WA writer talks feature debut ‘Fancy Dance,’ working with Lily Gladstone

In the opening moments of “Fancy Dance,” we’re taken into a subtly mesmerizing scene of an aunt and her niece working by the water. With nature serving as the score, they settle into a rhythm that delicately transports us into a precious moment in time that may soon slip away. This is only the beginning as the film proceeds to immerse us in the lives of Jax (former Seattleite Lily Gladstone) and her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) as they navigate a harsh world after a family member goes missing from the Seneca-Cayuga Nation reservation in present-day Oklahoma. 

It’s a striking story told with grace and honesty, existing as a reflection of its Bremerton co-writer Miciana Alise (Tlingit). Drawing from her own experiences and studies while working with co-writer/director Erica Tremblay (Seneca-Cayuga), Alise said this ensured the film, currently making its way through the festival circuit, had greater depth and authenticity.    

“When we’re talking about stories like ‘Fancy Dance,’ there are things that writers like Erica and myself take into consideration that maybe another writer wouldn’t. Because I do have that background,” Alise said. “Besides just being grounded in my own Indigenous community, I have actual structured knowledge to be able to talk about these things.”

After meeting Tremblay at Sundance in 2019, Alise said they kept in touch, and a year later, during the early days of the pandemic, they began discussing working on a script together that would become “Fancy Dance.” (The film is screening as part of the ongoing Seattle Queer Film Festival.)

“I would write a scene, send it to her, she would write over it, and then send it back. Then we’d pick through it together,” Alise said. “It was just really cool to see how similar our experiences as Native women are because it did flow together so seamlessly. Even on opposite sides of the country and from two different tribes, that’s how common these experiences are.” 

After getting the necessary funding, including the Lynn Shelton “Of a Certain Age” Grant in honor of the late Washington director, “Fancy Dance” entered into production. It wasn’t always easy getting there. 

“I think people really aren’t used to seeing Native women tell their own stories. Especially when those stories are modern stories. Especially when those stories show them having agency over their own lives and not as a secondary character to somebody else. I think there are a lot of implicit biases that are lingering around what our story deals with and people aren’t maybe ready to face that head-on.”

Though Alise said she and Tremblay have shared frustrations that “Fancy Dance” hasn’t been picked up yet, with the director telling the Los Angeles Times back in July that they’ve yet to find a distributor who will get the film out in front of a wider audience, the most fulfilling part of the experience has been sharing it with Indigenous audiences as that’s where her heart is.

“Even if it never sells, we made it for the women who go missing and the women left behind who pick up the pieces. When those women watch this film, they feel seen. If that’s all we ever get, that’s all we ever need.”

As “Fancy Dance” has gotten more acclaim at festivals, including winning best narrative feature at this month’s Tacoma Film Festival, so, too, has Gladstone for her work on this film and many others. For Alise, getting to collaborate with her and then seeing her star rise to the stratosphere has been exciting. 

“To see her be recognized outside of our community is such a huge thing. … To me, she is one of those talents that is like a Meryl Streep. The camera just goes to her and you could study her face for hours,” Alise said. “I’ve never been prouder to be from the Pacific Northwest because Lily’s with us.” 

As for what’s next for Alise and her own exciting road ahead, she’s been collaborating once more with Tremblay on something new. 

“We’re actually working on writing another script right now,” Alise said. “I think we’re getting to a place where we can tell people pretty soon, but not yet.”