Scenes from the Glittering World
Three Indigenous youth come of age on the fringes of the Navajo Nation. Scenes from the Glittering World is a meditation on adolescence, trauma and the power of connecting with a homeland. Filmed at the most remote high school in the continental United States, at the farthest edge of the Navajo Nation, this film shares the stories of Indigenous youth as they grapple with ambitious dreams, their family responsibilities, and the isolated nature of their community — all while the school itself faces existential questions about its purpose and future.
Sprawling across more than 17,000,000 acres of Northeast Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, the Navajo Nation encompasses some of the country’s most desolate areas. On its fringes lies the most remote high school in the continental United States, home to students who are experiencing ubiquitous teen trials and triumphs, while simultaneously struggling through complications unique to their isolated community.
Scenes from the Glittering World follows three Indigenous students as they maneuver through the complications of adolescence in hopes of realizing their dreams, all while balancing the responsibilities of family, the realities of attending a remarkably small school with shrinking resources, and the spectacular, unyielding seclusion of the surrounding landscape. While the school itself faces existential questions about its future, the students grapple with their own personal narratives and community expectations. Granite Sloan is a 14-year old struggling to find purpose at school and at home after the death of his younger brother. Ilii Neang is a freshman, new to the school after moving from Las Vegas, who doesn’t know if her family and community will accept her if she openly embraces her queerness. And Noah Begay is a senior at risk of not graduating; lacking the proper academic motivation, Noah has found freedom, power, and connection playing Fortnite.
Scenes from the Glittering World is a meditation on adolescence, trauma and the power of connecting with a homeland – a poetic chronicle of daily life, set in the context of the Navajo community.