What orates these visual “poems”—a collection of short videos—is atmospheric and symphonic music composed between 2022-2023.
LIGHTNING BALLET follows the beauty and intensity of Arizona monsoons, or a romanticization of it in three acts: first, the build up of a desert thunderstorm; next, the explosiveness of night sky “theatre;” and finally, its eventual decline into a new morn.
Flash warning: This video contains lightning and other intense flashes.
Credits: Music and videography by D.A. Navoti, and mixed and mastered by Daniel Guenther. Additional footage provided by Arshad, Realstock1, Mullermx, Lexlero, Jsirlin, BlackboxGuild, Sergii Mostovy, WeatherVideoHD.TV, and Canva Pty Ltd.
A major lunar standstill is a rare celestial event when the moon arcs further north than the sun every 18.6 years, and an ancient structure called Big House, or Casa Grande Ruins National Park, tracks this rare lunar occurrence. Big House was built by an Indigenous civilization of the Gila River Valley in central Arizona named the Hohokam around 1150 AD and was completed two centuries later. Then in the mid-15th century, the Hohoham disappeared without a trace. LUNAR STANDSTILL imagines Big House emptied of life yet still abundant with purpose every 18.6 years.
Credits: Music and digital art by D.A. Navoti, and mixed and mastered by Daniel Guenther. Additional animations provided by BlackboxGuild, VideoMagusAdobe, and Ravichander.
OCTOBER HEADLINES
Directed by D.A. Navoti
2021, 5 minutes
OCTOBER HEADLINES exams controversial news headlines from Indigenous Peoples' Day and the personal stories impacted by them, inspired by D.A. Navoti's 2018 experimental essay of the same name, Read the original experimental essay published by Cloudthroat (defunct). This project was produced with support from NDN Collective.