2026 Get Indigenous Film Festival at Santa Fe Indian Market

The Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) has announced the official lineup for the 2026 Get Indigenous Film Festival (GIFF), taking place August 13–15 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Held in conjunction with the 104th Santa Fe Indian Market, GIFF serves as a dynamic cultural platform celebrating Indigenous film, storytelling, and contemporary practice.

Presented in partnership with the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (MIAC), and the New Mexico History Museum, this year’s festival is curated around the theme Facing the Wind. Inspired by bison moving directly into storms, the curatorial vision complements the broader Indian Market theme, Empowered Resilience: Centuries in the Making.

Out of nearly 130 submissions from Indigenous filmmakers across Turtle Island and beyond, jurors selected two feature-length films and seven shorts based on thematic resonance, craft, cultural integrity, and impact.

“GIFF exists to center Indigenous storytelling at its most honest and most powerful,” said Jamie Schulze, Executive Director of SWAIA. “The films selected this year reflect the full depth and range of what Indigenous cinema is doing right now.”

The 2026 festival features feature-length screenings including Maara’yam: The Yuhaaviatam Story, a documentary on sovereignty and cultural continuity, and You’re No Indian, a feature directed by Ryan Flynn and executive produced by Wes Studi and Tantoo Cardinal that explores tribal disenrollment. The program also includes a short film showcase and a high-level Saturday brunch panel, Capitalism, Commerce, and Continuance, featuring prominent leaders, scholars, and filmmakers.

For tickets and additional information, visit SWAIA.org/giff.