Storytelling for the Screen: “Fancy Dance”

The feature film directorial debut from writer and filmmaker Erica Tremblay, Fancy Dance (2023) tells the story of Native American hustler Jax (Lily Gladstone). Following her sister’s disappearance, Jax kidnaps her niece (breakout Isabel Deroy-Olson) from the child’s white grandparents and sets out for the state powwow in hopes of keeping what is left of their family intact. Featuring moving performances from Gladstone and Deroy-Olson, Fancy Dance is a love letter to the women and queer folks who work to hold Native American communities together in the face of ongoing colonial repression.

In this event, writer/director Erica Tremblay will join moderator Lisa Parks (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) for a post-screening discussion of Fancy Dance.