Fancy Dance is a 2023 drama film directed by Erica Tremblay in her feature narrative directorial debut, from a screenplay by Tremblay and Miciana Alise. The film premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2023.
Since her sister’s disappearance, Jax (Lily Gladstone) has cared for her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) by scraping by on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma. Every spare minute goes into finding her missing sister while also helping Roki prepare for an upcoming powwow. At the risk of Jax losing custody to Roki’s grandfather, Frank (Shea Whigham), the pair hit the road and scour the backcountry to track down Roki’s mother in time for the powwow. What begins as a search gradually turns into a far deeper investigation into the complexities and contradictions of Indigenous women moving through a colonized world while at the mercy of a failed justice system.
The cast includes Lily Gladstone, Isabel DeRoy-Olson, Shea Whigham, Ryan Begay, Crystle Lightning, and Audrey Wasilewski.
Fancy Dance is set for a limited theatrical release on June 21st before arriving June 28th on Apple TV+. Watch the official trailer below.