

Catch Sky Hopinka’s poetic debut feature, “an essential portrait of contemporary Indigenous life” and recent New York Times Critic’s Pick.
Hopinka’s experimental documentary małni—towards the ocean, towards the shore follows two people as they wander through nature, the spirit world, and something much deeper inside. At the film’s center are expectant mother Sweetwater Sahme and Jordan Mercier, two unrelated friends of the director, who take separate paths contemplating their afterlife, rebirth, and death.
Accompanied by stunning cinematography and sound design, their journey circles around the death myth originating from the Chinookan people of the Pacific Northwest, and the film features dialogue in the almost-extinct Chinuk Wawa language. Probing questions about humanity’s place on Earth and other worlds, Hopinka’s film will have audiences thinking (and dreaming) about it long after. In Chinuk Wawa and English with English subtitles. (80 mins., video)
Sky Hopinka’s short films have solidified his reputation as one of the most exciting filmmakers working today; watch his distinctive short that screens as part of the Wexner Center Artist Residency Award project Cinetracts ’20.
Read more
- The artist’s website
- Critic’s Pick, “‘Malni — Towards the Ocean, Towards the Shore’ Review: Embracing Our Ghosts,” New York Times
- Review: “Mining Indigenous Myths and Languages to Contemplate Life’s Meaning,” Hyperallergic
- Interview: Sky Hopinka, Artforum
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małni—towards the ocean, towards the shore