OKC's deadCenter Film Festival continues through Sunday night: Here's what you should know

Zachary Burns has been going to the deadCenter Film Festival for so long that he honestly can't remember the first time he attended.

"But it's just been super amazing watching the festival grow all these years and just keep consistently getting bigger and better every single year. Hopefully, that's also been happening with the movies that we've been making," he said.

Now, the Oklahoma City moviemaker is seeing his feature film directorial debut, the darkly comic "Hell Hath No Fury," make its home-state debut at the 2023 deadCenter Film Festival. Along with a showing on opening night, "Hell Hath No Fury" is screening Saturday night during the OKC fest.

Oklahoma's largest and only Oscar-qualifying film festival, deadCenter is back in downtown Oklahoma City for its 23rd edition June 8-11. Screening venues this year include the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Harkins Bricktown 16, First Americans Museum, 21c Museum Hotel OKC, JDM Place and Scissortail Park.

From the more than 1,900 submissions the festival received this year, deadCenter programmers made 165 selections, including 12 narrative features, 14 documentary features, 129 short films and 10 additional films.

"The deadCenter Film Festival is synonymous with movie magic in Oklahoma, and we couldn’t be more proud to celebrate this lineup with filmmakers and festivalgoers far and wide,” said Cacky Poarch, executive director of deadCenter Film, in an email to The Oklahoman.

Here is a sneak peek what film fans can expect as deadCenter 2023 continues through Sunday night:

What are the opening- and closing-night films for this year's deadCenter Film Festival?

University of Oklahoma graduate Lagueria Davis returns to deadCenter with this year's opening-night film: "Black Barbie: A Documentary," which chronicles Black female representation through the history of the first African American Barbie doll.

The film, which Davis wrote and directed, made its world premiere in March at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. Along with the opening-night screening, a Saturday afternoon showing is planned.

The closing-night film, "Fancy Dance," premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah ahead of playing SXSW. Seneca-Cayuga filmmaker Erica Tremblay, who hails from Oklahoma, filmed the family drama in her home state, where it was one of the first recipients of the Cherokee Nation Film Incentive that launched in early 2022. 

After her sister’s disappearance, a Native American hustler ("Killers of the Flower Moon" star Lily Gladstone, who's Blackfeet and Nez Perce) scraping by on the Seneca-Cayuga Reservation in Oklahoma kidnaps her niece (Isabel Deroy-Olson) from the girl's white grandparents and sets out for a powwow in an effort to keep what is left of her family intact.  

What are some of the other Oklahoma-made features to see at deadCenter 2023?

For his feature film directorial debut, Burns reteamed with his brother, Jacob Leighton Burns, who wrote the screenplay and worked as the cinematographer on "Hell Hath No Fury." They again produced the project with their partner Vinnie Hogan through the trio’s production company Planet Thunder Productions in association with Freestyle Creative.

With Jacob directing, the Burns brothers won Best Oklahoma Feature at deadCenter 2020 with their time-travel horror movie "Shifter" and at deadCenter 2016 with their haunting sci-fi drama "Electric Nostalgia."

Although his black comedy about a husband and wife who unknowingly plot to murder each other on the same fateful night is making its world premiere May 6 at New York CineFest, director Zachary Burns said its deadCenter debut will be special.

"Every single person on the cast and crew is from here in Oklahoma, or at least they live here now," Burns said. "For a lot of filmmakers around here, it's our home festival. ... Regardless of wherever your film goes in the festival run, deadCenter just always means a little bit more."

OKC filmmaker Kyle William Roberts ("The Posthuman Project") returns to deadCenter for the world premiere of his second feature film, "What Rhymes with Reason." Along with an opening-night showcase, the movie is playing again Saturday afternoon during deadCenter.

Roberts took his cast and crew all over his home state, from Turner Falls and Red Rock Canyon to Jones High School and Green Pastures Studio near Spencer, to film his "faith-adjacent" teen adventure. A coming-of-age story made in partnership with Oklahoma’s 988 Mental Health Lifeline, the movie follows Jesse Brandt (Gattlin Griffith, "The Boys"), a high-school senior who tumbles into depression after a tragedy. In an attempt to find meaning and direction, Jesse and his friends embark on a quest to find a legendary landmark hidden in the Oklahoma wilderness. 

After making an auspicious debut at deadCenter 2022 with their first first feature film, "Tenkiller," husband-and-wife Edmond filmmakers Jeremy and Kara Choate are playing deadCenter 2023 with their second movie, "The Awkward Stage." Made in a now-demolished Harrah school building, the adolescent saga centers on a student named Eugene who falls in love with a sculpture of his school's founder.  

