Devery Jacobs doesn’t want to be boxed in. In “Backspot,” the “Reservation Dogs” star and former gymnast plays an ambitious young cheerleader struggling to balance her relationship with her girlfriend Amanda (Kudakwashe Rutendo) and her devotion to their intensely competitive coach Eileen McNamara (Evan Rachel Wood). And she does almost all of her own stunts. But getting the film funded in the first place was an uphill battle. Jacobs says one grant program rejected them with infuriating feedback: “We love the film, but we just don’t understand why this protagonist is Indigenous.” The experience was eye-opening. “It really made clear to me how Western society views Native people, and the roles and characters in which we can embody,” says Jacobs, Them’s #NowAwards Film and TV honoree. In her cover story, @deveryjacobs tells Them’s @q_quispe_lopez about the joys and hurdles of making the film and navigating an industry lacking in representation in more ways than one. Read more at the link in bio. Photographer - @camilafalquez Stylist - @dominickbarcelona Hair stylist - @stylebysergio Makeup artist - @yamozarlenga Producer - @pkv15