Screening of the documentary 'The Doctrine' by Gwendolen Cates, part of the First Voices Festival, a celebration of Indigenous cultures.
The Plaza Theatre is screening The Doctrine, a film by Gwendolen Cates, on Friday, November 27, at 7 PM. It's part of the fifth annual First Voices Festival, an Atlanta-based celebration of Indigenous cultures.
The film follows a group of Indigenous teenagers from Minneapolis and St. Paul who travel to Rome to meet with Vatican officials and advocate for the repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery. It doesn't stop there, though—the story expands to include Indigenous activists in Aotearoa New Zealand, Guatemala, New Caledonia, and Puerto Rico, connecting the struggle across different continents.
If you've never heard of the Doctrine of Discovery, it's a term for 15th-century decrees issued by the Vatican that authorized conquest and colonization, codified racism and slavery, became international law, and were enshrined in U.S. law in 1823. The film argues that the Doctrine has targeted communities of color, sat at the origin of the transatlantic slave trade, and enables the corporate forces driving the climate crisis today. It's a heavy subject, but the film frames it through the eyes of those teenagers taking the fight all the way to Rome.
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The Doctrine features an original soundtrack by Pura Fé, and the screening is one of several events making up the First Voices Festival here in Atlanta. The screening is at the Plaza Theatre on November 27 at 7 PM.
