From a rock doc to inspiring sports stories, what to see at OKC's deadCenter Film Festival
From inspirational sports stories to vital Indigenous histories, the 2024 deadCenter Film Festival promises to be action-packed no matter what genre cinephiles favor.
A celebration of independent film, the 24th Annual deadCenter Film Festival is set for June 6-9 in downtown Oklahoma City, with screenings at Harkins Bricktown 16, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Rodeo Cinema Film Row, Scissortail Park, First Americans Museum and the new dC Hub at the Fordson Hotel (formerly 21c Museum Hotel).
More than 1,800 films were submitted this year's Oscar-qualifying festival, which will showcase about 160 short films, narrative features, documentaries, music videos and more. The state's largest film fest also boasts numerous world, U.S. and Oklahoma premieres.
Here are some of the highlights of the 2024 deadCenter Film Festival:
Play 'Hailey's Game' with a locally made supernatural world premiere
When and where: 5 p.m. June 6, Harkins Bricktown, and 3:30 p.m. June 9, Rodeo Cinema Film Row.
The first film on this year's deadCenter Film Fest schedule is the world premiere of "Hailey’s Game," a supernatural LGBTQIA romance filmed entirely with OKC locations, cast and crew.
A local queer female filmmaker, Katie Hightower makes her feature film directorial debut with the drama, based on her popular web series of the same name. She made the movie on a microbudget of $20,000 over nine days with a crew of just nine people.
"Hailey's Game" follows Carter McDowell as she searches for a way to overcome her grief over the death of her best friend, Hailey. With the help of Hailey's ex-boyfriend Tanner, a zany bookstore clerk named Billy and some supernatural intervention by Hailey herself, Carter embarks on a journey of love, loss and healing.
Root for a hometown sports star with 'Saucedo' on opening night
When and where: 8:45 p.m. June 6 and 8:30 p.m. June 8, Harkins Bricktown.
On the festival's opening night, the Oklahoma Documentary Feature Centerpiece will be the world premiere of "Saucedo." The film follows Oklahoma boxing champion Alex Saucedo, who suffered a career-ending brain injury in 2020 that forced him to redefine his identity, find new purpose and take care of his family.
The emotional documentary includes a cameo by Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt and was shot in OKC and Tulsa, with contributions and collaborations with Oklahomans in front of and behind the camera.
Get inspired by local stories with free Continuum short films
When and where: Free at 3 p.m. June 9, Harkins Bricktown.
Through its year-round Continuum series, deadCenter Film aims to connect to diverse communities across Oklahoma, while focusing on inclusive programming. The free Continuum showcase at this year's fest includes some inspiring local short films:
"Built Different," by filmmaker Michael Zubach, goes behind the scenes at the South OKC gym Rival Boxing, where the unique approach of coaches Nikki Burleson and Juwan Cubit has produced four national champions, six runner-ups and four bronze medals.
"Endeavor," from returning deadCenter filmmaker Bunee Tomlinson, follows a group of adaptive athletes as they prepare for the annual Endeavor Games in Oklahoma, adjusting to life-altering situations, coming to terms with their mental health and pursuing Paralympian status.
"Chasing Thunder," by OKC filmmaker and former deadCenter Executive Director Lance McDaniel, celebrates the trailblazing Native American-written and produced musical "Distant Thunder," which OKC's Lyric Theatre first brought to life at First Americans Museum.
Rock to 'This Is a Film About the Black Keys' for free in the park
When and where: Free at 8:30 p.m. June 8, Scissortail Park.
The rock documentary "This Is a Film About the Black Keys," chronicling the musical journey of the six-time Grammy-winning rock duo, will have its Oklahoma premiere at deadCenter, following its world premiere in March at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas.
It will screen for free as the fest's popular "On the Lawn" offering.
The film traces the journey of The Black Keys — singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney — from a jam session in a basement in Akron, Ohio, to rock ’n’ roll stardom.
Just before rock doc, catch a special sneak-peek of the upcoming made-in-Oklahoma movie "Twisters," due in theaters July 19.
Cherokee short film invites viewers to 'Meet Me at the Creek'
When and where: With Okie Shorts at 5 p.m. June 7, Harkins Bricktown, and 2 p.m. Saturday, First Americans Museum.
