Miss Navajo

Each year for the last 54 the Navajo Nation crowns Miss Navajo, a young woman who represents the ideals of traditional values and Navajo culture. Crystal Frazier, 21, lives with her family on the reservation in Table Mesa, New Mexico. She's a tomboy and a little shy, but something about the pageant captures her imagination and ignites a competitive spark. She begins to prepare by working on her talent, studying the language and, of course, figuring out what she will wear. As we follow her path to the pageant, we're introduced to former Miss Navajo winners who discuss what the title has meant to them. Everything culminates in the competition when Crystal meets the other contestants and they prepare to go before the judges. Though Miss Navajo follows a path blazed by other "competition" docs, in the end, it tells the richer stories of the struggle to hold onto a disappearing culture and the bonds that can unite across generational lines. Funny and heartwarming, this film puts beauty pageants into a whole new light. (DW)

Plays with Cross Your Eyes, Keep Them Wide (dir. Benjamin Wu; 18 min.) — At Creativity Explored, a drop-in art center for adults with developmental disabilities, art is a fact of life. In this well-crafted observation, the camera is a comfortable friend and the art and artists are just as serious and talented as any anywhere.