Wonkette Movie Night: Smoke Signals Smoke Signals, a film written, directed, and produced by Native Americans, follows Victor and Thomas on a journey to collect ashes, leading to revelations about their lives and heritage. Based on Sherman Alexie’s short stories, the movie was critically acclaimed, winning awards at the Sundance Film Festival for its sensitive portrayal of contemporary Native American culture, humor, and exploration of family connections. The film stars Adam Beach and Evan Adams, and director Chris Eyre was praised for his direction.

• Smoke Signals was written, directed, and produced by Native Americans, filmed on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation.
• The screenplay is based on Sherman Alexie’s short stories, The Lone Ranger And Tonto Fistfight In Heaven.
• The film centers on Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-the-Fire on a road trip to Phoenix to collect Victor’s father’s ashes.
• Smoke Signals won two Sundance Film Festival Awards: Filmmaker’s Trophy for Chris Eyre and the Audience Award.
• Director Chris Eyre was commended for his sensitive direction and the film’s depiction of contemporary Indian culture, humor, and family themes.
• Actor Cody Lightning, who plays Victor, recently made a mockumentary about a sequel titled Hey, Viktor!, discussing the portrayal of dysfunction within Indigenous culture.
• The film is available on Pluto TV and YouTube.