Screens for Teens: "Portraits from a Fire"

On Sunday, Nov. 20, Harvard Art museums presents "Portraits from a Fire," in English and Chilcotin with English subtitles, as part of their Screen for Teens series. Admissions is free and seating is first come, first served. The screening will take place in Menschel Hall and doors will open at 1:30 p.m. This award-winning, beautifully layered Indigenous film follows Tyler, a lonely teenager who spends his days filmmaking, vlogging his Indigenous Tsilhqotʼin community and hanging out with his grandparents. His father is physically present but remains emotionally absent from Tyler’s life for reasons Tyler cannot understand; that is, until he meets Aaron—a mysterious, charismatic and influential figure who encourages Tyler to showcase his most personal film about his mother’s disappearance to the community. This leads to a reckoning between past and future, life and death plus father and son.

The Screens for Teens series of contemporary and classic films is specially curated for teenagers in and around Cambridge. The selection, including both short and feature-length films, is meant to provide teens with an opportunity to watch work focused explicitly on their experiences. Covering a range of topics, emotions and nuances, these free films—depending on length and scope—will be followed by conversation with faculty from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.

Please see the museum visit page to learn about their general policies for visiting the museums. The Harvard Art Museums are committed to accessibility for all visitors. For anyone requiring accessibility accommodations for their programs, please contact the museums at am_register@harvard.edu at least 48 hours in advance.