From award-winning director, Erica Tremblay, Fancy Dance tells the story of the bond between young Roki, played by Isabel Deroy-Olson in her feature debut, and her hustler aunt, Jax (Lily Gladstone). The film made its world premiere to a sold-out Eccles theater at this year’s Sundance Film Festival with the intent to spread awareness of the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, but also as a “love letter” to the often-marginalized heroes of these Native American communities.
Fancy Dance highlights these issues by taking place shortly before a mother-daughter Pow Wow Dance, or a Fancy Dance, when Roki’s mother (Hauli Sioux Gray) goes missing from the Seneca-Cayuga Reservation. Roki has been taken into the care of her mother’s sister, Jax, a queer, Indigenous Woman making ends meet by any means necessary, which often includes the two of them performing heists together. Despite law enforcement’s lack of concern in finding their missing mother/sister, CPS is now looking to displace Roki with her estranged grandfather (Shea Whigham). Taking matters into their own hands, Jax retrieves Roki from her grandparents and the two set out on a journey together.
Following the Fancy Dance screening, Gladstone, Tremblay, and Deroy-Olson visited the Collider Studio in Park City. While speaking with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, the three of them explain that the film was made for their communities as a way to spread healing and celebrate their heroes, and how important it was to see the film premiering to a sold-out crowd. Gladstone and Deroy-Olson discuss their instant rapport, the significance of maintaining levity and humor, and which scene was the most daunting. They also share alarming facts about the Cayuga language, as well as what a crucial role the traditional language and dances played in making the film.
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