By Kayla DeKraker
Faith-based studio Wonder Project’s next movie immerses viewers into a little-known piece of American history.
“We are here on the set of SARAH’S OIL,” star Sonequa Martin-Green said in an Instagram video while wearing a dress from in the 1900s. “I play Rose Rector, the mother of Sarah. We like to call this a lost piece of black history because a lot of black folks don’t know about any of this, and so it really hit us.”
She added “You’re unearthing history that has been deliberately hidden. What we found was life changing. I feel that there’s this deep responsibility to honor her.”
The movie follows Sarah Rector, “an African American girl born in Oklahoma Indian Territory in the early 1900s, and she believes oil is beneath the barren land she’s allotted. Eventually, her faith is proven right,” a synopsis reads. “Following her discovery, Rector encounters greedy oil sharks and immediately turns to her family, friends, and some Texas wildcatters to maintain control of her oil-rich land.”
Related: Faith-Based Hit HOUSE OF DAVID Is No. 1 in US: ‘All Glory to God’
“Can’t wait to see this & I just know it’s going to get me right in my feels ❤️” one person commented on the Instagram video. Another person added, “I absolutely loved @therealsonequa in the film. I felt like she WAS Sarah’s mother. Raw. Nurturing. Real.”
SARAH’S OIL stars Zachary Levi, Naya Desir-Johnson and Garret Dillahunt alongside Martin-Green. It’s directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh, who co-wrote the script with Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh,
“To see this movie, you couldn’t have done it any better,” said Sarah’s real-life niece Deborah Brown. “Portraying our grandparents and our sister being as a child.” Another niece, Donna Brown-Thompkins, added, “It connected with what we know.”
Rosina Graves, another family member, explained, “The story you guys told is more the truth that any others that we have seen or heard people talk about.”
“SARAH’S OIL is a film that is truly a labor of love, and the talented teams at Kingdom Story Company, The Wonder Project, Wyldwood Productions, and Why Not You Productions have been incredible partners throughout production,” said Julie Rapaport, Head of Film, Production, and Development at Amazon MGM Studios. “We’re honored to take part in telling the inspiring true story of Sarah Rector, and we cannot wait for audiences to experience it on the big screen.”
Wonder Project has other faith-inspired projects ahead, including Season 2 of HOUSE OF DAVID, arriving on Prime Video on Oct. 5, and a George Washington biopic titled YOUNG WASHINGTON.
SARAH’S OIL is set to release Nov. 7, 2025.
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