Interview with director Billy Luther, and actors Martin Sensmeier, Kahara Hodges & Charley Hogan
As reported in Native Viewpoint, Billy Luther (Navajo, Hopi and Laguna Pueblo) is an award-winning director and producer known for his documentaries Miss Navajo and Grab as well as other successful projects.
Luther is celebrating his newest film, Frybread Face and Me, which premiered at the 2023 SXSW film festival. The film was written and directed by Luther and was executive-produced by Taika Waititi. Chad Burris (Chickasaw), the founder of Indion Group, is also a producer.
See related article: ‘Frybread Face and Me’ directed by Native American filmmaker Billy Luther, premieres at SXSW
Frybread Face and Me follows the story of Benny Lovell, a 12-year-old Navajo boy who grew up in San Diego and loves listening to Fleetwood Mac. When his parents take him to his Grandmother Lorraine’s sheep ranch on the rez in Arizona, he meets up with his cousin Dawn, who is called Frybread Face by her family.
The heartwarming film’s central theme is about two Navajo cousins, Benny played by Kier Tallman and Dawn, played by Charley Hogan, who both struggle to connect, because Benny is unfamiliar with the traditions and language of his Navajo community.
VIDEO: Frybread Face and Me: Interview w/ Billy Luther, Martin Sensmeier, Kahara Hodges & Charley Hogan
In this Native Viewpoint video interview, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Billy Luther as well as actors Charley Hogan, who plays the adorable Navajo character Frybread Face, Martin Sensmeier who plays Uncle Marvin, and Kahara Hodges, who plays Aunt Lucy.
According to Luther, his transition from documentary filmmaking to the narrative feature genre of Frybread Face and Me “was really natural.”
Luther also said the film was for all cultures. “It’s not just the Native audiences that are connecting to this. There are people from other languages and other cultures. I had a funder who said, ‘This really struck me because my grandmother spoke Portuguese and I couldn’t speak with her her whole life’ so, they didn’t connect. So I think for me, it’s a personal story.”
Actor Martin Sensmeier, known for his work in such projects as Wind River, The Magnificent Seven and 1883, kept it short and sweet regarding his character Uncle Marvin, saying, “I was excited to do it because I think every Native kid has that a**hole uncle. I just picked one of my uncles and played him.”
Charley Hogan, (Navajo), who plays the lead role of Frybread Face, says she related to her character as a proud Navajo, because she was a proud Navajo herself. “I related to Frybread Face because she is a proud Native as I am … As grandma’s referee, I am like that with my grandmother too. So it really matched my lifestyle.”
On the flip side to Sensmeier’s Uncle Marvin, Kahara Hodges plays the upbeat, gregarious and cheerful Aunt Lucy.
“As soon as I read the script, and I learned about Aunt Lucy and her role to the kids, there were a lot of parallels with Benny’s experiences and my own experiences,” said Hodges.
“I came into this film after having a baby just a year before. So as a new mom, I was embodying this nurturing, loving energy, and I felt like I was able to kind of bring that into my relationships with just all of the youth that I meet in general. And so I can just recognize the responsibility of being that tender loving and silly but serious kind of auntie. That’s the kind of Auntie that I am in real life.
Hodges also talked about living in both traditional and contemporary worlds, and as an Afro-Indigenous woman, how important she felt that other Afro-Native girls could see themselves on the big screen.
“Auntie Lucy is living in two worlds … she’s got these big dreams. She has a rez life and then she’s going into the city. She’s got these big dreams that aren’t necessarily just taking place on the rez. I asked Billy about doing curly hair because I just imagined a cute little Afro-Native girl with curly hair who is seeing this on the big screen and just — feeling seen — and just picturing themselves in that place.”
According to Luther, “I made this film because, you know, as a kid, like many people in you know, in this field, who are storytellers, you just didn’t see yourself.”
Some quotes were mildly edited for conciseness and clarity
Follow and use the hashtag #FryBreadFaceAndMe
SXSW Premiere information / Film Synopsis
It’s 1990. Benny is a Native American boy growing up in San Diego who plays with dolls and listens to Fleetwood Mac. Everything Benny thinks he knows about himself and his family is turned upside down when his parents force him to spend the summer at his Grandma Lorraine’s sheep ranch on the reservation in Arizona. There he meets his cousin Dawn— AKA Frybread Face, a pudgy 11-year-old vagabond, tough-as-nails tomboy. Benny has never met anyone like her, and he is equally intimidated and impressed by her knowledge of Navajo language and tradition. Benny is introduced to Navajo life on the Rez, and his unruly uncle Marvin. Together, Benny and Fry create a memorable summer.
Director: Billy Luther
Cast: Kier Tallman, Charley Hogan, Martin Sensmeier (The Magnificent Seven), Kahara Hodges, Sarah Natani
Screenwriter: Billy Luther
Executive Producers: Taika Waititi
Producers: Chad Burris
SXSW Screening Times:
- Premiere: Saturday, March 11, 6:00 PM, Alamo Lamar B
- Public #2: Monday, March 13, 4:00 PM, Violet Crown Cinema 2
- Public #3: Monday, March 13, 4:30 PM, Violet Crown Cinema 5
- Public #4: Friday, March 17, 6:00 PM, AFS Cinema
Vincent Schilling, Akwesasne Mohawk, is the founder and editor of Native Viewpoint. With nearly 20 years of experience as a Native journalist and former member of the White House Press Pool, Vincent works to uplift underrepresented voices in the world of media and beyond. Follow Vincent on YouTube.com/VinceSchilling, on Twitter at @VinceSchilling or on any other of his social media accounts by clicking on any of the icons below.
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