After its world premiere at the Inside Out Film Festival, BEING THUNDER will have its United States premiere at The Frameline Film Festival and will be available for audiences to stream from June 10 - June 27.
BEING THUNDER follows Sherenté Harris, a Two-Spirit teenager from the Narragansett tribe in Rhode Island, as he boldly challenges the status quo of what it means to be a queer Indigenous person in a world bound by binary gender roles.
After performing his whole young life as a championship eastern war dancer, following the path of his father, Sherenté Harris, at the age of 16, re-enters the traditional dance circle as someone he had been taught to hide; herself. Sherenté begins to honor the path of their mother through her style of dance. He is now a fancy shawl dancer. Sherenté is Two Spirit and lives as male and female asserting the right to present as both.
Wearing the female fancy shawl costume, Sherenté performs in dance competitions at various tribes’ pow wows. Behind his back tribal leaders manipulate scores or disqualify them outright because of a belief in traditional gender roles. In spite of being blindsided by ongoing dishonesty and deception, Sherenté continues to compete in the face of insensitive behavior from some members of the native community. Sherenté's enduring courage and self-respect are met with an outpouring of support from family members, pow wow attendees, and fellow dancers. His family's support and love present a moving view of what Two Spirit acceptance should look like, and can create a model for others to follow.
