By Michaela Gordoni
Director and writer Cyrus Nowrasteh and his writer wife, Betsy, attended the 2026 Movieguide® Faith & Values Awards Gala to receive recognition for their movie, SARAH’S OIL.
“What are you most looking forward to tonight?” an interviewer asked the couple on the red carpet at the Gala this month.
“Hopefully, our film being recognized,” Cyrus said. Betsy laughed, “That’s right. And seeing old friends here that worked on it.”
Betsy explained that production on the movie was hard, so just like in the story they tell, they also needed a lot of faith and hope throughout the creation of the movie.
Related: Sarah’s Oil: Red Carpet Premiere
“It was very difficult…and we fell back on it,” she explained. “It was always in our mind during this because of trials that come along with it. It was kind of appropriate that our subject matter of this film faced a lot of trials in her life and it went all the way through the making of this film.”
The movie is about 11-year-old Sarah Rector, an Oklahoman and African American who believes her land has oil in it. When she proves to be correct, she faces a lot of hardships as she tries to keep her land, but eventually becomes one of the first female African American millionaires in her young age.
The movie was nominated for the Faith & Freedom Award.
Part of Movieguide®’s review of the movie reads, “SARAH’S OIL is extremely well directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh… SARAH’S OIL is extremely well written, with intense jeopardy that’s relieved by wonderful humor and spiritual drama…MOVIEGUIDE® applauds SARAH’S OIL.”
Zachary Levi, who plays Bert in the movie, was nominated for a Movieguide® Grace Prize® under the Most Inspiring Performance for Movies category.
Levi said of the movie, “It was an incredible script and an amazing story. And I couldn’t believe that I’d never heard of it and that nobody I knew had ever heard of it. And, you know, it’s a story of perseverance and faith and strength and grit, and I just thought, ‘This story must be told, it needs to be told.’”
“And Bert was such a juicy role to play. And so, as soon as we landed, I emailed [producer] Jon [Shepherd] back and I said, ‘I’m in, let’s do it, let’s make this happen,’” he recalled.
You can find out whether Levi or SARAH’S OIL won any awards on Great American Family on March 5.
Read Next: Why the Faith Shown in SARAH’S OIL Will Encourage You
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