How We Stand Showcase
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About
In How We Stand, writer-filmmaker Marie Clements follows three sisters through the long aftermath of the Native American Relocation Program that uprooted Indigenous families. Opening in 1950s Oklahoma, we’re introduced to a single mother (Cara Jade Myers) and her three young daughters. Drawn by promises of opportunity and stability, the family moves to Los Angeles, but their ambitions never materialize, and a traumatic event separates the girls. Twenty years later the sisters have taken vastly different paths: Jessie (Amber Midthunder) is a clinic doctor; Miranda (Alyssa Wapanatâhk) is an activist-turned-actor; and Janey (Isabel DeRoy-Olson) is unraveling under the weight of a trauma she’s never been able to name.
The historical drama carries heavy weight, but Clements doesn’t play it straight — magical realism and a satirical streak run through the film, including a sharp Hollywood western send-up. Each sister’s experiences or racism and institutional violence are unique, yet the three threads are tied together by a shared history that continues to shape their lives, even decades after the separation.
The historical drama carries heavy weight, but Clements doesn’t play it straight — magical realism and a satirical streak run through the film, including a sharp Hollywood western send-up. Each sister’s experiences or racism and institutional violence are unique, yet the three threads are tied together by a shared history that continues to shape their lives, even decades after the separation.