As part of the perennially popular Okie Shorts block, Tulsa-based Cherokee and Kiowa filmmaker Loren Waters ("Reservation Dogs") is bringing her second short doc to OKC.
“Meet Me at the Creek" tells a story of interconnectedness and Cherokee values through the lifelong fight of Rebecca Jim, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Waterkeeper Warrior leading the effort to restore Tar Creek in Miami, Oklahoma. U.S. government officials have designated Tar Creek a Superfund Site, deeming the creek “irreversibly damaged" by decades of lead and zinc mining. But Rebecca refuses to accept that the damage cannot be undone.
Thunder up with the team's Bismack Biyombo documentary
When and where: Free at 7:30 p.m. June 7, Harkins Bricktown.
He hasn't been with the Oklahoma City Thunder for long, but the team is already putting its appreciation for Bismack Biyombo on film.
OKCThunder Films, a collaboration between the Thunder’s broadcasting and basketball communications departments, brings a new documentary to deadCenter every year, and they've made the veteran NBA center their 2024 cinematic subject with "BISMACK."
Typically, the Thunder Films are short docs, but this year's offering runs 40 minutes, probably because there's a lot to cover with Biyombo, who signed to the team in February. Throughout his NBA career, he has raised millions of dollars to build schools, sports facilities and health care programs in his homeland, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He even donated his entire NBA salary one season to build a hospital in the Congo in honor of his father, who died of COVID.
Admission will be free to the "BISMACK" world-premiere screening.
Get to know Oklahoma Film Icons Paul Sparks and Dylan Brodie
When and where: Paul Sparks' panel at 2:30 p.m. June 8 and Dylan Brodie's panel at 4 p.m. June 8, both at Fordson Hotel.
Paul Sparks, a Lawton native and stage and screen actor known for his roles in the acclaimed television series "Boardwalk Empire" and "House of Cards," and Dylan Brodie, a Tulsa-based Ramona native known for his behind-the-scenes work on the celebrated made-in-Oklahoma projects "Minari," "Reservation Dogs" and "Fancy Dance," have been selected as this year's deadCenter Film Fest Oklahoma Film Icons.
Each Icon will sit down for an hourlong conversation about his cinematic accomplishments June 8. Admission is free.
Check out father-daughter screenings from OKC filmmakers
When and where: "Cricket" at 8:30 p.m. June 6, and 3:30 p.m. June 9, Harkins Bricktown, and "Happiness in the Palm of Her Hand" at 5 p.m. June 7, Harkins Bricktown, and 2 p.m. June 8, First Americans Museum, in Okie Shorts.
In what's believed to be a deadCenter first, this year's fest will include films by father-and-daughter directors. OKC filmmaker Richard Janes' musical drama "Cricket" (formerly titled "Cricket's Requiem") will be the Oklahoma Narrative Feature Centerpiece on opening night.
The gala screening will be the first public showing of the locally made movie. It follows Skye Dakota Turner, who played the young Aretha Franklin in the 2021 biopic "Respect," as Cricket Sullivan, an introverted teenager drawn to churches, where she steals candles for her sick mother. Caught in the act by a grieving choir director and assigned to polish one church's pews as penance, she finds an unlikely friendship that helps her unlock her true gift.
Already an avid creator of short films, Janes' daughter, Ella Janes, a recent Classen School of Advanced Studies graduate who's earned a scholarship to the USC School of Cinematic Arts, returns to deadCenter with the Oklahoma premiere of her new short "Happiness in the Palm of Her Hand," about a young woman who must confront her abusive childhood as she unexpectedly embarks on motherhood. It's showing in the Okie Shorts block.
Feel the beat with the dance documentary 'La Singla'
When and where: 7 p.m. June 6, OKC Museum of Art.
The Opening Night Feature Documentary "La Singla" shares a portrait of Antonia Singla, a flamenco dancer who was born deaf and revolutionized the art at the age of 17.
A native of Spain, Singla was widely considered “the best flamenco dancer in the world,” but disappeared before turning 30 years old, returning 50 years later to tell her story. The documentary, which has screened at festivals across the globe, will have its Oklahoma premiere at deadCenter.
Celebrate cinema with the kids at the free Family Fest Shorts
When and where: Free at 12:30 p.m. June 7, First Americans Museum, and 11 a.m. June 9, Harkins Bricktown.
