The Oklahoma-produced thriller “Wild Indian” will make its world premiere at the prestigious 2021 Sundance Film Festival where it will screen in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category. One of 72 feature films to be included in this year’s event, the Sundance Film Festival will, for the first time ever, primarily take place as both a virtual event through its online platform with additional physical screenings at satellite locations across the country, including Tulsa’s own Circle Cinema January 28 – February 3, 2021.
“Wild Indian” was filmed throughout Oklahoma City and Guthrie for 46 days, which included pre-production, production and post-production, in late 2019. The film created more than 120 local jobs with a median salary of $20 per hour. Local positions included electricians, costumers, craft services, camera and audio technicians, art and production designers, weapons trainers, set medics and accountants, to name a few. Additionally, the production reserved more than 1,400 hotel nights during their stay.
“Not only did ‘Wild Indian’ provide career opportunities for our skilled workforce and innovative businesses during their filming in Oklahoma, but through their platform at the Sundance Film Festival, the film will continue to spotlight our industry’s assets alongside our diverse locations and hospitable communities to the international audience this prestigious event attracts,” said OF+MO Director Tava Maloy Sofsky. “Additionally, through the collective efforts of the Sundance Film Festival, Circle Cinema and their collective partnerships, Oklahoma gets to transport the Sundance Film Festival to our own backyard, bringing an economic and cultural impact that is an unprecedented opportunity worth celebrating and experiencing.”
“Wild Indian” marks the fourth consecutive year for an Oklahoma produced movie to make its world premiere at Sundance, following last year’s acclaimed debut for “Minari”, which took home two of the festival’s top honors. Written and directed by Lyle Mitchel Corbine Jr. and marking his feature film debut with support through the Sundance Institute Writers and Directors Lab, “Wild Indian” tells a tale of two Anishinaabe men who are inextricably bound together after covering up the savage murder of a schoolmate. After years of separation following wildly divergent paths, they must finally confront how their traumatic secret has irrevocably shaped their lives. “Wild Indian” stars Michael Greyeyes (“Blood Quantum”), Oklahoma-born Chaske Spencer (“The Twilight Saga”), Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”, “Zombieland”), Kate Bosworth (“Superman Returns”), Phoenix Wilson (TV’s “Longmire”), Julian Gopal (“The Purge”) and Scott Haze (“Venom”).
The film will virtually premiere on January 30, 2021, with a second screening on February 1, 2021. Additional details will be announced soon for physical screenings that will be held at Tulsa’s Circle Cinema, one of 20 official satellite screens for Sundance and the only festival venue in Oklahoma and several surrounding states.
For more information and to purchase passes, visit sundance.org.
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About Oklahoma Film + Music Office
Created in 1979, the Oklahoma Film + Music Office (OF+MO) strives to share all that Oklahoma has to offer by welcoming filmmakers and music professionals to the state and by creating a network of support to develop Oklahoma’s film and music industries. For more information about the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program or the Oklahoma Film + Music Office, visit okfilmmusic.org.