Get your free tickets to watch this Cherokee-produced sci-fi film.

A new and exciting film, featuring the work of Cherokees, both in-front-of and behind the cameras, is making its debut soon. Totsu was filmed completely in the Cherokee Nation and Muscogee Creek reservation areas of northeastern Oklahoma. We are proud this film is having its unofficial premiere at the inaugural Drive-In Movie Nights presented by the Cherokee Nation Film Office during the 68th Cherokee National Holiday.

Here’s what it’s about:

Totsu (Redbird) screens on Friday, Sept. 4 during the Cherokee Premiere Night

The film, titled “Totsu,” which translates from the Cherokee language to “Redbird,” tells a story of an Indigenous woman who must confront a mysterious predator in parallel worlds of prehistory and dystopian future. The film focuses on the persistence of Cherokee culture, language and a matrilineal society and takes place in a time where the Cherokee language is the language of choice for the rebellion.

Want to see it? Here’s how:

“Totsu” will screen on Friday, Sept. 4 during Drive-In Movie Nights’ “Premiere Night.” The event starts at 8 p.m. It’s free, BUT space is limited and tickets are needed. Secure tickets now before they’re gone!

We’re also proud to be offering “Cherokee Language Speakers Night” on Thursday and “Women in Film Night” on Saturday. You can learn about everything happening during Drive-In Movie Nights HERE. Get your tickets to each event below.

Learn more about Totsu (Redbird) and the importance of this film to CNFO:

Cast and crew on set of “Totsu”

Producers hired thirty local talent and crew members to work on the production of “Totsu,” and 13 of them were Cherokee Nation citizens. This means local jobs were created with increased Native representation, all while creating an economic boost within the Cherokee Nation. Wins all around!

Part of the the CNFO’s mission is to see #morenatives represented on the screen, and this film’s cast does just that. Here’s a look at who you’ll see on the big screen: Nathalie Standingcloud (Cherokee Nation), Jennifer Loren (Cherokee Nation), Steve and Colleen Daugherty (Cherokee Nation), and their two children, Libby and Nessa Daugherty (Cherokee Nation).

We are also happy to note that all dialogue in the film is in the Cherokee language. The Cherokee Language department provided assistance in translating the film script.

The film is written and directed by Cherokee Nation citizen Jeremy Charles and produced by FireThief Productions, a Native American-owned and -operated film production company located in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Why is this important to him? Charles spells that out by saying, “Television and film are a major cause in the diminishing of Native languages, including our Cherokee language. Our people have rarely seen or heard themselves in the media. Think of what that does to a culture — to never be seen. These days there are a lot of us who recognize that we have to make films in Cherokee, and cartoons, and make them high quality so that they compete head to head with contemporary English media. So that’s what I’m trying to do: to take this opportunity I’ve been given to create content in Cherokee. It’s going to take a lot of us doing it, but that is the way forward.”

Be part of the movement in having #MoreNatives in the industry by taking part in this screening.

Don’t walk, run! Hurry and get your tickets for the exclusive premiere of “Totsu (Redbird)” at holiday.cherokee.org.

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