EXCLUSIVE: Production is underway for Fancy Dance in Tulsa County, Oklahoma.
Based on a script by director Erica Tremblay & Miciana Alise, Fancy Dance was developed with the support of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, Directors Lab, Creative Producing Lab and Indigenous Intensive. Charlotte Koh for Confluential Films and Bird Runningwater are executive producers.
The film stars Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon, Certain Women) as a Native American hustler who, following the disappearance of her sister, kidnaps her niece from the child’s white grandparents and sets out for the state powwow in hopes of keeping what’s left of their family intact. Isabel Deroy-Olson (Shadow of the Rougarou) plays the niece.
“Building from my own experiences as an Indigenous and queer woman and drawing from the stories of my relatives, Fancy Dance offers a spotlight on the matriarchal bonds that hold our communities together,” said Tremblay (Reservation Dogs, Little Chief). “I am thrilled to be working with Lily Gladstone again and I’m so grateful to Confluential Films and Significant Productions for investing in me and Indigenous cinema.”
Deidre Backs, Tremblay, Heather Rae, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker at Significant Productions and Confluential’s Tommy Oliver are producing. Confluential is financing with additional support from AUM Group.
“Confluential Films is committed to telling culturally specific and commercially viable stories authentically and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with Erica, Miciana, and the rest of the incredible team to help bring Fancy Dance to the screen,” said Oliver, Confuential’s founder and CEO.
Fancy Dance is a recipient of production incentives from the Cherokee Nation Film Office and the Tulsa Film Fund. CNFO’s mission is to increase the presence of Native Americans in every level of the film and television industries, while creating opportunities for economic development and jobs in the Cherokee Nation. The tribe’s film incentive program strives to attract more film and TV projects to shoot within the Cherokee Nation reservation.
“The Cherokee Nation is quickly becoming the leading hub for Native storytelling through film,” said Jennifer Loren, director of Cherokee Nation Film Office and Original Content. “Fancy Dance features Native American talent and crew and delivers accurate, current and breathtaking Native imagery while focusing on important issues faced by Indigenous women, children and their families. We are proud to offer our film incentive and services to such an incredible project.”
“On behalf of Tulsa County and the Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts & Culture, we are thrilled to support this feature film with the Film Tulsa Fund, made possible by Tulsa County American Rescue Plan Act funding,” said Tulsa County Commission Chair, Karen Keith. “Tulsa FMAC has been working with producers since 2021, so to see this project begin filming in the area is very exciting. The funding supports job creation for local crew members and an economic boost felt throughout the county, which is the exact purpose of the Film Tulsa Fund and why Tulsa County continues to be supportive of the local film industry.”
