Written by Sherman Alexie, drawing from his first book of short stories, and the debut film for director Chris Eyre, this is  the first film meant for large audiences that was written, directed, and produced by Native Americans. Smoke Signals opens in the Couer d’Alene Resevation  in Idaho where Victor Joseph and Thomas Builds-the-Fire live as close as brothers and sometimes as antagonistically. When Victor’s father dies in Phoenix, Arizona, the two young men head out to retrieve his ashes, both having strong and differing feelings about the man they mourn. “The film deals with history, social injustice, crisis of identity, poverty and other pertinent issues. But it does so in a delightfully witty, offbeat way that simultaneously sends up and celebrates supposedly typical aspects of Indian culture. The gags, visual and verbal, generally hit the spot, including a nice dig at Dances with Wolves. The film looks terrific, the ‘mythic/mystical storytelling’ bit is handled with just the right amount of tongue in cheek, and the performances are very engaging. Original, audacious, entertaining, and an all-round impressive debut” — Time Out Film.