Why This Year’s Other Critically Acclaimed Movie Starring Lily Gladstone Hasn’t Been Picked Up (Guest Column)

In a year where Lily Gladstone is receiving accolades for her role in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, her other film, Fancy Dance, from Indigenous women filmmakers Erica Tremblay and Miciana Alise, has struggled to secure a distribution deal despite the filmmakers claims of meeting industry criteria for success. Hollywood’s limited perspective on Indigenous storytelling is evident in studies revealing the incredible disparity in speaking roles of Native Americans and non-Native Americans in film. The filmmakers stress the societal and commercial potential of Native-made films, pointing to some Indigenous gatekeepers opening up opportunities, and urge industry support for authentic representation.