Movie Shot In Tulsa Wins Golden Globe, Aids Oklahoma's Growth As Film Hotspot

The newly released film “Minari” is starting to rack up the awards, winning the 2021 Golden Globe for best foreign language film.

Released last month, the movie tells the story of a Korean American family who starts a farm in 1980s Arkansas. It was shot however, entirely in the Tulsa metro.

"It was a big win for Oklahoma," said Tava Maloy Sofsky, the director of the Oklahoma Film and Music office.

Maloy Sofsky helped coordinate bringing the production to Oklahoma in the summer of 2019.

"They were looking to pivot from another state,” Maloy Sofsky said. “They were looking for somebody who was really eager to welcome them to film this."

Maloy Sofsky said “Minari” is just one of several films to take advantage of the state's rebate program that incentivizes productions to move here.

She said this year more than a dozen films are scheduled to film in Oklahoma, with an additional 20 interested as well, including two television series.

"Oklahoma's uniquely Oklahoma,” she said. “There's really no other state like it. We're in the dead center of the United States, we have so many different looks and locations that can be portrayed out of our state."

Maloy Sofsky said these productions are also big economic boosts. With major productions like Martin Scorcese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" set to film in Osage County this year, the industry here is only expected to grow.

“Minari” is currently showing at Circle Cinema in Tulsa.