The Murder of two-spirited Fred Martinez is the focus of a new documentary that was recently accepted in the International LGBT Film Festival to take place June 18-28 in San Francisco. Titled
“Two Spirits: Sexuality, Gender, and the Murder of Fred Martinez,” the film interweaves the story of the short life and brutal death of a Navajo teenager with a penetrating examination of the two‐spirit tradition among American Indians.
The film reconstructs what happened on a night in June 2001 when one boy bludgeoned another with rocks, then bragged to friends that he had “bug-smashed a fag.”
Fred Martinez was one of the youngest hate‐crime victims in modern history when he was brutally murdered at the age of 16 in Cortez, Colorado.
Martinez was a male-bodied person with a spiritual essence that is feminine, a special gift according to his ancient Navajo culture. The film explores the life and death of a boy who was also a girl – two spirits – and the fluidity and spiritual nature of gender and sexuality. The film makes the case that people need to return to traditional American Indian values.
“We must raise $19,000 quickly in order to finish the film on time,” says Lydia Nibley, executive producer and director of the documentary. She explained the money is needed to “cover the cost of the audio mix, color correction, mastering and other technical details needed to finish the film and get it out widely on the film festival circuit.”
If you would like to make a financial donation, please contact Lydia@SYQproductions.net.
