Cameras are now rolling on Indigenous-led coming-of-age feature Sweet Summer Pow Wow.

Principal photography on the film commenced in the Vancouver Island town of Duncan, B.C., last week and wraps at the end of August. The film is scheduled for a fall 2024 release, according to a news release, and will also be broadcast on Hollywood Suite.

Sweet Summer Pow Wow is directed by Darrell Dennis of the Shuswap First Nation, who has co-written the film with Katya Gardner. Orca Cove Media’s Harold C. Joe (Tzouhalem) and Leslie D. Bland (A Cedar is Life) are producers.

The film centres on a young Indigenous couple as “they get a break from their troubled lives” and “find each other through a summer of love on the Pow-Wow circuit,” said the release. Tatyana Rose Baptiste (In the Blink of An Eye), and Joshua Odjick (Bones of Crows) are the film’s lead actors.

Oscar-nominated Oneida actor Graham Greene (The Last of Us) is among the supporting cast, as well as Tanis Parenteau (Gossip Girl), Lisa Ravensbergen (The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story) and Joel Montgrand (Beans).

The film is inspired by Dennis’ experiences as “an Indigenous teen, traveling the Pow Wow circuit every summer.”

“Those days have impacted every aspect of my life and worldview, from first loves to cultural pride, to an awareness of the foundations of strong indigenous communities. This movie is a love letter to those days of Pow Wow and the resilience, beauty, and hope of Indigenous peoples and culture,” said Dennis in a statement.

Sweet Summer Pow Wow is produced by Orca Cove Media in association with Bell Media’s Crave, with financing provided by Telefilm Canada, the Indigenous Screen Office, and the Canada Media Fund.

Photos courtesy Orca Cove Media; (L-R): Darrell Dennis, Tatyana Rose Baptiste, Joshua Odjick, Graham Greene