United States / Mar 23, 2023 / Cleveland International Film Festival
With fewer than 1,500 fluent speakers left, a small group of Cherokee activists race to save their language from disappearing.
1h 34min
Overall average
5.0/10
Plot
The Cherokee language is deeply tied to Cherokee identity; yet generations of assimilation efforts by the U.S. government and anti-Indigenous stigmas have forced the Tri-Council of Cherokee tribes to declare a State of Emergency for the language in 2019. While there are 430,000 Cherokee citizens in the three federally recognized tribes, fewer than an estimated 2,000 fluent speakers remain—the majority of whom are elderly. The covid pandemic has unfortunately hastened the course. Language activists, artists, and the youth must now lead the charge of urgent radical revitalization efforts to help save the language from the brink of extinction.
Main cast
Full cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Weynema Smith | Self |
| David Crawler | Self |
| Betty Frogg | Self |
| Clara Proctor | Self |
| Cora Flute | Self |
| Gil Jackson | Self |
| Oleta Pritchett | Self |
| Bo Lossiah | Self |
| Marlene Ballard | Self |
| Ann Arneach | Self |
| Gary Wayne Vann | Self |
| Howard Paden | Self |
| Colby Luper | Self |
| Ernestine Berry | Self |
| Ryan Mackey | Self |
| Krystan Moser | Self |
| Dehaluyi Gonzales | Self |
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| Ashlyn Fullerton | Self |
| Agalisiga Mackey | Self |
| Olivia Wildcat | Self |
| TJ Holland | Self |
| JP Johnson | Self |
| Lukas Swepston | Self |
| Dakota Brown | Self |
| Carney Duncan | Self |
| Andrew Swepston | Self |
Genres
Documentary
Technical details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Original title | ᏓᏗᏬᏂᏏ |
| Original language | EN |
| Production countries | United States of America |
| Status | Released |
| Production companies | Blurry Pictures |
| Official site | blurry-pictures.com |
| Release date | 23 marzo 2023 |
| Executive producer | Katherine Harper, Thomas Sadoski, Mark Shlomchik, Diana Baldovino, Gill Holland, Ben Speiser, Wes Studi |
| Production | Jacob Koestler, Carol Anderson, Schon Duncan, Derek Boonstra, Michael Mahaffie, John Helgeland, Michael McDermit, Dick Anderson, Natalia Tararova, Laura Heberton, Keli Gonzales, Rory Crittenden |
| Editing | Jacob Koestler, Kyungchan Min |
| Cinematography | Jacob Koestler |
| Assistant directors | Michael McDermit, Schon Duncan |
| Music | Matt Miller |
| Sound | Matt Miller |
Release dates
Premiere
Canada / Apr 23, 2023 / Dreamspeakers International Indigenous Film Festival
United Kingdom / Oct 23, 2023 / Native Spirit Film Festival
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