OKMULKE, Oklv. – A red carpet premiere event recently celebrated a historic occasion at the College of Muscogee Nation. For the first time in history, a movie dubbed and spoken entirely in the Mvskoke language made its debut on June 15. The movie is titled “Hesayecv”, which translates to “The Savior”. Featuring a plot around the Life and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the movie acts as a way to share the New Testament Gospel and promote the Mvskoke language.
Taking place in CMN’s new STEM building, the free event featured a red carpet photo area. Essential movie snacks including freshly-popped popcorn, movie candy and water were provided for audience members. The event was open to the public and was attended by the movie’s filmmakers and actors. Many who attended the premiere wore their best and brightest ribbon skirts and vests.
The idea for a gospel-centered film dubbed and spoken in the Mvskoke language came from the late Bill Barnett. A full blood Mvskoke citizen, Barnett was a well-known Baptist pastor who envisioned seeing a movie about Jesus Christ in the language of his tribe. Although Barnett passed away in 2021, his vision finally came to fruition three years later. Barnett’s daughter, Jennifer Barnett (Mvskoke/Cherokee) produced the movie, carrying on her father’s legacy.
“My dad liked to dream,” Jennifer Barnett said. “He always wanted to try something new and if you had an idea he wanted to try it. It might fail, but he still wanted to see what might come out of it.”

After decades of trying to get the idea off the ground, Bill Barnett met GeoLink Nations Producer Chris Forbes in 2018. Although “The Savior”’s original language was Arabic, Forbes shared with Bill Barnett how it had been dubbed into dozens of other languages. From that point, Bill Barnett knew the next language the movie needed to be dubbed in was Mvskoke. This cut of the movie marks the 46th language it’s been dubbed in. Even more special, this is the first North American Indigenous language the movie has been dubbed in as well. According to Jennifer Barnett, it will not be the last.
“They (the filmmakers) made strides to how we in multiple ways could embrace Mvskoke culture. We had people come in with varying capabilities of the language, we had someone come in playing the flute, and we filmed extra scenes that made it feel more like a storytelling. That involvement and that creativeness was able to open the door wider for the culture to come in.” – Dr. Jennifer Barnett, “Hesayecv” Producer
Indigenous Influence
Helming the production was producer Brian Cates and director Aaron Henzel who is a citizen of Chickasaw Nation and has Choctaw ancestry. Henzel’s involvement with the project started when he shared with Cates his desire to direct a Native American culture-focused project that shared the gospel. Although Henzel is not a fluent Mvskoke speaker, the project was one he felt called to be a part of. This project comes on the heels of two major film movements in mainstream culture; faith-based and Indigenous. Recent projects to come out of the faith-based film movement include “Jesus Revolution” and “The Chosen”, while recent projects to come out of the Indigenous film movement include locally-produced “Reservation Dogs” and “Killers of the Flower Moon”.
“It feels like this is a very specific time and place and specific part in history,” Henzel said. “As that wave continues to grow with all these projects and efforts to preserve Native Culture, it’s incredible. I feel like I am a part of history.”
The Barnett family has a strong presence in “Hesayecv”. Jennifer Barnett’s father and uncles helped translate the script. Additionally, she appears in the movie along with her sisters’ voices. Native Mvskoke speakers involved on the project included Mary Ann Emarthle, Jackson Barnett, Harris Cully, Lillian Thomas, Edwin Marshall, Steven Whitecloud, Nelson Harjo Sr., Ben Yahola, and Robin Soweka. Harjo also contributed to the film’s score with his traditional cane flute talent he is renowned for.
According to Whitecloud, his experience working as a consultant and voice actor could not have been more meaningful.
“I had fun, I really did,” Whitecloud said. “Overall I felt that I was doing something greater than myself. I felt that this was something that needed to be done.”
The role of Jesus Christ was voice dubbed by Darrell Proctor II. Although his full time job is not voice work, Proctor works in the MCN Language Liaison Program. Proctor worked with the movie’s production team on various projects since November 2022. Within the following year, momentum on producing “Hesayecv” began to take shape. By November 2023 Proctor was cast to play the film’s titular character. According to Proctor, he hopes the movie will inspire others to take action in learning the language of their tribe and hear the gospel.
“There’s just a handful of people my age that can speak it,” Proctor said. “I’m hoping this will encourage, inspire some people to take pride in their language, to think ‘Wow, our language can be heard on a big screen like that’.”
For those who missed the red carpet premiere, the film will be screened at CMN’s STEM Building during the Muscogee Nation Festival on Thursday June 20, and Friday June 21 at 2:00 p.m. The feature-length “Hesayecv” will soon be available to watch for free in its entirety on its official website. Currently short films about Easter and Christmas can be viewed there.