THE BLESSING | 74 MIN. | DIR. HUNTER ROBERT BAKER AND JORDAN FEIN

Personal and crucial, The Blessing – follows a Navajo coal miner raising his secretive daughter as a single father, struggling with his part in the irreversible destruction of their sacred mountain at the hands of America's largest coal producer. The Blessing is a feature-length documentary film, co-directed by the Emmy® Award winning filmmaking team Hunter Robert Baker and Jordan Fein. Written and Edited by world renowned Academy Member Editor Ricardo Acosta, C.C.E. (Marmato, The Silence of Others, Herman's House) , Original Score by Kevin Kiner, (Netflix's Making A Murderer and AMC's Hell On Wheels), and Sound Design by Emmy® Award Winner Joanna Fang (Cartel Land).  

Made with support from the International Documentary Association and the Points North Institute, and captured over the course of five years, the filmmakers join a Navajo family for some of the most deeply personal and important moments in the character’s lives, from a miner enduring a life threatening injury and confronting the deep spiritual sacrifice he makes to provide for his family. To a young Navajo woman discovering her inner identity and managing the expectations of her traditional father, while playing on the men’s varsity football team and being crowned homecoming queen.   

First and foremost a character-driven film, The Blessing will bring the search for acceptance to broad audiences through the unprecedented and intimate access the filmmakers have been given to this underreported social and environmental story on the Navajo Nation. 

"A UNIQUE FILM, OPENING DOORS TO A WORLD AND CHARACTERS AUDIENCES DON’T EVER SEE.
IT’S POETIC AND EMOTIONAL AND BEAUTIFULLY SHOT." 

Director Ramin Bahrani (Fahrenheit 451, Man Push Cart, 99 Homes) 

“An Emotional Powder Keg” "The film’s a nearly Shakespearean drama, one in which a deeply religious father is forced to choose between sacrilege (taking part in the destruction of his sacred tribal mountain) and feeding his kid"

- Filmmaker Magazine

WORLD PREMIERE: FULL FRAME DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL  APRIL 7th 2018

OFFICIAL SELECTION: FULL FRAME DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL, ASHLAND INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL, MINNEAPOLIS-ST.PAUL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, ARIZONA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, SANTA FE INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL, BEND FILM FESTIVAL, CALGARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, PLANET IN FOCUS FILM FESTIVAL, WOODSHOLE FILM FESTIVAL, CRESTED BUTTE FILM FESTIVAL, DOCSMX FILM FESTIVAL, PORTLAND FILM FESTIVAL, RED NATION FILM FESTIVAL, WILDLIFE & SCENIC FILM FESTIVAL, BIG SKY DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL, DC ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, DOC NYC , SEDONA FILM FESTIVAL, BIG SKY FILM FESTIVAL, MOUNTAINFILM TELLURIDE

AWARDS:

43RD ANNUAL TELLY AWARDS

WON, BRONZE TELLY AWARD

NATIONAL NATIVE MEDIA AWARDS (THE NATIVE AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION)

WON, BEST COVERAGE OF NATIVE AMERICA

BIG SKY DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL

WON, BIG SKY AWARD

DALLAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

WON, GRAND JURY PRIZE 

ARIZONA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

WON, BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

BEND FILM FESTIVAL

WON, BEST NATIVE FEATURE FILM