‘Fancy Dance’
Erica Tremblay’s directorial debut Fancy Dance centers around Jax (played by Lily Gladstone), and her niece Roki (played by Isabel DeRoy – Olson), whose close bond becomes complicated after Roki’s mother Tawi goes missing from the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma. Determined to find her sister, Jax kidnaps Roki to help her with the search after she is placed with her white grandparents. Mindful of keeping their family and their cultural values intact, Jax sets their final destination as the annual state Powwow. The overarching themes of love and preservation of culture carry the story forward and make Fancy Dance sneakily emotional as Tremblay and her capable company of actors highlight the obstacles faced by Indigenous women everywhere.