Peter Jones, Native American Tradition Bearer, is featured in “Tradition, Trauma & Tenderness.”

The CREATE Project has announced that its feature documentary, “Tradition, Trauma & Tenderness” has been selected for the 2023 Buffalo International Film Festival.

The premiere will take place at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, on Friday, Oct. 6, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The film is a meditation on the universal nature of trauma, and how traditions passed on in a tender, nurturing environment, can help heal and prevent trauma.” The film presents the experiences of an individual, family, community, and diverse cultures from around the globe.

Insights from psychological and neuroscience perspectives are interwoven into a series of stories that are both particular and intimate, while at the same time, reflect far-reaching issues and themes.

Producer and co-director Valerie Walawender will be present for to answer questions at the end of the film. (Co-director, Alex Simmons) Several individuals featured in the film will be there including famed Native American traditional artist, Peter Jones. Jones’ pottery is slated to be exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC and is part of a permanent exhibition at the Smithsonian.

The distinguished Dr. Audrey Hager, Ph.D. a neuroscientist specializing in physiological psychology and Assistant Professor at St. Bonaventure University, will also grace the event with her attendance.

The 2023 Buffalo International Film Festival features 150 short and feature films from around the U.S.A. and the world, Thursday, Oct. 5 to Monday, Oct. 9 at multiple sites.

Tickets are available through the website. The Buffalo International Film Festival (est. 2006) is a nonprofit organization that champions regional, national, and international films that push the limits of independent cinema – presenting quality films from around the world to WNY residents and visitors. BIFF is committed to amplifying diverse voices and exhibiting cutting-edge programming in narrative, documentary, and experimental film. A proud supporter of local filmmaking and the arts, BIFF provides Western New York audiences and visitors access to the very best offerings in contemporary local, national, and world cinema.

The “Tradition, Trauma, & Tenderness” documentary was previously selected to be part of the Stockholm City Film Festival and the Cannes World Film Festival. The documentary was funded by Arts Services, Inc. and Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation. The CREATE Project board of directors gratefully acknowledges a multitude of volunteers, agencies, and others who contributed to the making of this film, including The City of Dunkirk, Faithkeepers Montessori Language Nest, Warrior Flight Team, Clymer Central School, Native American Consortium, Chautauqua County Department of Mental Health Tapestry Program, Lori DeCarlo (Restorative Circles), Dunkirk Public Library, and others.

The CREATE Project is an arts-based community initiative designed to help communities become free of child-trauma, abuse, and neglect. The Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation is the 501-C3 not-for-profit fiscal sponsor for the CREATE Project.

Though the two organizations cooperate, they are separate entities and operate as such.