Fancy Dance

Erica Tremblay’s moving narrative debut, set on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma, focuses on Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson), a teenager whose mom has vanished, and her Aunt Jax (Lily Gladstone). With Jax’s custody of her niece under threat, the pair hit the road to search for their missing relative and participate in a nearby powwow. The hasty trip doesn’t sit well with local government officials or with Roki’s grandfather (Shea Whigham), who sets off in pursuit to disrupt their plans. With a sure hand and a light touch, Tremblay shines a light into the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women while telling a moving story of adolescence and maternal bonds. Highlighted by the two leads’ effortless charisma and a keen eye for the backroads and byways of rural America, Fancy Dance is grounded in cultural specificity and beautifully rounded characters.