Last Updated on June 6, 2024, 1:23 PM | Published: June 6, 2024
OKLAHOMA CITY — As the 24th annual deadCenter Film Festival gets underway, you might be noticing just how encompassing the event has become across a wide stretch of the city.
Oklahoma’s premier film industry event has come a long way since launching in a single room at the fairgrounds in 2000, with the schedule spreading out across four full days, international interest with thousands of submissions, and Academy Awards contention now firmly in place for the shorts categories.
Of course, that kind of evolution is going to require some serious physical expansion as well, and this year the festival is going big, taking over no fewer than six major venues across the city for screenings, panels, high-tech experiences, and more.
But don’t be overwhelmed by choice. Here’s your guide to the participating venues and the kinds of screenings and showcases you can expect at each one.
Harkins Theatres Bricktown
With the most deadCenter screenings, the largest capacity theaters, and of course the best concession options, Harkins Theatres in Bricktown will once again act as the beating heart of the festival.
The screenings here will cover nearly everything, ranging from numerous shorts programs to the biggest feature selections, and you can be sure that it’s where you’ll find the biggest movie-going crowds of the fest.
In fact, you can have a pretty fantastic and packed festival experience by just posting up at Harkins and catching all of your screenings right there.
If you’re not planning on theater-hopping around town, and not looking to hit the panels, parties, and more hands-on experiences, then Harkins is likely to be your home base throughout deadCenter 2024.
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
OKCMOA has been one of deadCenter’s closest and most treasured partners for years, and 2024 is no different.
Not only does their Noble Theater provide a remarkable cinema experience and a perfect venue for post-screening panels and discussions, but their rooftop terrace has kicked off the festivities in style for multiple years running with the always exciting Opening Night party.
OKCMOA’s Noble Theater will be hosting exclusively features this year, with some of the most anticipated films of the fest playing, including documentaries “La Singla,” “Citizen Sleuth,” and “Hail to the Breadsticks!,” as well as narratives “Hey Viktor!” and “Hands that Bind.”
As a bonus, this is also where the official Saturday morning deadCenter Awards announcement and ceremony will be held for pass-holders.
Rodeo Cinema Film Row
After several years of narrowing their focus and scope by sticking mainly to their “home” theaters at Harkins and OKCMOA, deadCenter is once again partnering with OKC’s beloved indie Rodeo Cinema for screenings all through the weekend.
Rodeo’s Film Row location in the legendary screening room of the historic Paramount Building is a perfect venue for the more intimate, comfortable screenings, with wide, comfy seats and a super throwback, classic cinema atmosphere.
Most of the slate will see Rodeo in Film Row hosting shorts programs – including the perennial favorite Music Videos showcase – before showing a few of the fest’s most exciting features late Saturday and Sunday.
But remember, this theater is an “Old Hollywood” style screening room, so space is especially limited. So get there early if you want to catch any of these screenings.
First Americans Museum
One of the most unique and welcome elements of deadCenter each year is the festival’s focus on Indigenous filmmakers and the Native roots that run throughout the Oklahoma arts and entertainment world.
It feels like a no-brainer, then, to partner with OKC’s First Americans Museum for screenings and showcases of those Indigenous filmmakers, but the museum’s Five Moons Theater isn’t actually hosting exclusively First Americans films.
In addition to Indigenous films like “Sugarcane,” “Moloka’i Bound,” and short “Meet Me at the Creek,” they’ll also be screening anticipated multicultural features like “Smoking Tigers” and documentary “Secret Mall Apartment.”
Scissortail Park
Though Scissortail Park hosts only one screening, the outdoor Saturday night event remains one of the festival’s most loved traditions, offering city residents a fully free opportunity to get in on the film festival fun with the whole family.
This year, the “On the Lawn” feature walks the line between the film and music worlds as deadCenter presents “This is a Film About The Black Keys,” taking an inside look at the humble beginnings and eventual superstardom of one of rock’s biggest modern acts.
Fordson Hotel
The Fordson Hotel is set to be the festival’s home base for 2024, holding all the registration and media stations as well as numerous filmmaker panels, events, and even the traditional deadCenter Pajama Party, but it’s also where you’ll find the festival’s high-tech home this year.
The Virtual Reality Films showcase was a particular hit in 2023, and this year, the full 360-degree film experience is back, hosted all weekend long in the Fordson’s Main Gallery.
Featuring immersive VR experiences centering on tribal cultures, scientific research, classically inspired animation, and even Dungeons & Dragons, this year’s slate of VR Films is set to get people talking just as much as last year’s.
For more information, including the complete schedule of screenings and events, visit deadcenterfilm.org.
Catch Brett Fieldcamp’s film column weekly for information and insights into the world of film in the Oklahoma City metro and Oklahoma. | Brought to you by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
