‘Frybread Face And Me’ Offers A Realistic Snapshot Of Life On The Navajo Rez

Flashbacks and family folklore are what gave life to “Frybread Face and Me,” the first narrative film from writer and director Billy Luther.
The fish-out-of-water dramedy starts when San Diego boy Benny learns he’ll be spending summer 1990 at his grandmother’s ranch in Navajo Nation instead rocking out at a Stevie Nicks concert.
Though “Frybread Face and Me” is a scripted feature, the director said the film was born from both his personal experiences and the impressions of his largely Indigenous cast and crew.
“This was a very nuanced world,” Luther, a Navajo, Hopi and Laguna Pueblo filmmaker, told HuffPost. “It was important to bring on Native people, specifically Navajo, into all areas of the crew because they understood what Grandma’s ranch looked like.”
“Frybread Face and Me” begins with archival footage and a voiceover that explains, “My grandmother once told me, in Navajo storytelling, symbols mean more than facts and time means nothing at all.”
That reminder lingers upon everything at Diné-speaking Grandma Lorraine’s (Sara Natani) ranch, where 11-year-old Benny (Keir Tallman) has his first mutton dinner, herds sheep and learns to weave with his pugnacious cousin Dawn (Charley Hogan).
A debate about drummers couldn’t be a better way to distinguish Dawn — grudgingly nicknamed “Frybread Face” — from her younger cousin, whose embittered Uncle Marvin (Martin Sensmeier) scorns as a “city Indian” early on in the film.
“Mick Fleetwood is the best drummer in the world,” Benny tells Fry, beaming down at his Fleetwood Mac shirt and bright swim trunks.
“Clearly you’ve never been to a powwow before,” she jeers, gripping a beat-up Cabbage Patch doll to her side.
“My grandmother once told me, in Navajo storytelling, symbols mean more than facts and time means nothing at all.”
Though different shades of misfits, Benny and Fry start to form a strong bond.
Finding the right people to craft such vibrant characters was a particular challenge for Luther, who began production mid-pandemic and had to take a leap of faith when it came to on-camera chemistry within the cast.
He leaned heavily on casting director Angelique Midthunder (“Reservation Dogs,” “The Curse”) and her deep network of talent while also heeding advice from executive producer Taika Waititi, who won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for 2019’s “JoJo Rabbit.”
He remembers the “Thor: Ragnarok” director telling him, “I know you have ideas of who these characters are because you’ve written them, and you want those kids to play those role the way you wrote them, but the best thing you can do is just let them be who they are and let them create this world.”
While Luther entrusted his actors with their characters, he also relied on the Native crew to make sure Grandma Lorraine’s ranch was an authentic snapshot of life on the reservation.
Lining the walls of her mobile home are portraits of Navajo bull riders and beauty queens alongside diplomas, handwoven blankets and rodeo trophies.
Outside, a shoddy fence tries to corral the sheep while Marvin’s shed sits feet away and is reserved for the use of “cowboys” only ― uncle code for “No Bennys allowed.” Light slips in through the roof of Grandma’s hogan, the traditional Navajo dwelling where she sleeps besides her loom.
By building the Santa Fe, New Mexico, set from the ground up and making sure there was Indigenous talent in every department, Luther said his team was able to make the ranch “feel like you were coming to Grandma’s house” every time the cameras rolled.
“Once you have Navajo in the crews, they understand how Grandma’s home looked,” he said of his and producer Chad Burris’ staffing decisions. “It wasn’t like we were trying to get it right; we did get it right because that was our life.”
Re-creating those summers on the reservation mattered even more to Luther after his grandmother, a weaver just like Benny’s, died the week before filming began in summer 2021.
“That was a moment where I said, ‘I have to tell the story,’” said Luther, who previously directed the documentaries “Miss Navajo” and “Grab.”
“Out of everything that I’ve ever written on page or any project I’ve ever had, this was the most important thing. I needed to tell the story because this is not just my story, this is her story.”
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Beyond his own family’s legacy, Luther also sees “Frybread Face and Me” as a bridge between young Natives and their ancestors.
“I hope there’s going to be some kid, some little Benny, some little Billy, that’s going to feel seen and going to have a story that represents who they are,” he told HuffPost. “If it touches one Indigenous kid, that’ll be my Oscar.”
Distributed by Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing, “Frybread Face and Me” is out now in select theaters and available to stream on Netflix.
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