Fancy Dance movie storyline. 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 losing custody to Jax’s father 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, and at the mercy of a failed justice system.
Fancy Dance is a 2023 American drama film directed by Erica Tremblay in her feature narrative directorial debut, from a screenplay by Tremblay and Miciana Alise. It stars Lily Gladstone, Isabel DeRoy-Olson and Shea Whigham.
Fancy Dance had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, on January 20, 2023. Cercamon acquired its worldwide sales rights on February 16, 2023. It also screened at the 2023 South by Southwest. It also screened at the 2023 NewFest, where it held its New York City Premiere. In February 2024, Apple TV+ acquired distribution rights to the film with plans to release it later in the year. It was released in a limited release on June 21, 2024, prior to streaming on Apple TV+ on June 28, 2024.
Fancy Dance (2024)
Directed by: Erica Tremblay
Starring: Lily Gladstone, Isabel DeRoy-Olson, Shea Whigham, Audrey Wasilewski, Ryan Begay, Crystyle Lightning, Dennis Newman, Arianne Martin, Casey Camp-Horinek, Lillian Faye Thomas
Screenplay by: Erica Tremblay, Miciana Alise
Production Design by: Charlotte Royer
Cinematography by: Carolina Costa
Film Editing by: Robert Grigsby Wilson
Costume Design by: Amy Higdon
Set Decoration by: Tafv Sampson
Art Direction by: Sierra Revis
Music by: Samantha Crain
MPAA Rating: R for language, some drug content and sexual material.
Distributed by: Apple Original Films
Release Date: January 20, 2023 (Sundance), June 21, 2024
