The Business of Fancydancing

The Business of Fancydancing is a 2002 film written and directed by Sherman Alexie. It is loosely based on his 1992 book of the same name, a collection of stories and poems.

Plot
The film explores the tension between two Spokane men who grew up together on the Spokane Reservation in eastern Washington state: Seymour Polatkin (Evan Adams) and Aristotle (Gene Tagaban). Seymour's internal conflict between his Indian heritage and his life as an urban gay man with a white boyfriend plays out in multiple cultures and relationships over his college and early adult years. His literary success as a famed American Indian poet, resulting in accolades from non-Indians, contrasts with a lack of approval from those he grew up with back on the reservation. The protagonist struggles with discomfort and alienation in both worlds.

Seymour returns to the reservation for the funeral of his friend Mouse (Swil Kanim), a violinist, and Seymour's internal conflict becomes external as his childhood friends and relatives on the reservation question his motivation for writing Indian-themed poems and selling them to the mainstream public. The film examines several issues that contemporary American Indians face, including cultural assimilation (both on the reservation and in urban areas), difficult stereotypes, and substance abuse.

Cast

 * Evan Adams as Seymour Polatkin
 * Michelle St. John as Agnes Roth
 * Gene Tagaban as Aristotle Joseph
 * Swil Kanim as Mouse
 * Rebecca Carroll as The Interviewer
 * Cynthia Geary as Teresa
 * Leo Rossi as Mr. Williams
 * Kevin Phillip as Steven
 * Elaine Miles as Kim
 * Arthur Tulee as Junior One
 * Jim Boyd as Junior Two
 * Jennifer Elizabeth Kreisberg (billed as Jennifer Kreisberg) as Salmon Girl
 * Ron Otis as White Motorist
 * William Joseph Elk III as Tavern Father