World class storytelling the goal of Prairie Surf’s new creative division

Prairie Surf Media has been a trailblazing force in Oklahoma's film industry since its inception. Founders Matt Payne and Rachel Cannon have built a logistical one-stop-shop for movie makers in their downtown Oklahoma City studio, with soundstages, offices, production support and preferred vendors all under one roof. Now they’re expanding their services through a new storytelling division, Prairie Surf Creative.

"The studio was always a first step towards making our own content and producing content for others,” said Payne who added that the current writers’ strike has given them an opportunity to grow. “Particularly now in this downtime, we're busy as ever, producing all kinds of different projects. It's a way for us to generate more revenue streams and to use storytelling to do good things.”

Payne said Prairie Surf Creative will usher in a new wave of powerful storytelling by focusing on untold narratives, especially those from underrepresented segments of the community. Their first documentary, “The Jewel,” is one of those projects. It started as a campaign video to save the last Black owned theater on the east side of Oklahoma City but eventually turned into a mission to preserve a community’s identity.

Prairie Surf is partnering with Notis Studios on the documentary. The Black-owned Oklahoma City film company owned by Marcus Brown and Dekoven Riggins will handle post-production.

Prairie Surf Creative has several projects in the pipeline after securing storytelling partnerships with James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Black, Allied Arts, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and Visit OKC, a division of the Greater OKC Chamber.

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Watch the trailer here The JEWEL | Official Trailer on Vimeo