“Killers of the Flower Moon” author David Grann recently told Vanity Fair that he is “pretty overwhelmed” that his 2017 non-fiction book, “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” has been adapted into Martin Scorsese‘s latest epic. The film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, is set to make its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month. Grann championed Scorsese for partnering with the Osage Nation during the film’s production.

“One of the things that was really most impressive and important in the development process was less my involvement, but the involvement of members of the Osage Nation,” Grann said. “And early on, the Osage chief, Geoffrey Standing Bear, appointed several movie ambassadors from the Nation, from the government, to work with the movie folks. From everything I’ve heard, they really worked with a commitment to working with the Osage Nation, developing a story, even shooting on location. Many Osage are actually acting in the movie.”

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“Killers of the Flower Moon” is set in the 1920s as the newly created FBI heads to the Osage Nation in Oklahoma to investigate a string of recent killings targeting indigenous people. Lily Gladstone and Jesse Plemons co-star in the film. DiCaprio’s morally grey ranch hand Ernest Burkhart is at the story’s center as he comes to realize his connection to the murders is closer than he expected.

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“I did visit the set for a few days. And I was, again, just really impressed by how they managed to bring these historical figures to life and capture the hidden truths about the story,” Grann said. “Leo [DiCaprio] just seemed to just be able to capture the nature of Ernest Burkhart, and the level of complicity of his character, and this evil system. And Lily Gladstone brings Mollie to life with such sensitivity and emotional power, at least in the bits I saw.”

“What I was struck by from Scorsese to the actors was the level of commitment and how much research they did to understand the parts and understand the history,” Grann continued. “They just seemed voracious, a little bit like historians, in their search for any knowledge, transcripts, documents, speaking to descendants, speaking with members of the Osage Nation.”

Grann added, “The film had Osage-language experts working with the actors to make sure they were able to teach them the language and that they got the language right, technically. I saw a scene where many of the tribal council members of the Osage Nation were speaking, and I think they contributed to a lot of that dialogue themselves. I think anyone who sees that will find it bracing and breathtaking and powerful.”

“Killers of the Flower Moon” will world premiere May 20 at the Cannes Film Festival. The film, backed by Apple, will open in theaters Oct. 6 via Paramount Pictures.

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