The Choates reateamed with family, friends and acclaimed OKC sludge metal band Chat Pile for their "fever dream" sophomore feature. Legendary one-man band Mike Hosty, former Chainsaw Kittens frontman Tyson Meade and cult-favorite filmmaker Mickey Reece all play teachers at the movie's strange middle school in the movie, showing Friday and Sunday during deadCenter.

What documentaries from Oklahoma filmmakers will screen at this year's deadCenter?

Another Native American film that played this year's Sundance Film Fest, "Bad Press" follows Angel Ellis, a Mvskoke Media reporter based in Okmulgee, as she fights for truth and transparency after the Muscogee Nation starts censoring its free press. Directed by Muscogee filmmaker Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, the documentary is showing Saturday and Sunday at deadCenter. 

A feature documentary from first-time director Kian Taylor, "Riding Legacy" rounds up the often-overlooked story of the modern-day Oklahoma Black cowboy community that has existed since the early 1850s. It traces the origins of Black cowboys and cowgirls, follows the Black rodeo circuit and maps the future for those who ride locally and professionally. The film's deadCenter screenings are slated for Saturday and Sunday.

Filmed in Tulsa, the documentary "Body Electric," from former Lyric Theater of Oklahoma Artistic Director Nick Demos, explores the topics of visibility, dysmorphia, acceptance and empowerment in the queer community. It is showing Saturday and Sunday during the OKC fest.

And Edmond native and Texas-based producer Mary Beth Minnis returns to deadCenter with the documentary feature "Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom," which uncovers the misuse of Christianity to justify American slavery and spotlights the faith that empowered the formerly enslaved and their descendants to fight for liberty. It is screening Saturday and Sunday.

What are some other narrative and documentary features coming to deadCenter?

Along with Oklahoma actors, festivalgoers will recognize acclaimed performers like Lea Thompson, Rumer Willis, Seth Green, Gilbert Godfrey, Kevin Smith, Weird Al Yankovic and the late Leslie Jordan on this year's deadCenter slate.

Narrative features on the lineup include the thriller "This Closeness," which delves into the dynamics between a lonely lodging host and the couple who rents a room for a high school reunion; the comedy "My Divorce Party," which explores female friendships as a woman navigates a major life change; and "A Pretty Good Movie," which follows a man seeking to make a name for himself through cinema.

Another Sundance selection, "Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls" takes writer, director and star Andrew Bowser's titular viral YouTube character into the movie realm with this horror-comedy, which follows the amateur occultist to a ritual at his idol’s dark mansion. It is showing Friday and Saturday during deadCenter.

Among the documentary features, the SXSW selection "Herricanes" revisits the 1970s Houston team in the first women’s full tackle football league, with appearances by their Sooner State rivals, the almighty OKC Dolls. Another SXSW pick that flashes back to the '70s, "A Disturbance in the Force" explores the two-hour "Star Wars Holiday Special,” which was watched by 13 million people in 1978 only to never get re-aired.

What has OKC Thunder Films created for its 2023 deadCenter selection?

For the sixth year, OKC Thunder Films will debut an uplifting short film at deadCenter.

Screening on Saturday night, "Steps" follows the inspirational story of OKC disabled athlete Derek Loccident, whose life was changed forever in a train accident. The story picks up in California, where he is currently training for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

A beloved deadCenter tradition, the OKC Thunder short will show before the free Saturday night screening in Scissortail Park. Along with following Loccident's inspiring story, attendees will get to rock out with the music documentary "It’s Only Life After All," spotlighting the iconic folk-rock band the Indigo Girls.

What short films and other highlights are planned for deadCenter?

The OKC event is an Academy Awards-qualifying festival in the Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film categories, and this year's deadCenter features 20 short film blocks, including new blocks like Iranian Shorts, Avant Garde and Les Artistes.

There are two of the popular Okie Shorts sections this year, and local teen filmmaker Ella Janes is programming a high school block.

The fest's Okie music video selections include "Chinga La Migra" by Lincka, "Shots" by Lauren Bumgarner, "Pale in the Darkness" by Sisteria, "Generational Dust" by Rahul Chakraborty and "By the Dawn" by Oklahoma expat Ryan Stephen Holly.

Other returning festival favorites include deadCenter University, kidsFest, Afro Cinema, Film Row Frolic and the Late Night PJ Party highlighting 1993's "Dazed and Confused."

New to this year's event is Saturday's Film Future, a collection of immersive films and experiences created by storytellers using cutting-edge technology. Curated by former deadCenter Executive Director Lance McDaniel, the June 9-10 showcase will spotlight motion capture, drones, digital animation, augmented reality and fully immersive 360 virtual reality.

How can film fans get deadCenter tickets?

Passes to the 2023 deadCenter Film Festival are $200. For tickets and a complete list of films, go to deadcenterfilm.org.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC's deadCenter Film Fest runs through Sunday: See lineup, ticket info