Fred Martinez was a Navajo youth slain at the age of 16 by a man who bragged to his friends that he 'bug-smashed a fag'. But Fred was part of an honored Navajo tradition - the 'nadleeh', or 'two-spirit', who possesses a balance of masculine and feminine traits.
Direction
Nibley lets elders speak—no sensationalism, just witness.
Writing
Fred's own words, preserved, devastatingly alive.
Production
Intimate scale that honors without exploiting grief.
Director
Lydia Nibley
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Nadleeh people historically held respected roles as mediators, healers, and artists—European contact systematically suppressed this tradition through forced Christianization.
Fred recorded himself on audio cassette before his death; the film uses his actual voice, making his absence viscerally present.
US
