NY | The Americas Film Festival New York Presents "So Surreal: Behind the Masks"

Watch a feature documentary that traces the storied journey of Indigenous masks from the far reaches of Turtle Island (North America) into the hands of European Surrealists, influencing the work and worldview of some of the most well-known modern artists and writers of all time including Max Ernst, André Breton, Roberto Matta and Joan Miró – all while following the dramatic quest to return a mask that was brutally stolen from the Kwakwa̱ka̱ ʼwakw people on Canada’s northwest coast over a century ago. Part caper, part road trip, part spiritual journey, So Surreal: Behind the Masks follows Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond (Reel Injun, Red Fever) as he travels coast-to-coast and across the Atlantic and back, gradually piecing together this groundbreaking global story of influence, reconnection and restitution. Directors: Neil Diamond (Cree) and Joanne Robertson, Canada, 2024, 88 min.

Join directors Neil Diamond and Joanne Robertson, and Maria Galban, the museum's Collections Documentation Manager, for a post-screening discussion and Q&A.

Image: Ossie Kairaiuak (Yup’ik) of the musical group Pamyua dances a mask carved by Yup’ik artist Drew Michael. Photo by Glauco Bermudez, © Rezolution Pictures Inc.

The Americas Film Festival New York (TAFFNY) is a film festival that showcases premieres, award winning films, and classic works about the cultures and peoples of the Americas. The festival is a project of the Division of Interdisciplinary Studies at the Center for Worker Education of City College of New York (The City University of New York - CUNY), in collaboration with the Cervantes Institute of NY and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. This screening is presented in conjunction with the closing night of The Americas Film Festival NY.

This program is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Presented in collaboration with The Americas Film Festival New York.

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