A fest favorite, the free Family Fest Shorts block provides cinematic entertainment suitable for children and adults alike.
This year's offerings range from the animated adventure "Coquille," about a hermit crab named Bernard, to the live-action romp "Vroom Vroom," about a romantic adolescent determined to take his crush for a cruise, to the short doc "The School of Canine Massage," about just what the title indicates.
Learn the strange Oklahoma connection in the 'Secret Mall Apartment'
When and where: 7:30 p.m. June 8, Harkins Bricktown, and 12:30 p.m. June 9, First Americans Museum.
In what has to be the strangest Oklahoman connection of this year's festival, Rhode Island artist Michael Townsend, who led a team in making inspirational tape murals in Oklahoma City in the wake of the 1995 Murrah Building bombing, returns to OKC on screen in this documentary from deadCenter alumni Jeremy Workman.
"Secret Mall Apartment" follows eight young Rhode Islanders, including Townsend, who in 2003 created a secret apartment — complete with furnishings and a locked door — in a hidden space inside the Providence Place Mall to make a statement against gentrification, filming everything along the way over four years.
The film, from executive producer Jesse Eisenberg, also features the group’s charitable efforts, such as volunteering at local children’s hospitals and creating massive memorial art pieces for victims of 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing.
See the future of film in the Student Shorts
When and where: Noon June 8, Harkins Bricktown.
From an action-packed spaghetti Western to a footwear-induced existential crisis, see the future of cinema with Student Shorts, a collection of films by high-schoolers as well as deadCenter University scholars.
Among the most mysterious offerings in the block is the three-minute short "Operation Abandoned," executive produced by OKC Thunder GM Sam Presti and his wife, Shannon Presti, and starring and co-written by their son, Nicholas Presti.
Catch the wave with the U.S. premiere feature 'Wild Goat Surf'
When and where: 5 p.m. June 7, Harkins Bricktown, and 8 p.m. June 8, Rodeo Cinema Film Row.
After playing at various fests in her native Canada, actress and filmmaker Caitlyn Sponheimer ("The Boys") will mark the U.S. premiere of her coming-of-age drama at deadCenter.
Set in 2003, the feature follows teenage tomboy Rell “Goat” Andreson (Shayelin Martin) as she skateboards up and down British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, dreaming of becoming a world-class surfer like her deceased father, while her mother Jane (Sponheimer) schemes, scrounges and works two jobs to support them.
Tap the 'Oppenheimer' vibes with new documentary 'The Accelerator'
When and where: 1 p.m. June 8, Harkins Bricktown.
Hot off last year's Oscar-winning blockbuster "Oppenheimer," OKC's Prairie Surf Creative will mark the world premiere of its new documentary about one of Oppenheimer’s key collaborators.
Directed by Wendy Roberts-Garrett, "The Accelerator" centers on Dr. Robert Wilson, the youngest scientist and a pivotal figure on the Manhattan Project. The film uses archival footage and intimate interviews to delve into the complexities of Wilson’s moral struggle as a pacifist, shedding light on the human cost behind one of history’s most transformative scientific endeavors.
The doc is loaded with local talent behind the camera: Prairie Surf CEO Matt Payne produced it, documentarian Christopher Hunt edited it, and Flaming Lips songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd created the music.
Watch the award-winning 'Sugarcane' before it hits Disney+
When and where: 4:30 p.m. June 9, First Americans Museum.
This year's deadCenter will come to a sobering conclusion with Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie's documentary chronicling the 2021 investigation into persistent rumors of physical and sexual abuse at St. Joseph’s Mission near Williams Lake, British Columbia, a Catholic-run Indigenous boarding school that operated until 1981.
The film won the directing award in the U.S. documentary category at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. According to Deadline, National Geographic Documentary Films subsequently bought "Sugarcane," which is showing at global festivals ahead of its release it in theaters and its streaming debut on Disney+.
2024 DEADCENTER FILM FESTIVAL
When: June 6-9.
Where: Multiple venues in downtown Oklahoma City.
Schedule: https://dcff.eventive.org/schedule.
Tickets and information: https://deadcenterfilm.org.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Premieres to panels, your guide to OKC's 2024 deadCenter Film Festival