AN IDAHO FILM + FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL
Two days of film, conversation, storytelling, and hands-on tradition, exploring American and Idaho history in all its complexity: meaningful, difficult, unfinished, and shared.
History in all its complexity —
yours to explore.
This is not a pageant of easy patriotism. Roots of a Nation brings together a film festival and a folklife festival to consider how history is remembered, told, challenged, and carried forward.
American and Idaho history includes creativity, community, conflict, dispossession, endurance, and change. We aim to create a thoughtful public space shaped by respect, curiosity, and dialogue — one that honors the histories and cultures of Indigenous peoples whose stories are central to this land.
Two Events, One Weekend
Choose your way in.
Film Festival
Roots of a Nation Film Festival
Three curated film screenings — documentary, classic, and contemporary — each followed by scholar-led discussion. Films that ask hard questions about how America's story gets told, and what gets left out.
Folklife Festival
Roots of a Nation Folklife Festival
Live folk music, traditional storytelling, hands-on cultural demonstrations, and family activities. A free, open-to-all celebration of the living traditions of the Palouse and beyond.
This year's films
SCREENING 01 · AUG 28
1776
1972 · Musical Film
📅 Thursday, August 28 · 7:00 PM
The beloved Broadway adaptation of the Constitutional Convention, followed by scholar discussion on how the founding era has been mythologized on screen — and what that costs us.
SCREENING 02 · AUG 29
Sacajawea of the Salmon River Valley
2026 · Idaho Public Television
📅 Saturday, August 29 · 3:00 PM
Featuring a special appearance by Randy'L Teton — the Shoshone-Bannock woman whose face is on the U.S. Sacajawea dollar coin — discussing Indigenous representation in American culture.
SCREENING 03 · AUG 29
Train Dreams
2025 · Feature Film
📅 Saturday, August 29 · 7:00 PM
An evening screening followed by panel discussion with University of Idaho scholars exploring themes of American identity, labor, and memory.
Scholar Discussion Panels
The conversation after the credits roll.
Each screening is followed by a conversation with University of Idaho faculty and humanities scholars.
Dr. Russell Meeuf
Film Studies
University of Idaho
Dr. Rebecca Scofield
History
University of Idaho
Dulce Kersting-Lark
Public Humanities
University of Idaho
Featuring Special Guest Randy'L Teton, Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, author and model for the Sacajawea coin
Join us in Moscow this August.
Film Festival Venue
Kenworthy Theatre
508 South Main Street
Moscow, Idaho
Screenings August 28 & 29
Tickets required
Folklife Festival Venue
1912 Center
412 East 3rd Street
Moscow, Idaho
August 29 · 10:00 AM–2:00 PM
Free and open to the public
Thank you to these event sponsors and partners:
By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.