Sweet Summer Pow Wow : Review

We take a look at Sweet Summer Pow Wow. A sweet, romantic and aspirational drama and romance about two 17 year old indigenous Native Canadians Jinny (Tatyana Rose Baptiste) and Riley (Joshua Odjick).

They meet at a traditional summer festival which is important to their native culture, while dealing with the pressures of the community, tradition and families they come from over a summer to fall in love, even though they come from totally different dynamics and backgrounds in their native communities.

Jinny is the daughter of Cara ( Tanis Parenteau) a celebrated Chief of their tribe, a Lawyer and champion to the cause Native Canadians, a legend in the community and extremely well respected. Jinny at times finds the weight of her mothers legacy and expectations are heavy a crown to carry at times.

Aspirations

Her mother wants her to become a Lawyer so has prepared her since she was a child to succeed in life, but Jinny’s secret gift is that she is a talented dancer and has kept this secret. Riley is a gifted Clothes designer, whose dream it is to own his own indigenous fashion label, but he does not have a great father figure in the form of Miles played by Trevor Carroll.

Ever since his mother passed away when he was younger his father became an alcoholic, abusive and constantly fighting his demons while Riley has had to at times fend for himself and rely on his uncle for support. When Jinny and Riley meet, there is an instant connection that they both struggle to resist, they are both two individuals who give each other the courage to go out and achieve their dreams in the face of opposition and tension from family and community. They are 2 sides of the same coin as the summer continues they both realise that how they go on to view the world and their futures will never be the same again.

It is a story of following your purpose, trusting your instincts and being true to yourself on life’s journey which is not black & white. Writer and director Darrell Dennis balances the modern struggles challenges and family dynamics of the Native Canadian against the innocent love of a young indigenous couples experience.

I really admired the cinematography as it caught the beautiful colours and culture of North American Indigenous culture of the USA and Canada, from the traditional clothing to the dancing and more, something which I have enjoyed that we are beginning to get far more organic stories on the small and big screens of Film and Television.

The New Generation of Indigenous Talent

There is a long way to go but we are going in the right direction, with so many young actors from the indigenous community coming to prominence such as stars and leads including: Tatyana Rose Baptiste (In the Blink of an Eye) and Joshua Odjick ( IT: Welcome to Deery), Amber Midthunder (Prey, Opus), Kauchani Bratt (Rez Club), Devery Jacobs (Marvel’s What If?, Backspot), Leenah Robinson (1923, Don’t Even-TV series) and many more.

Orca Cove Media

In an interview with Orca Cove Media, Tatyana Rose Baptiste whose from the Osoyoos Indian Band on Syilx territory, spoke about the film and her being of Native heritage (Below):

Tatyana Rose Baptiste-‘ I think a huge thing is the community that you are in. There’s a lot of protocols, there is a lot of traditions, that you have to follow, it’s for respect and it’s for love, the whole time, the whole process it felt more than just a film.’

Writer and director: Darrell Dennis whose also a Native Canadian from Secwepemc Nation in the interior of British Columbia, put together a talented indigenous cast of actors and crew including legendary Oscar-nominated Native Canadian actor Graham Greene (The Green Mile, Dances with Wolves, Maverick) and much more. His presence dovetailed nicely with the young cast with other experienced actors in the cast. The film will have it’s official world premiere on February 14th 2025, Valentines Day at The Victoria Film Festival 2025 in Canada.

Below is the official film Synopsis from The Victoria Film Festival 2025 website:

Sweet Summer Pow Wow

Love + Identity + Tradition

Directed by: Darrell Dennis

Canada / 2025 / 92 mins / Comedy Drama

Synopsis:

In Sweet Summer Pow Wow, Darrell Dennis offers a deeply personal exploration of love, identity, and tradition. 

Jinny lives on the Shuswap Reserve. Her diabetic mother Cara is the Chief and expects her daughter to get a law degree, return home. and follow in her footsteps. Jinny agrees to spend her last summer on the Pow Wow circuit with her mother. But Jinny loves contemporary dancing, not Native fancy dancing. On another nearby Reserve, lives Riley. His single dad is a drunk. Luckily for Riley, his Uncle Luke invites him to join his drum group on the Pow Wow circuit before Riley goes to live with him in Vancouver. This world premiere at the Victoria Film Festival follows this young Indigenous couple as they get a break from their troubled lives when they find each other through a summer of love on the Pow-Wow circuit.

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Sweet Summer Pow Wow will be shown this week at the Victoria Film Festival. The film will screen at Chemainus Theatre on 22 February 2025.