LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� knows the gravity stories about what she calls the 鈥渆pidemic鈥� of have. But she also values humor in telling those stories.
In set for a limited theatrical release Friday and streaming release on Apple TV+ June 28, Gladstone plays Jax, who has cared for her niece, Roki, since her sister鈥檚 disappearance on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma. As the pair searches for their loved one and prepares for Roki鈥檚 upcoming powwow, they share moments of unexpected levity baked into the emotional story.
鈥淵ou would be very hard pressed to find any Indigenous person in North America today that is not touched by an element of the story very personally,鈥� Gladstone said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. 鈥淲e all know an MMIP (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person). It鈥檚 something that we all collectively kind of grieve and work to fix. 鈥� We stick together and we survive through it by being funny, by finding humor in it.鈥�
Newcomer Isabel Deroy-Olson, who stars alongside Gladstone as Roki, said the film鈥檚 humor helps the audience get through the heavier moments of the story 鈥� which was also true for the actors.
鈥淲ith all of us having a pretty similar sense of humor, we brought that behind the scenes, too, as a way to kind of lift each other up, and that鈥檚 so true in all of our communities,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e just we like to laugh with each other. Showing that both on and off screen was really important to us.鈥�
鈥淵ou have to keep joy, you have to keep laughter, and you have to keep our optimism in order to survive an ongoing genocide," said director and co-writer Erica Tremblay.
Named after Jacqueline 鈥淛ax鈥� Agtuca, who works for the National Indigenous Women鈥檚 Resource Center, Gladstone鈥檚 character grows frustrated with the lack of attention or care authorities put towards her sister鈥檚 case and turns to her community for help in the search. Gladstone said amplifying this kind of story on screen without it being 鈥渟hoved down anybody鈥檚 throat鈥� can inspire change.
鈥淏y being and embodying a character, a person who鈥檚 going through the steps of doing that work, you鈥檙e inviting the audience into that perspective, into that world where they get to learn about the jurisdictional loopholes and the inequities in society that are creating the obstacles for the characters they鈥檙e rooting for,鈥� she said.
鈥淵ou learn about that obstacle in a way that you have a desire to change it, instead of just hearing about it in a PowerPoint presentation or as a talking point on a news segment that you鈥檙e going to fast forward through because you鈥檙e more interested in what the score was for your team,鈥� Gladstone continued.
While movies and shows have broached the subject of missing Indigenous people before, they've often been criticized for coming up short in accurately and respectfully depicting the issue or don't reach a wide audience. Taylor Sheridan, co-creator of Paramount hit 鈥淵ellowstone,鈥� wrote and directed one of the very few widely distributed films about the topic with 2017's 鈥淲ind River.鈥�
ABC's 2022 drama 鈥淎laska Daily鈥� also explored violence against Native women and the lack of attention paid to their cases, but was canceled after one season. ABC had previously put out a Montana-set drama that premiered in 2020 and caught flak for centering on white victims instead of Indigenous women, who make up the majority of the state's missing and murdered population.
The estimates there are approximately 4,200 missing and murdered cases nationally that have .
鈥淔ancy Dance鈥� focuses on the lack of institutional support and jurisdictional issues that make solving cases of missing Indigenous people difficult. In another shift from its predecessors, 鈥淔ancy Dance鈥� does not show any violence against women on screen, a move that is often viewed as exploitative.
The film premiered at the in 2023, and despite critical acclaim, it had not been picked up by a distributor until over a year later. Tremblay said the filmmaking team didn鈥檛 see the offers they were expecting based on how they were 鈥渉itting the checklist of what it takes to make a successful indie film,鈥� but noted that the film landing on Apple鈥檚 streaming service is their 鈥渄ream ending.鈥�
鈥淭he lynchpin to the whole plan to get this film out into the world was Lily鈥檚 continued advocacy of the film and the beautiful moment that that she and all of the Indigenous cast and crew of 鈥淜illers of the Flower Moon鈥� had last year,鈥� Tremblay said. 鈥淟ily using some of that shine to aim at 鈥淔ancy Dance,鈥� I think was critical for us and we鈥檙e so grateful to be where we鈥檙e at.鈥�
Kaitlyn Huamani, The Associated Press
