It’s red carpet time in Colorado Springs.

On Saturday night, One Nation Walking Together – a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of impoverished Native Americans on reservations – will sponsor the showing of a film that premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

“Songs My Brothers Taught Me,” playing at 7 p.m. in Armstrong Hall at Colorado College, is a drama about a brother and sister whose desperate lives on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota are rocked by the death of their absent, alcoholic father.

This will be more than an ordinary screening. The event will include appearances by director Chloe Zhao and film stars John Reddy, Jashaun St. John and Travis Lone Hill.

Why a film screening in Colorado Springs?

One Nation believes area residents will be moved by the film’s universal themes of family, substance abuse and teens facing important life choices.

And there’s the historic link between the Pikes Peak region and the Native Americans – specifically the Ute Indians, namesake of the Ute Pass Trail that became the route of U.S. 24 into the mountains. (The Utes are considered by historians to be the only Native Americans indigenous to Colorado and the last U.S. tribe forced onto a reservation in 1882.)

Tickets are $10, and all proceeds will go to support One Nation’s mission of helping Indians on 11 reservations in seven Western states.

But this is more than a one-time fundraiser. The screening is a prelude to next spring’s One Nation Film Festival, which will be a collection of feature films, documentaries, short films and more. It’s planned for April 8-9, also at Colorado College.

Saturday’s screening is such an important event that festival director Steve Kurtz is en route to Pine Ridge to bring some of the film’s stars to Colorado Springs.

“It’s an important film,” Kurtz said. “It answers the question I hear so often: ‘If things are so bad on the reservations, why don’t they all just leave?'”

He said film buffs shouldn’t miss a chance to see a movie that played in the prestigious Sundance and Cannes festivals.

“That’s huge for an American film,” he said. “The film has street cred, if you will. This is an opportunity to see a film that has some meaning.”

Don’t show up thinking it’s the latest summer blockbuster. We’re not talking superheroes saving people as massive earthquakes leave cities in shambles. This is more about relationships and painful decisions and meaning-of-life kinds of questions.

Critics certainly agree in the power of “Songs My Brothers Taught Me.”

Hollywood Reporter, as part of its Sundance coverage, called the film “stirring in its own quiet, unhurried way.” The review said it had “plenty of narrative incident, emotional depth and poetic imagery” as it explored its main themes with “poignant, often seemingly unscripted drama” in an authentic voice and a “refreshingly simple eloquence.”

It summed up the film in powerful terms.

“As harsh as the view often is, it’s underscored by strong notes of hope and of bone-deep identity.”

Variety magazine called it a “low key but ultimately rewarding slice of life of South Dakota reservation life.”

Both reviews dinged the movie for its sometimes slow pace. But they glowed about the acting and vision of director Zhao.

“This sparely plotted slice-of-life may be a little too low-key for some viewers, yet its poetic minimalism is atmospheric with eventual emotional payoff in some incisively written scenes and a surprisingly effusive wrap-up,” Variety said.

I know I’m hooked. It’s gotta beat the latest “Terminator” sequel. Maybe I’ll see you there.

A scene from “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” which will be screened at 7 p.m., Saturday, at Armstrong Hall on Colorado College as part of the One Nation Film Festival. “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival. It will be attended by actress Jashuan St. John, left, director Chloe Zhao and actor John Reddy, embracing a woman on the right. Courtesy photo.

Bill Vogrin – Side Streets

It will be a red carpet night in Colorado Springs on Saturday at the One Nation Film Festival screening of “Songs My Brothers Taught Me.” The film, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, will be attended by, left to right, actress Jashuan St. John, director Chloe Zhao and actor John Reddy. The trio is seen at Directors Fortnight in Cannes last month. Courtesy photo.