US 2020, 122min Director CODY LUCICH
With thousands of protesters and hundreds of tribes at its peak, the 2016 resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock represents the largest indigenous resistance in history. Over the course of its many months, the protest movement was actually a series of movements within the movement. In this fierce, riveting, and nuanced chronicle of what happened at Standing Rock, Native filmmaker Cody Lucich, who was embedded in the movement, documents in a sweeping cinematic vision all of the major events, gives voice to the key players, and spotlights the critical importance of direct action. Re-centering Standing Rock as a distinctly Native American movement, Akicita: The Battle of Standing Rock takes its rightful place as the occupation’s definitive and most authentic account.