The Cinematic Schematic continues our special Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series. In part two of this ten-episode interview series, we speak with Native filmmaker, artist, and podcaster, Sterlin Harjo. We’ll talk with Harjo about how the shutdown of Hollywood impacted his creative process and TV pilot production before hearing about the three films that helped him get through 2020.

Special Guest

Sterlin Harjo

Filmmaker, Artist and Podcaster

Credits include Mekko, Love and Fury, and the upcoming FX series, Reservation Dogs

Follow Sterlin on Instagram @SterlinHarjo

Sterlin Harjo recently made headlines when his FX series, Reservation Dogs, also co-produced by Thor: Ragnorok and Jojo Rabbit writer/director Taika Waititi, was greenlit for a full season by Disney during the House of Mouse’s December investor briefing.

Raised in Holdenville, Oklahoma, Harjo is a member of the Seminole Nation and has Muskogee heritage. After studying art and film at the University of Oklahoma, he received a fellowship from the Sundance Institute in 2004 that led to the 2005 Sundance premiere of his short film, Goodnight, Irene.

Harjo has directed shorts, feature films, and documentaries including Four Sheets to the Wind, Barking Water, Meeko, and most recently, Love and Fury. 

According to Jo Light’s deadCenter 2020 review of Love and Fury:

In his second documentary feature, Love and Fury, Sterlin Harjo captures the versatility and passion in the world of contemporary Indigenous art. For over a year of filming, Harjo followed Indigenous musicians, poets, dancers, painters, writers, and activists to share their creativity and stories of grappling with various issues of identity, the past, and the future.Through Harjo’s skillful editing, narratives overlap, and the location shifts from New York to Oklahoma City to Paris and more. Somehow it all manages to feel like an ongoing conversation about art and self.

Tune in to the conversation to hear Harjo elaborate on his three film selections.

Sterlin’s Three Film Selections

Roma – Available to stream on Netflix

8 1/2 – Available to stream on HBO Max

The Long Goodbye – Available to rent or buy on demand

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