‘Frybread Face and Me’ Filmmaker Billy Luther on Native Representation in Hollywood and His First SXSW Film Premiere
variety.comJazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Filmmaker Billy Luther makes his narrative feature debut at SXSW on Saturday with “Frybead Face and Me,” executive produced by Taika Waititi.
Inspired by his childhood, the film follows a young boy, Benny (Keir Tallman), who has to spend the summer with his grandma on the reservation.
Luther, whose past work includes the documentary “Miss Navajo” and AMC’s “Dark Winds,” feels Benny’s story of learning about rez life and bonding with his cousin Frybread (Charley Hogan) has universal appeal in that it’s ultimately about being somewhere new and feeling alone. “You don’t have to be Native to connect to the story because everyone remembers being dropped off somewhere, and the story brings that familiarity,” Luther says.
Still, it was incredibly important to Luther to cast Navajo actors (he’s from the Navajo, Hopi and Laguna Pueblo tribes), a process that was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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