Flagstaff Indigenous Commission discusses collaboration with Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival

The Flagstaff City Indigenous Commission discussed a potential collaboration with the Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival’s Indigenous Voices program at its July 10 meeting, with commissioners describing several possible roles for the commission.

Commissioners said the festival’s board member Colleen Cooley and executive director Montana Gia invited the commission to help recruit indigenous filmmakers, to serve on selection panels for indigenous-themed submissions, and to staff a table at the festival to share information about the commission and recruit future members.

Commissioner Lance presented the request and said the outreach was an initial conversation to “start conversations” rather than a formal agreement; he asked commissioners whether they wanted to be involved. Commissioner Zavala and Commissioner Francis said they had prior experience reviewing films and working with filmmakers and expressed interest in participating. Commission members asked for clarification about the festival’s expectations for time commitments and roles before making a formal commitment.

No formal motion or vote was recorded. Rose (city staff) agreed to contact Colleen Cooley to gather more information and promised an update at the next meeting. Multiple commissioners volunteered to wait for Colleen’s input before committing to panel service or other roles.

The item remained a discussion matter; the commission did not enter into any formal agreement and did not adopt a city position or ballot action. Staff follow-up was the next step identified by the group.