Cherokee Film Studios to expand Owasso studio

A studio employee works at Cherokee Film Studios in Owasso, less than 20 minutes from the Tulsa International Airport. The campus currently includes 14,000 square feet of dedicated virtual production and practical studio space with edit suites, a control room, a pro-grade audio booth, crew and client lounges, and hair and makeup facilities.

An artist's rendering shows plans for the Owasso campus of Cherokee Film Studios. A new facility will serve as an extension of the existing Owasso site, adding a 10,000-square-foot sound stage.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said Wednesday that with the expansion of Cherokee Film Studios in Owasso, "we will have a greater presence in an industry that is taking root in the state of Oklahoma and has been enhanced by our efforts."

“Cherokees are great storytellers. This (expansion) is a tool for us to tell those stories,” Jennifer Loren, senior director of Cherokee Film, said at Wednesday's groundbreaking ceremony in Owasso.

An employee works at Cherokee Film Studios in Owasso, less than 20 minutes from the Tulsa International Airport. The campus opened last year and is now expanding.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. speaks at Wednesday's groundbreaking ceremony in Owasso.

Officials turn earth at the groundbreaking for the Cherokee Film Studios' Owasso campus expansion.

A rendering shows how the Cherokee Film Studios' Owasso expansion will look.

Owasso Reporter Editor

OWASSO — Austin Parker is excited about the ongoing development taking place at Cherokee Film Studios’ Owasso campus.

“It’s exhilarating,” the 33-year-old video production manager told the Owasso Reporter. “It’s inspirational to see this avenue open — to see high-quality content produced right here.”

Parker moved dirt Wednesday on an expansion project at the Owasso site that will bring an additional 10,000-square-foot sound stage to the 4-acre property off Oklahoma 20.

He celebrated the groundbreaking alongside dozens of his fellow colleagues as well as tribal and community leaders who convened at the site to kick off a new chapter for the Cherokee Nation’s burgeoning film enterprise.

“This is the future,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. told Wednesday’s attendees. “With this studio expansion, we will have a greater presence in an industry that is taking root in the state of Oklahoma and has been enhanced by our efforts.”

Cherokee Film Studios’ new facility will feature a 35-foot ceiling, a modular truss system with chain hoists, a hair and makeup room, a multipurpose/flex space, 14-foot bay doors for load-ins, and RV hookups for production trailers.

The building will serve as an extension of Cherokee Film Studios’ existing Owasso site, opened in July 2022, which features 27,000 square feet of space that houses a large LED wall, a control room, a pro-grade audio booth, and crew and client lounges.

What’s more, the ongoing construction will bring upgrades to the current studio to include a new lobby and waiting area for clients, production offices and conference rooms, wardrobe and storage spaces, an audio recording suite, a catering kitchen and an additional greenroom.

“Cherokees are great storytellers. This (the expansion) is a tool for us to tell those stories,” Jennifer Loren, senior director of Cherokee Film, told the crowd. “In that story, that is where lives are changed; that’s where minds are changed.”

One project, or story, recently filmed at the Owasso studio, was “Land of Gold,” directed by award-winning filmmaker Nardeep Khurmi. It debuted at the Tribeca Festival in New York City in June 2022.

The Owasso groundbreaking comes about a week after Cherokee Nation Businesses rolled out a reorganization of its film-making ecosystem to have all aspects fall under the name Cherokee Film.

Cherokee Film’s portfolio includes four branches — Cherokee Film Productions, Cherokee Film Studios, Cherokee Film Commission and Cherokee Film Institute — and represents more than 30 full-time employees, including Parker.

“This is what the film industry is looking for,” Parker said, “and we are excited to bring more projects to Oklahoma and to grow Cherokee Nation’s content right along cinema production.”

The new Owasso film studio is expected to be completed in early 2024.

For more information, visit cherokee.film.

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