One of the brightest young stars of the American acting scene, Riley Keough, adds another string to her bow with this directorial debut, co-helmed by her friend and producing partner Gina Gammell. War Pony gained plaudits at its Cannes 2022 premiere, picking up the Caméra d’Or for best first feature. Though it’s been slow to arrive on these shores, this dreamily shot and compellingly performed film is well worth a watch.

It’s born out of Keough’s experience on 2016’s American Honey, where she befriended two Native American extras, Bill Reddy and Franklin Sioux Bob, and kept in touch. Reddy and Sioux Bob have penned the screenplay here (with Gammell), setting it on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. War Pony tells the eventually intersecting stories of two young protagonists living life on the fly: twentysomething hustler Bill (Jojo Bapteise Whiting), seen breeding puppies and ferrying around girls for a sleazy turkey farm owner (Sprague Hollander); and Matho (LaDainian Crazy Thunder), a sweet, goofy and neglected kid with much less nous.

Rich with compassion and authenticity and free from judgement or sentimentality, War Pony revels in the majesty of the landscape and never gets bogged down in the injustice of its protagonists’ circumstances. With Bill and Matho staying alive to opportunities and doing their best with the hand they've been dealt, this hopeful film prizes pluck above all else as it lifts the pair up in the warm embrace of its attention.

War Pony is in cinemas from Friday 9 June.