Lily Gladstone’s “Fancy Dance” is gearing up for its much-anticipated debut to a wider audience.
Following Gladstone’s impassioned support for the indie film at the 2023 IndieWire Honors, Apple Original Films acquired the feature. Directed by Erica Tremblay, “Fancy Dance” follows Jax (played by Gladstone) and her niece Roki (portrayed by Isabel Deroy-Olson) on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma. Jax embarks on a quest to find her sister, Roki’s mother, after Roki’s grandfather Frank (played by Shea Whigham) files for custody in her absence. Their journey becomes a poignant exploration of the complexities faced by Indigenous women navigating a colonized world while grappling with a flawed justice system, as described in the film’s synopsis.
The cast also includes Ryan Begay, Crystle Lightning, and Audrey Wasilewski.
Gladstone, along with Forest Whitaker, Bird Runningwater, and Charlotte Koh, serves as an executive producer for the film, which Tremblay co-wrote with Miciana Alise. “Fancy Dance” is a production of Confluential Films and Significant Productions/AUM Group.
Tremblay highlighted the challenges of finding a distributor for the film in an op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter, expressing frustration at the industry’s lack of support for independent Indigenous filmmaking.
Gladstone, who also sits on the 2024 Cannes jury, spoke passionately about “Fancy Dance” at the IndieWire Honors, describing it as the pinnacle of her career and emphasizing its importance in raising awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women. Despite its accolades, the film has struggled to secure distribution, a fact that Gladstone highlighted during her speech.
“Fancy Dance” is set to premiere in select theaters on June 21 and will be available for streaming on Apple TV+ starting June 28.
