''Mankiller'' is a 2017

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

directed by Valerie Red-Horse Mohl and executive produced by Gale Anne Hurd, concerning the life of Wilma Mankiller. The film had its US premiere on June 19, 2017, at the

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...

. It was produced by Red-Horse Native Productions and

Valhalla Entertainment Valhalla Entertainment Productions, Inc. is an American film and television production company. Their productions include AMC's ''The Walking Dead'' television series, its companion series, '' Fear the Walking Dead,'' and the spin-off, '' The W ...

and is a presentation of Vision Maker Media for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

Synopsis

The film follows the life of Wilma Mankiller, the first woman to be elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, from her childhood in Oklahoma, through her family's relocation to San Francisco, as well as her return to Oklahoma and her rise to power within the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

. ''Mankiller'' utilizes original interviews with friends, family, and activists including

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in ...

as well as archival footage of Wilma Mankiller to depict a transcendent leader that overcame rampant sexism to usher in an era of improved stability and prosperity for the Cherokee Nation.

Production

Vision Maker Media received funding for the research and development phase of the documentary in 2012. The initial research and development shooting took place in and around Tulsa, Oklahoma in July 2013. Production funding by Vision Maker Media was announced in 2014. On March 9, 2015, production company Valhalla Entertainment launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

campaign to fund the film. On April 8, 2015, the campaign ended after successfully raising $164,856 from over 1,000 backers with help from several actors from The Walking Dead. The first phase of production filming took place in Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, Oklahoma, San Diego, and San Francisco during the summer and fall of 2015. Vision Maker Media was awarded additional funding in 2016. The final filming took place in Oklahoma and Wisconsin during August 2016. Post production and editing were completed in Los Angeles and San Francisco in late 2016 and early 2017.

Release

The international film premiere took place on June 19, 2017, in the United States at the LA Film Festival and has since been selected to be screened at 20 film festivals around the world including DOC NYC, the

Austin Film Festival Austin Film Festival (AFF), founded in 1994, is an organization in Austin, Texas, that focuses on writers’ creative contributions to film. Initially, AFF was called the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and functioned to launch the ...

, Mill Valley Film Festival, Winda in Australia, ImagineNative in Canada. ''Mankiller'' will have its television premiere on

in March 2018 for Women's History Month.

Reception

Initial reviews of the film were positive. Ed Rampell of ''Hollywood Progressive'' called it as a, "poignant biopic about one of the greats made me feel like weeping." Vincent Schilling of '' Indian Country Today'' described the film as "perfectly crafted to deliver a message of hope, empowerment and inspiration."

Awards

The film won ''Best Documentary Feature'' at the Tulsa American and the Rome International Film Festivals, as well as the Stanford Video Award for Editing at the 2017 United Nations Association Film Festival. It was also named ''Best of the Fest'' at the

Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 1989 ...

.Palm Springs International Film Festival Best of the Fest List
/ref>

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 6977446
Official website

Kickstarter project
2017 films 2017 documentary films American documentary films Films about Native Americans Documentary films about Native Americans Works about the Cherokee Nation Cherokee in popular culture 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language documentary films