The Oklahoma-made film “The Cherokee Word for Water” will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and iTunes beginning November 18, 2014.
“The Cherokee Word for Water” is inspired by the true story of a rural Cherokee community’s success in bringing running water to their families. Produced in Oklahoma by Paul Heller, Laurene Powell, Kristina Kiehl and Charlie Soap, the film chronicles the work and activism which led Wilma Mankiller to become the first modern female Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
The film won Best Theatrical Motion Picture at the 2014 Western Heritage Awards and was nominated for Best Film at the 2013 American Indian Film Festival. Kimberly Guerrero, who portrays Mankiller in the film, won “Best Actress” at the 2013 Red Nation Film Festival.
“The Cherokee Word for Water” was shot throughout Oklahoma utilizing the Oklahoma Film Enhancement Rebate Program administered by the Oklahoma Film & Music Office. The film followed a grassroots distribution philosophy focused on policy leaders, tribes, and communities. The film has celebrated screenings across the world from small town football fields to the UN Conference of Worldwide Indigenous Leaders.
Profits from the film will benefit the newly created Wilma Mankiller Foundation, which is committed to continuing Mankiller’s work for appropriate Native media, social justice, and community development in Native America.
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About the Oklahoma Film + Music Office:
Created in 1979, The Oklahoma Film + Music Office 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 please visit www.okfilmmusic.org.
