'Drums of Winter' film to be shown in Fairbanks
February 18, 2015
907-474-6941
2/19/15
A newly restored version of Alaska’s first documentary film to be inducted to the National Film Registry will be shown in Fairbanks as part of a statewide tour.
"Uksuum Cauyai: The Drums of Winter" was directed by Leonard Kamerling, the UA Museum of the North's film curator, and Sarah Elder, now a State University of New York film professor. Their work was named to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress in 2006.
The film was recently restored to its original cinema quality with support from the National Film Preservation Foundation and the Rasmuson Foundation. “The new digital restoration of the film is stunning,” Kamerling said. “It really brings the world of the Yup’ik dance house alive with amazing clarity and depth.”
The film focuses on the tradition and importance of music and dancing in Yup’ik culture. Over the summer, the Library of Congress held a special screening of the film at its theater in Culpeper, Virginia. “Drums” started its statewide tour of Alaska last fall with several showings in Anchorage and Seward. Other screenings are planned for Bethel, Emmonak, Nome and Juneau.
"Uksuum Cauyai: The Drums of Winter" will be shown in Fairbanks at the Davis Concert Hall on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. A question and answer period will follow. It will also be screened in the UA Museum auditorium on Friday, March 6, at 2:30 p.m.
TB/2-20-15/201-15