Anpa’o Locke is an Afro-Indigenous writer, filmmaker, and curator who is Húŋkpapȟa Lakota and Ahtna Dené (Village of Tazlina), born in the Standing Rock Nation and now residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico.She was a 2023 Native Lab Fellow and a 2022 Full Circle Fellow at the Sundance Institute, where she developed her upcoming short film Kawá, which follows an Afro-Indigenous teen reconnecting with her Native roots. Anpa’o’s work is dedicated to amplifying Indigenous narratives in cinema. In 2023, she co-curated Imagining Indigenous Cinema at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. This groundbreaking series highlighted over 40 films by US-based Indigenous artists in the post-Standing Rock era. She has also worked as a writer for PBS Digital Studios’ Sovereign Innovations and as an Associate Producer for Best Case Studios.

Her background in film extends to youth mentorship, having led media-focused training programs that empower Indigenous youth to use filmmaking as a tool for storytelling and activism. She holds a degree in Film Studies from Mount Holyoke College, where she developed a love for 35mm, Super 8, and 16mm film.

Currently, she is preparing Kawá for its festival run with the support of the Sinew Fund Grant through Racing Magpie, made possible by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts support. She continues to champion Indigenous storytelling through her creative and curatorial work. She is also a producer on Julie Takes a Walk, another film developed at the Sundance Native Labs. She is currently writing her debut feature film and preparing to shoot in September.