“Nika & Madison” follows two young Native women, Ellyn Jade and Star Slade, fleeing after clashing with a predatory cop. It evolves into a tense feminist crime thriller. Director Eva Thomas expands her short “Redlights” to explore friendship, trauma, and Indigenous sisterhood during their city escape for safety and self-discovery.
The film premiered at TIFF. It then screened in Hawaii. Now it plays at Whistler Film Festival. Audiences connect deeply with the characters. They praise its raw take on systemic political violence. Thomas shifts focus from police power to Native women’s emotional strength amid state and gender oppression.
Thomas highlights U.S. DEI rollback fears. Studios and streamers retreat from diversity pledges. They fear “too progressive” labels. Yet hits like “Black Panther,” “Crazy Rich Asians,” and “Reservation Dogs” prove diverse stories sell and matter culturally.
As a U.S.-Canadian citizen, Thomas contrasts U.S. profit focus with Canada’s public funding. It nurtures Black, Indigenous creators. This boosted her from “Redlights” and co-directed “Aberdeen” to leading “Nika & Madison.” She worries about future Canadian DEI cuts.
Eva Thomas trained as an actor at Arizona State, London, and New York drama schools. L.A. offered her stereotypical Native roles. This drove her to writing and directing. She spent years as screenwriter and story editor. Now she crafts nuanced Indigenous tales with community accountability.
Her style blends craft, politics, and duty. “Nika & Madison” centers Indigenous women as leads. Their choices propel the plot. Thomas warns Hollywood risks losing this amid DEI pullback.
