“Frybread Face & Me” is a semi-autobiographical “Coming of Age Native” tale written and directed by Billy Luther.

The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Benny who is sent to a Navajo reservation to live with his grandmother against his will. However, the experience allows her to both connect with her family and help them get in touch with her Indigenous culture (via deadline). Benny spends much of the film working on his grandmother’s ranch in Arizona, raising sheep alongside his cousin, Fry (via Variety).

The project was one of 10 that were shortlisted for the 2020 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs, of which Luther graduated.

Like Luther’s other projects, “Frybread Face & Me” will explore themes of Indigenous identity, traditionally under-represented in Hollywood. Her first film was the documentary “Miss Navajo”, about a woman competing in a Navajo beauty pageant, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2007. This was followed by the feature documentary “Grab”, which explores the Grab Day tradition seen in the villages of the Laguna Pueblo reserve, when residents throw food and water from their rooftops at people standing below (via IMDB). In 2018, he directed the “alter-NATIVE” web series for PBS’s Indie Lens StoryCast.