Martin Scorsese, director of the highly anticipated “Killers of the Flower Moon,” released a featurette on his Instagram page Monday. The release coincides with Osage Day and Indigenous Peoples Day.
The video, titled “A Shared Vision,” features a conversation between Scorsese and Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear on the cultural importance of making the film and the collaboration that took place with the Osage Nation’s language and cultural departments. The result is an authentic portrayal of Osage life in the 1920s.
“A Shared Vision” – Apple Original Films featurette
On Scorsese’s Instagram page, he wrote this caption with the video: “Killers of the Flower Moon was a movie that I had to make, a story that I had to tell. The Osage Reign of Terror is a true American tragedy, and the fact that the story was not widely known before the publication of David Grann’s book only deepened the feelings of betrayal, neglect and distrust in the Osage community. I would never have even considered making this picture without the cooperation and trust of the Osage community. They welcomed us in Oklahoma, and we began a remarkable collaboration that has never ended. I wanted to make a picture that belonged to all of us, working together. I hope that I succeeded.”
London Film Festival
The film premiered at the London Film Festival on Oct. 7 and Standing Bear, ON Ambassador Chad Renfro, consultant Julie O’Keefe and Standing Bear’s Communications Director Abigail Mashunkashey are pictured on the red carpet along with Scorsese and the film’s producers.
Osage News intern Tristan Joseph Espinoza interviewed Standing Bear and Renfro following the film’s London premiere. Check back with Osage News to read his coverage.
Vianney Le Caer – invision linkable, Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP
Osage Day
While many Americans are celebrating Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples Day or Native American Day, about 23,000 Osages are celebrating Osage Day.
In 2006, then-Principal Chief Jim Gray proclaimed the second Monday in October as Osage Day.
“Policy Analyst Leonard Maker made the case for Osage Day to replace Columbus Day on the simple fact that it was our sovereign right to decide what our paid holidays were going to be for our tribal government,” Gray said in a 2017 interview with Osage News. “I initially favored keeping that Monday as a day out of defiance to Columbus. But as it turned out, the BIA, IHS and HUD offices would be closed anyway because they were federal agencies. It might have been inconvenient for citizens to be at the Nation’s offices when they were closed while we were open. So, I just rebranded the holiday to make it Osage Day.”
Tickets for “Killers of the Flower Moon” are now on sale. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone, “Killers of the Flower Moon” will premiere in theaters around the world, including IMAX® theatres, on Friday, October 20.
