Yada Yada
a film by Bennie Klain
Genre: Experimental Narrative
Run Time: Approx 8-minutes
Synopsis: Stan ‘The Man’ Henry is the brash host of a local Austin, Texas radio call-in show. On a particular September morning, he goes through his usual routine, calculating and filtering comments surrounding national identity and ownership. He finally meets his match when he tries to tone down the meaning of the words spoken by one Native American caller. In eight brief minutes, Yada Yada portrays one moment of historical reality and contrasts it with modern history in the making.
About Trickster Films
TricksterFilms makes modern-day fables that address and challenge cultural norms, tackling humanity with an irreverent twist. This Navajo-owned, Austin, Texas-based partnership spins incisive narratives that take audiences to refreshingly foreign, yet evocatively familiar, places and people.
Navajo filmmaker Bennie Klain is the founding partner and Chief Creative Officer with TricksterFilms,LLC based in Austin, Texas. A fluent Navajo speaker, Klain often incorporates the language into his work. In 2007 Bennie was selected to participate in Tribeca All Access for his work-in-progress documentary tentatively titled LOST TRIBES, and in 2004 he was a Sundance Institute/Ford Foundation Film Fellow for his feature script RELOCATION. Klain’s feature documentary, WEAVING WORLDS premiered at the 2007 South by Southwest Film Festival and was screened on American Public Television in Fall 2008. His short fiction film, SHARE THE WEALTH, had its world premiere at the 2006 Native American Film + Video Festival and aired on the acclaimed PBS series THE TERRITORY in 2009. Prior to that Bennie’s other short fiction YADA YADA premiered at Sundance 2002 and premiered on the PBS series, COLORVISION in 2004.
Bio – Bennie Klain
Navajo filmmaker Bennie Klain is the founding partner and Chief Creative Officer with TricksterFilms,LLC based in Austin, Texas. A fluent Navajo speaker, Klain often incorporates the language into his work. In 2007 Bennie was selected to participate in Tribeca All Access for his work-in-progress documentary tentatively titled LOST TRIBES, and in 2004 he was a Sundance Institute/Ford Foundation Film Fellow for his feature script RELOCATION. Klain’s feature documentary, WEAVING WORLDS premiered at the 2007 South by Southwest Film Festival and was screened on American Public Television in Fall 2008. His short fiction film, SHARE THE WEALTH, had its world premiere at the 2006 Native American Film + Video Festival and aired on the acclaimed PBS series THE TERRITORY in 2009. Prior to that Bennie’s other short fiction YADA YADA premiered at Sundance 2002 and premiered on the PBS series, COLORVISION in 2004.Klain was also co-producer and translator for THE RETURN OF NAVAJO BOY directed by Jeff Spitz, which premiered at Sundance 2000 and aired on INDEPENDENT LENS in 2001. Recently the film screened on Capital Hill in Washington, D.C. with a revised epilogue that was designed to spur public discussion about the environmental impacts of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation.
Click to read interview with Bennie Klain
Filmmaker’s Website
