Drew’s World Builds a Story of Belonging Through Choctaw Culture and Disability Visibility

Avoke Productions has begun production on Drew’s World, an animated feature with Native culture and disability representation at the heart of its story. Built around relationship and care, the film focuses on the quiet, everyday moments where trust forms and understanding begins.

The film is created and produced by Steven Vandrilla, with Max Howard serving as executive producer. The creative team includes director Ryan Bellgardt, writer Rene Gutteridge, and composer Kitt Wakeley, all based in Oklahoma. Convenient and fitting given the film’s collaboration with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

At the center of Drew’s World are Bo, a misunderstood Choctaw boy, and Drew, a kind and imaginative girl with Down syndrome. When the two become lost in the woods, they are forced to rely on one another, learning how to communicate, build trust, and move forward together.

Their journey is not framed as a lesson or a problem to be fixed. Instead, it unfolds as a shared experience, with patience, humor, and vulnerability leading the way. As the children learn to listen to one another, they also begin to understand themselves more clearly. The story treats difference as something to be respected and learned from, not something to be overcome.

For Vandrilla, the project is person as it was inspired by his granddaughter, Drew, and by a belief that every child deserves to see themselves reflected in the stories they grow up with. That belief guided Avoke Productions in seeking out a meaningful partnership with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, ensuring the film honors both cultural integrity and inclusive storytelling.

Cultural advisors from the Choctaw Nation are working closely with the filmmakers to bring Choctaw language, values, and traditions into the film in thoughtful and accurate ways that shapes how the story is told. From visual details to the more profound teachings that inform the characters’ journey, the goal is not to just include cultural elements, but to reflect Choctaw identity as it is lived and passed down.

Choctaw Chief Gary Batton has spoken to the broader impact of stories like Drew’s World, noting that representation matters not only to Native communities but to anyone who encounters them. The film reflects Choctaw values of friendship, resilience, and understanding while also honoring the Down syndrome community with care and respect. In doing so, it offers a vision of inclusion rooted in everyday humanity.

Executive producer Max Howard describes the film as a story about connection, one that invites audiences to step into the world of its characters and see through their eyes. It is an approach that values empathy over explanation and experience over instruction.

Now in development, Drew’s World will continue production through 2026. In a media landscape, where Native and disability representation are still far too rare, this film underscores why it matters. It affirms that Native and Disabled communities exist in the present, and not just on the margins.

When children see themselves reflected in the media, it shapes how they view themselves and the world around them. It allows them to see what is possible and encourages them to imagine new, bold futures. These stories also ask everyone else to widen their sense of who belongs, and to recognize that our differences are not barriers, but part of what makes us human.