The 2025 Dialogues Documentary Film Festival wrapped up for me on its third day, notably Autumnal, on Saturday. A good sized crowd came along for the journey to see SINGING BACK THE BUFFALO.
SINGING BACK THE BUFFALO is mostly about indigenous tribes efforts to reestablish buffalo herds into something approaching their historical free-range status after near extinction a century ago. Directed by Cree filmmaker Tasha Hubbard it’s told very much from an indigenous perspective stretching across the Great Plains of the United States and Canada.
It’s very much less confrontational than something like LAKOTA NATION VS. UNITED STATES, focusing much more on the ecological and spiritual relationships between the buffalo and the surrounding people and land. Told through oral retellings, animation, and narration the religious aspect of buffalo has rarely gotten this much cinematic spotlight. It’s enough to highlight the uniqueness of this film.
Less unique, but no less impressive, is the many shots of herds of buffalo roaming the plains. There’s always something magnificent about a species in their native environment, and a creature as large as the buffalo and in mass makes a striking series of images. There is a harmony between buffalo and the Great Plains and it’s evident on screen. In an era where environmental restoration is often a fraught, difficult journey, it’s a triumph to see significant progress being made.
It;s an inspiring story. But, call it the engineer in me, I’d have liked to see a little bit more on the difficulties facing the challenge. It’s hard to imagine a future with huge herds of free ranging buffalo. But a vision of what the future might be and a little bit more on what objections and challenges need to be overcome would have been welcome. It doesn’t ruin the movie by any stretch, but felt like a missing piece to me.
And that ends my journey with this year’s festival. The 2025 Dialogues Documentary Film Festival ran from September 18 to 21, 2026. Further information on the festival, and films that screened can be found at Milwaukee Film’s website.
