Ways of Knowing: Immersive film @ IAIA Digital Dome
WAYS OF KNOWING is a short documentary film exploring the nuclear weapons legacy of the American Southwest through Indigenous storytelling and traditional ecological knowledge of the land. Following its premiere at the SXSW XR Experience, it comes to the Institute of American Indian Arts' newly-renovated Digital Dome for a limited run of immersive fulldome screenings.
Screenings on Friday 10/24 & Saturday 10/25 at 11am, 1pm, 3pm & 4pm. Seats are limited to 18 per screening, so RSVP is highly recommended. Join us each day at 2pm for a special filmmaker panel at the IAIA auditorium (no RSVP required)
About Ways of Knowing
Ways of Knowing is not just a film—it’s an immersive cinematic experience that places audiences inside the landscapes of Diné Bikéyah (Navajo land) to confront the hidden costs of uranium mining and nuclear history. This powerful project is a first-of-its-kind storytelling experience that reclaims the narrative of the American nuclear legacy through Indigenous voices.
Ways of Knowing celebrated its world premiere as an official selection at SXSW 2025’s XR Experience, where it screened as a 360-degree virtual reality film and transported audiences into the heart of Navajo lands, where uranium was extracted to fuel America’s nuclear ambitions—leaving a legacy of contamination and injustice. This fall, it will tour theaters, universities, and film festivals throughout the American Southwest to reach the communities that first inspired its creation. In October, it will premiere its fulldome format at Santa Fe’s Institute of American Indian Arts’ newly-renovated Digital Dome. It will also screen in ultrawide format at iconic venues across New Mexico: the Totah Theater in Farmington, the El Morro Theater in Gallup, and the SUB Theater at the University of New Mexico. In November, it will screen as a part of the International Uranium Film Festival at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, AZ and at a yet-to-be determined venue in Las Vegas, NV.
Following the American Southwest Tour, Ways of Knowing will tour Japan to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the WW2 bombings, screening in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Tokyo.
The American Southwest and Japan tours are made possible through grants from Agog: The Immersive Media Institute and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
“We were never meant to utilize the Earth’s sacred elements to destroy one another.”
– Sunny Dooley, Executive Producer & Navajo Traditional Storyteller
More info at https://waysofknowing.us