“Frybread Face and Me” is a coming-of-age story set in 1990. An adolescent Navajo boy growing up in San Diego spends a summer with his grandmother on the Navajo Nation.

The coming-of-age drama follows a San Diego child sent to visit his Navajo grandmother on the Arizona reservation for the summer, forging a meaningful connection with his cousin during the stay.

We really can’t speak highly enough of Native American writer-director Billy Luther’s subtly compelling, richly amusing and hugely entertaining coming-of-age comedy-drama, which has already found a large and appreciative audience on Netflix.

I was born the same year Frybread Face and Me takes place, but that’s not the only reason I connected with its uplifting story about a young boy making the most of his summer vacation.

Billy Luther’s Frybread Face and Me is a more subtle coming-of-age story set on a Reservation, but brings the charm. Read on for our full review.

Billy Luther was exhausted on the Monday morning in mid-October when he spoke with Pasatiempo from his Southern California office about his debut feature, Frybread Face and Me.

Billy Luther’s coming-of-age tale follows a pair of very different Navajo cousins as they spend one life-changing summer together on the reservation.

An 11-year-old boy from San Diego goes to live with his Navajo grandmother and spends time with his cousin.

Albuquerque Business First sat down with Billy Luther to talk about the creative process behind “Frybread Face and Me” and how to bring more Indigenous filmmakers into high-budget productions.

I have to be honest. This movie was very familiar to me; sometimes it was too familiar. I am part Navajo and many times as a kid my family would spend time in New Mexico to visit my dad’s family.

After premiering at SXSW earlier this year, filmmaker Billy Luther‘s (Navajo, Hopi and Laguna Pueblo) narrative feature debut Frybread Face and Me hit the festival circuit and GLAAD has followed it since.