Lily Gladstone's other Oklahoma film is coming soon to theaters and streaming: What to know

More than a year after Erica Tremblay premiered her feature film directorial debut, the Native Oklahoman filmmaker is experiencing some favorable momentum.

Helped along by the tireless advocacy of its star, Lily Gladstone, now a historic Oscar nominee and Golden Globe and SAG Award winner for the Oklahoma-made movie "Killers of the Flower Moon," Tremblay's "Fancy Dance" has landed a distribution deal that will put the acclaimed independent film in front of theatrical and streaming audiences.

"It's exciting news. We're very thrilled and relieved to finally be in this moment and to have the film have a perfect home and place in this world," Tremblay recently told The Oklahoman by phone.

Apple Original Films announced earlier this month that it has landed the global rights to “Fancy Dance,” a made-in-Oklahoma film that made its world premiere in January 2023 at the Sundance Film Festival.

The Native American family drama — which won best Indigenous feature and best narrative feature at Oklahoma City's 2023 deadCenter Film Festival, where Tremblay also was named an Oklahoma Film Icon Award winner — is set to bow in theaters and on Apple TV+ this year.

The exact dates for its theatrical release and streaming debut have yet to be revealed. But Tremblay will screen her "Fancy Dance" March 2 at the 14th annual Athena Film Festival in New York, where she also will host a panel titled “Decolonizing the Film Industry: Indigenous Women's Voices" and receive the inaugural Jaya Award honoring an Indigenous filmmaker from North America whose film focuses on a women-centric narrative with a compelling female lead.

Plus, the Sundance Institute just announced that Tremblay is one of eight storytellers selected for the 2024 Momentum Fellowship, which fosters professional growth for mid-career artists, providing a full-year program of customized support as well as an unrestricted artist grant.

"This kind of support is so necessary for independent filmmakers. I'm so grateful for this and so excited, now that 'Fancy Dance' has found its home, to be receiving this prize and (to be) able to really start thinking about what's next and really start thinking about what's the perfect application for these funds to keep the momentum," Tremblay said.

Who is Oklahoma Indigenous filmmaker Erica Tremblay?

Born in Stillwater, Tremblay is a member of the Grove-based Seneca-Cayuga Nation, situated in the northeast corner of Oklahoma. Although she grew up three miles across the border in Seneca, Missouri, Oklahoma has proven vital to her in telling stories through her own films or on the acclaimed streaming series "Reservation Dogs."

Tremblay, who has worked as a writer and executive story editor on "Reservation Dogs" as well as the hit show "Dark Winds," filmed "Fancy Dance" in her native state, where it was one of the first recipients of the Cherokee Nation Film Incentive that launched in early 2022.

Written by Tremblay and Miciana Alise, "Fancy Dance" stars Gladstone, who is NiMíiPuu, or Nez Perce, and Siksikaitsitapi, or Blackfeet, as Jax, a hustler scraping by on the Seneca-Cayuga Reservation in Oklahoma. After her sister’s disappearance, Jax kidnaps her niece (Isabel Deroy-Olson) from the girl's white grandparents and sets out for a powwow in an effort to keep what is left of her family intact.

Years before Gladstone was cast in "Killers of the Flower Moon," Tremblay was the first filmmaker to bring the Oscar nominee to Oklahoma. Gladstone starred in Tremblay's breakout short film "Little Chief," which had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

"I read the script, and it was just an immediate 'yes.' She's such a strong writer. She has such an impeccable voice that is delivered with such a light touch. And that's really hard to find in any filmmaker," Gladstone told The Oklahoman in a 2023 interview.  

The filmmaker and actor reunited for "Fancy Dance," which was accepted into the Sundance Directors and Screenwriters Labs in 2021. Along with the 2023 Sundance and deadCenter film festivals, the feature played many other fests last year, including BFI London, NewFest: New York's LGBT Film Festival and South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.

Plus, the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle awarded "Fancy Dance" a Special Citation for Achievement in Oklahoma Independent Filmmaking in its 2023 year-end best-of awards.

Tremblay, who lives in upstate New York, where she studies her Indigenous language, talked with The Oklahoman by phone about the distribution deal for "Fancy Dance," her future filmmaking plans, Gladstone's trailblazing Oscar nomination and more:

Q: It was more than a year after 'Fancy Dance' made its world premiere that the distribution deal was announced. Did it feel like a long and frustrating year?

I think it was frustrating to be given a set of standards to reach in order to have a pathway to an audience, then you reach those standards, and the doors just remain closed to you.

So, it was it was definitely a long year of trying to look for any viable pathway forward, and I'm so grateful to Lily Gladstone's generosity and all of her advocacy. We just kept pushing forward, and we knew that at some point, someone was going to recognize what we had and recognize the value of the film. We're so thrilled that it was Apple. They have such an incredible relationship with Lily and saw the film and recognized its potential.

Q: Are you excited that 'Fancy Dance' will get a theatrical release in addition to a streaming release?

A lot of people always assume that filmmakers, especially indie filmmakers, are really looking for that theatrical push. While I think that's great, along this process, for me, it was the streaming component that was always the most important, because when they do these theatrical pushes for indie films, it's often ... limited markets. And that's totally understandable, but, for me, I just wanted Native communities to get access to the film.

I wanted folks who might not naturally come to this story to be moved by it. ... The film will be available in living rooms across the world on that platform. That was the goal all along, and now we're here and it feels great.

Q: You've accompanied Lily Gladstone to a lot of 'Killers of the Flower Moon' events. How has it been for you to ride along with her on this journey?

I'm just so excited for her and proud of her and honored to know her. She's such a dear friend and a great collaborator. Not just for this project, but just across Indian Country, she recognizes the momentum in this moment that she's having. And she's scooping everyone up along with her and just taking all of us. And I think that just goes to show who she is as a person.

When she calls up and says, 'Hey, do you want to tag along?,' I'm always so thrilled because the easiest thing in this world to do is cheer for Lily Gladstone. ...

I will be just the biggest screaming fan watching the Oscars when it happens (on March 10). Just continuing to see her skyrocket, it couldn't be happening to a better person. So, it's really wonderful to get to watch from the sidelines on her big moment with 'Killers of the Flower Moon' and then also just to continue to collaborate with her on our film.

Q: Congratulations on the Jaya Award, which comes with a $10,000 grant. Do you have plans for that grant?

The only way we were ever actually able to make this film was with the support of institutions and grants like this. It's so valuable, and I can't say enough how appreciative I am to be the inaugural recipient. These grants help you pull the resources together to make your project more viable. As you're putting things together, you're able to hire people in certain areas: You're able to bring on casting directors; you're able to bring on graphic designers to help you put your pitch books together. ...

Hopefully, I'll be talking to you in another year or two with a new project that will really only be made possible by this sort of support.

Q: Are you hoping to continue to come back to Oklahoma to tell more Indigenous stories?

Absolutely. Whether it's been working on 'Reservation Dogs' or working on 'Fancy Dance,' for me, it just makes sense. It's also where my heart and mind go when I start to tell stories, because it's home for me.

I've got a few different things that are bouncing around right now, and definitely a couple of those are being imagined in the world of Oklahoma. Certainly, between working with the Tulsa film office and the Cherokee Nation, there are so many allies. There's so many places of support to help make the nearly impossible of getting an independent film made. So, yeah, I hope to be back to Oklahoma many more times in the future.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: What to know about Lily Gladstone's other Oklahoma movie, 'Fancy Dance'