Cherokee Nation Film Office and deadCenter Film, the state’s largest film festival, have partnered to recognize Indigenous filmmakers with the festival’s inaugural award for Best Indigenous Short Film.

This year’s honoree will be recognized and awarded a $1,000 cash prize, provided by the generosity of the Cherokee Nation, on Sunday during the festival’s annual award show.

Films nominated for the inaugural Best Indigenous Short Film award include Hopi and Mexican American Boise B. Esquerra’s “BLACKWATER,” Cherokee Nation citizen Jeremy Charles’ “Inage'i (In The Woods)” and “Totsu (Redbird),” Choctaw Nation citizen Colleen Thurston’s “Sardis,” Mikey Hevr’s “The Writer’s Room” directed by Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma citizen Cary Cody and Absentee Shawnee Tribe citizen Orrin Ponkilla, as well as Ipai Kumeyaay and Payómkawichum Fox Maxy’s “San Diego.”

The 21st annual festival, including panels, discussions and 180 films, will run June 10-20 and feature a specific block dedicated to Indigenous films, including those nominated for Best Indigenous Short Film, scheduled to go live on the virtual platform on Monday, June 14, at 10 a.m. Tickets are $10.

For more information about deadCenter Film Festival, visit deadcenterfilm.org. Press passes are available upon request.

About Cherokee Nation Film Office

The mission of the Cherokee Nation Film Office is to increase the presence of Native Americans in every level of the film and television industries, while creating opportunities for economic development and jobs in the Cherokee Nation. With access to more than 66,000 acres throughout northeastern Oklahoma, the Cherokee Nation Film Office is your connection to a diverse range of eco-scapes and the first-ever Native talent, crew and business/support services databases. Experience all the 66,000 acres of the Cherokee Nation has to offer and learn more at www.Cherokee.Film.

About deadCenter Film

deadCenter Film is an Oklahoma City-based nonprofit that provides free film classes to 3,000 students each fall, offers continuing education classes for working film professionals each quarter, and hosts Oklahoma’s largest film festival each June, attracting 35,000 to downtown Oklahoma City. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 20th annual deadCenter Film Festival was held entirely online, featuring extended festival dates, and offering more than 140 films, panels, classes, celebrity reunions, and filmmaker discussions. The 21st annual deadCenter Film Festival will be held June 10-20, 2021. To learn more about deadCenter Film and to support yearround programming, please visit deadcenterfilm.org.