While Riley Keough was working on Andrea Arnold’s American Honey in South Dakota she connected with a pair of extras, Bill Reddy and Franklin Sioux Bob, and after becoming friends, decided to make her directorial debut inspired by their lives on Pine Ridge Reservation. Co-directed with Gina Gammell—co-founder of their production company, Felix Culpa––the drama premiered at Cannes Film Festival last fall and will now arrive in theaters and on VOD on July 28. Ahead of the release, the first trailer has now been released.
Here’s the synopsis: “War Pony follows the interlocking stories of two young Oglala Lakota men growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation. At 23, Bill just wants to make something of himself. Whether it’s delivering goods or breeding Poodles, he is determined to hustle his way to the “American Dream”. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Matho can’t wait to become a man. Desperate for approval from his young father, a series of impulsive decisions turns Matho’s life upside down and he finds himself unequipped to deal with the harsh realities of the adult world. Bound by their shared search for belonging, each of the boys grapple with identity, family, and loss, as they navigate their unique paths to manhood.”
Luke Hicks said in his review, “War Pony marks directorial and screenwriting debuts for both Riley Keough and Gina Gammell, but also screenwriting debuts for Bill and Frank, who were encouraged by Keough and Gammell to tell any story they wanted through film. Which is to say nothing of a large portion of the cast and crew—Oglala Lakota and Sicangu Lakota citizens of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Rosebud Sioux Tribe—who had never acted or worked on a film before.”
See the trailer below.
War Pony opens in theaters and on VOD on July 28.