*Best of 2025* - Jazzy - Director Morrisa Maltz

In this follow-up to her award-winning film THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY, Film Independent Spirit Awards nominee filmmaker Morrisa Maltz's latest project, JAZZY, is an intimate portrait of Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux, a young Oglala Lakota girl growing up in Spearfish, South Dakota, from the ages of six to twelve. When Jazzy finds out her best friend Syriah (Syriah Fool Head Means) is moving, she is confronted with the pains of growing up and the realities of the adult world. JAZZY was shot over 6 years and overall, is a portrait of growing up, from a young girl into teenage-hood. The film is fictional but also written by Jazzy and her friend Syriah as they developed over the years and shared their experiences with us — as life happened to them. Jazzy and her peer group have dazzled us with the poetry of growing up and their ability to story tell as collaborators and actors in this film. The film explores the lives and ever-changing relationships of their peer group as they leave the dreamlike world of childhood behind. Director and co-writer Morrisa Maltz joins us for a conversation on how the idea for JAZZY fell into place during the filming of THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY, seeing the natural ability of Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux blossom, trusting that the chemistry between Jasmine and Syriah Fool Head Means would come across on the screen and knowing that she had a terrific production team that includes Lily Gladstone, Mark Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Jay Duplass, Jason Beck, and Bill Way to carry her across the finish line.