Off the Rez

Director: Jonathan Hock
Total Running Time: 86 minutes
Release Date: 2011

Synopsis
The story of a Native American family in Oregon that leaves the reservation in pursuit of the American dream on behalf of one of their 8 children, a 16 year‐old girl who is one of the best high school basketball players in the country. Four generations of strong Native American women from the Umatilla Nation struggle together to preserve their traditions in the unforgiving world of big‐time American high school sports. Shoni Schimmel was a high‐school junior living on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, the star basketball player on the local team. Then Shoni’s mother, Ceci Moses, took a job coaching a high school team in Portland, and against the wishes of her own mother and grandmother on the “Rez,” Ceci brought Shoni and her seven other children with her. Now, Shoni’s senior year has become the most important year of their lives as mother and daughter fight to prove that Native American women can become champions off the Rez. In daring to break the cycle of despair and unfulfilled talent on the Rez, Shoni and Ceci can become an example of pride and inspiration to their People, while opening the eyes of all Americans to their story. The film of their lives is an unforgettable tale of a Native American fight for the American Dream.

Awards
2011 Tribeca Film Festival – World Premiere
2011 Louisville’s International Festival of Film
2011 American Indian Film Festival – San Francisco, CA
2012 Red Nation Film Festival
2012 Athena Film Festival – Barnard College
2012 Festival of Native Film and Culture – Agua Caliente Cultural Museum
2011 Native Eyes Showcase – Arizona State Museum / National Museum of the American Indian
2011 Abbe Museum Third Annual Film Series – Wabanaki Nations of Maine
2012 National Broadcast on TLC

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