On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the Badlands of South Dakota, teenage Johnny is getting ready to leave the only world he has ever known to follow his girlfriend to Los Angeles. But the unexpected death of his rodeo-cowboy father makes his decision to leave his family and community behind all the more difficult, since it would mean abandoning his beloved young sister Jashuan. “Songs My Brother Taught Me” was a breakout hit at the Sundance and Cannes film festivals for first-time filmmaker Chloe Zhao, who lived for four years on the reservation and cast local actors to create an authentic and nuanced picture of Lakota life. At its core, it’s a film about a deeply-knit community and fighting for your home—no matter how hard it gets.