The Cinematic Schematic

The deadCenter Film Festival has a history of shining a light on films made in Oklahoma about Oklahoma, and this year is no exception. Last night’s closing film was the Sundance Film Festival darling, Fancy Dance, from Oklahoma-born director Erica Tremblay. The film tells the soulful story of Jax, a Native American woman living on the Seneca–Cayuga Nation Reservation, who serves as a stand-in mother for her niece, Rokie, just before Rokie’s grandparents separate them. Fancy Dance received a standing ovation from the audience in The First American’s Museum Five Moons Theater before taking home the Best Indigenous Feature and Best Narrative Feature awards. Erica Tremblay is the 2023 deadCenter Icon Award winner, one of the highest festival honors. In this deadCenter 2023 interview, we talk with Tremblay about her experience bringing Fancy Dance back to Oklahoma. She shares her perspective on why representing Queer native women on the big screen is essential to understanding the urgent state of the Seneca-Cayuga