Ancient Way Film Festival

ATTENTION: DUE TO HEALTH CONCERNS AT GROUP GATHERINGS ALL FUTURE EVENTS OF THE ANCIENT WAY FILM FESTIVAL WILL BE POSTPONED TO A FUTURE DATE. HOPEFULLY SOON! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. Welcome to the Ancient Way Film Festival, a monthly showcase for Native American and International Films of all genres created by independent filmmakers from around the world. The festival shines a spotlight on Native American Films especially, and other film genres which are often overlooked by many festivals. We also offer young, student, and first time filmmakers the opportunity to present your creative work to an appreciative film festival audience. The Festival gives our community the opportunity to come together to view truly independent, high quality film productions from around the globe that you will not see in the commercial movie industry. Our monthly Ancient Way Film Festival event consists of 3 to 4 hours of short feature and feature length film selected from a wide variety of genres. At the end of each film, our audience rates the film on a scale of 1 - 10. In the following days the ratings are tallied and the monthly "Audience Choice Award" is announced. At the end of the current Festival Season, the ratings for all the films screened during the entire season are tallied, and the "BEST" Film Awards in each category are announced. About our Venue, El Morro and our Community: The venue for the festival is the Old School Gallery, an old country schoohouse converted into a community-owned art gallery, community event center and home to El Morro Area Arts Council. For 21 years The Old School gallery has been host to dramas, comedies, musical stage plays, concerts, music festivals, renaissance festival, may day festival, fiber arts festival, poetry fests, dances, bingo, Christmas market, art workshops and weekly yoga, tai chi, martial arts lessons, and a now Film Festival. El Morro is a very unique artist community that lies along the ancient trade route between the Acoma and Zuni Pueblos, known as the Ancient Way. El Morro Valley is home to a diverse "live and let live" community of creative, imaginative, homesteaders, artists, painters, poets, musicians, potters, gem traders, silversmiths, weavers, ranchers, organic farmers, photographers and amateur filmmakers. The El Morro Area is a tourist destination with El Morro National Monument, Malpais National Monument, Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. We are surrounded by a beautiful, wild landscape with the Zuni Mountains, volcanic cones, vast lava fields, 800+ year old Anasazi ruins, and the rich history and ancient culture of the ancestoral puebloans, Navajo and Zuni Pueblo Native Americans. For the history buffs... In 1540 the infamous Spanish Conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado passed through with his expedition of 400 European men-at-arms (mostly Spaniards), 1,300 to 2,000 Mexican Indian allies, slaves, four Franciscan friars, and a herd of a thousand cattle and horses. The Coronado expedition was in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. According to legend, the seven cities of gold could be found throughout the pueblos of the New Mexico Territory. They camped one mile west of El Morro at Inscription Rock and the oasis pool, which is now El Morro National Monument. 1 Mile from El Morro is the lesser known Atsinna Pueblo, an 800 year old, partially excavated Anasazi Pueblo fortress that lies at the top of the steep, high, Mesa. Atsinna had a central plaza surrounded by 870 rooms (on multiple stories) providing shelter for 1000 - 1500 residents. It was 2-3 times larger (in population) than present day Ramah, NM and larger in size than the better known Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon. After only 70 years of habitation, the people abandoned Atsinna and no one knows for sure where they went or why they departed. The mystery remains.