Source: Courtesy / ARRAY
Netflix and Array’s Frybread Face and Me is a must-watch film on Native American Heritage Day. The film captivated our hearts after an exclusive screening and director’s talk at Array Studios in Los Angeles’ historic Filipino neighborhood. Read more about the film and check out the trailer inside.
Frybread Face and Me first debuted at SXSW earlier this year. Documentary filmmaker, writer and director Billy Luther created his narrative feature debut with his rich and traditional culture in mind. Luther is of Navajo, Hopi and Laguna Pueblo descent and craved representation of his inspiring Native American roots to appear onscreen. Instead of waiting for someone else to give him the opportunity, he created it for himself.
The heartwarming, comedic and cinematic film Frybread Face and Me is a coming-of-age story that follows a Navajo adolescent obsessed with Fleetwood Mac and his cousin. Both from different worlds, they bond during a summer on their grandmother’s Arizona ranch, learning more about their family’s past and about themselves.
Frybread Face and Me stars Kier Tallman, Charley Hogan, Martin Sensmeier, Kahara Hodges, and Sarah Natani. It was executive produced by Taika Waititi, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (RuPaul’s Drag Race) when it was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival before Ava DuVernay‘s production banner ARRAY acquired it. The film has been fortunate to have a great deal of support ahead of its Netflix and theater debut today (Nov. 24).
Luther’s award-winning documentary work helped shape his narrative directorial debut. Frybread Face and Me is a scripted masterpiece that feels authentic and culturally relatable to all backgrounds but especially for the unrepresented Native American community of whom he’s proud to be. Billy has award-winning Miss Navajo and Grab as well as the short docu Red Lake under his film belt. He is also a writer and director for the AMC series “Dark Winds.”
For his narrative feature, Luther desired for the film to be a personal story, lending his own voice to the production. Though it is not a documentary, there are actual touches of home from his mom’s storage that were used to design the set for the movie.
Native American Heritage Day honors and celebrates American Indians across the nation. The day celebrates the vibrant cultures, traditions, and heritages while recognizing Native Americans’ many contributions. What better way to do that than to support this beautiful film, which reflects every piece of Native Americans rich culture.
Frybread Face and Me is now available to stream on Netflix and in select theaters.
Watch the trailer below:
Must-Watch: Netflix & Array’s ‘Frybread Face and Me’ Celebrates Native American Heritage Day was originally published on globalgrind.com
