On the Tulalip Reservation, a young man confronts loss as he attends the funeral of a childhood friend. “In Spirit,” written and produced by Jonathan Salmon and Nathan Williams, is a reflective character study on a Native American man reckoning with the trauma of his people and within himself. Jared gets to the funeral home late but is able to pay respects to the remaining family. The mother of the deceased wonders why no one was there for her son when he most needed it; Jared asks of himself the same question. Placing its characters in a community with a long-standing history of hardship, it’s almost expected of one to succumb to the darkness. Jared’s relationship with another friend sheds some light on the prevailing coping mechanisms of the area (“this is the type of shit that happens here; you just gotta get used to it”), but Jared seems motivated to try another way. Minimal but richly rendered, the film is carried by a quietly affecting performance from the co-writer/producer, Williams.

Director: Jonathan Salmon. Writers and Producers: Jonathan Salmon and Nathan Williams. Cast: Nathan Williams, Marina Benally, Deborah Guerrero, Bobby Jeter, Ron Lukes, Chelsea Craig. Producers: Nathan Williams and Jonathan Salmon. 1st Assistant Director: Justin Jeffers. Director of Photography: Philips Shum. 1st Assistant Camera: Tavo Estrada. Gaffer: Lucas Chapel. Key Grip: Matthew Rush. Production Sound Mixer: Cody Campbell. Production Assistant: Keegan Ellington. Editor: Federico Conforti. Music performance by Deborah Guerrero. Sound Designer: Sean Higgins. Re-Recording at Synergy NW. Colorist: Stephen Derluguian. Featured Songs: ”On The Road" by Souf Souf & CheckTeam, ”Tell Me" by Bigfaceray. Original music by Deborah Guerrero.