THIS IS A (bittersweet) ANNOUNCEMENT

June 22nd, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in deadCENTER News
On July 15th, Cacky Poarch will be stepping down as Executive Director of the deadCENTER Film Festival.  Cacky actually made this decision before the festival, but was asked to keep the announcement confidential until yesterday.

Cacky Poarch with Mat Hoffman & Spike Jonze

Here’s a statement from Cacky herself…

I’ve been doing this gig for the past 8 years, both as a volunteer and employee, and it’s been a great ride.

For our 10th anniversary, the Festival hosted a Decade of deadCENTER Retrospective at the IAO Gallery (thank you Jennifer, Alyx and Brian!) and it was a sincere gift to be able to reminisce about how much our festival has grown over the last decade. Since moving the festival downtown with the ‘Fab Five’, the festival has experienced continual growth that has been amazing.  The festival experienced a 2000% revenue growth, which seems outlandish, but it’s true.  Even Lloyd Kaufman, the owner of the oldest independent film studio, Troma Studios, has said that we are the best run film festival he has ever attended. We are all extremely proud of that.

For our 10th year, we can honestly say we rocked the face off OKC. We had record attendance, multiple world premieres and attracted the likes of Spike Jonze, Elvis Mitchell and even Simply Irresistible. That’s about every shade of fabulous a festival can hope for.  We’ve also developed a solid strategic plan, and with a sound Board of Directors, the next Executive Director will have all the tools necessary to successfully take deadCENTER into the next decade.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to all our sponsors and volunteers that have helped make deadCENTER the largest and most prestigious film festival in Oklahoma. We couldn’t do it without community support and for that I am sincerely grateful.  I’ve always said that people think our festival is run by magical fairies because it operates so smoothly.  It’s truly because of the Kimmisioners’ hard work and all the volunteers that rally to make it a success.

Thank you. You’re all awesome. I love you.

-Cacky

10 Years of Memories

June 22nd, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in deadCENTER News
Year 10! How in the world did we make it this far?! This inspired creation that almost closed it’s doors after year 2 has grown into the largest and most prestigious film festival in Oklahoma, and it has literally taken a village to get us here. In reviewing the past decade, we’ve reminisced about some of our favorite memories. Here is a cumulative top ten list:

One Last Look at the Films of deadCENTER 10

June 20th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in deadCENTER News

Just in case you didn’t get sick of it before every screening this year, here’s one last look at our opening bumper for deadCENTER 10, featuring clips from many of our outstanding films. (we tried to include them all in a minute, but we didn’t want to induce any seizures from the quick edits).

Stay tuned for more fun from this year’s fest, and news on upcoming events!

Oklahoma Filmmakers win Grand Jury Prize, launch remake of “Citizen Kane”

June 15th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in Film News

The most common question asked of filmmakers after screening at a film festival is “What are you working on now?”

Well the boys at Singletree Productions are wasting no time after their long-awaited Grand Jury Prize win at deadCENTER last weekend, and the news is already sweeping the internets.  Check out the trailer below.  It’s, shall we say… ambitious…

AWARDS!

June 14th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in deadCENTER News

Awards for the 2010 deadCENTER Film Festival were presented Saturday night.  Here are the winners:

Best Student Film: In This Place


Best Animation:  O Pintor de Ceos (Painter of the Skies)


Best Narrative Short:  Junko’s Shamisen


Best Documentary Short:  A Song for Ourselves


Best Narrative Feature:  earthwork


Best Doc Feature: A Good Day to Die


Best Okie Short:  The Rounder Comes to Town


Best Okie Feature: The Rock and Roll Dreams of Duncan Christopher


Grand Jury Narrative Feature:  Simmons on Vinyl


Grand Jury Doc Feature:  Our House

Two great panel discussions today

June 12th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in deadCENTER News

Make sure you’re at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art at 12:30 and 2 pm today for the last two panel discussions of the festival.

At 1230, Julie Porter of the OK Film and Music Office will be talking with some of Oklahoma’s most talented independent filmmakers for the “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Make My Movie” panel. We’ll be hearing about how these filmmakers got that first film done; it’s a must-see for any aspiring filmmakers out there.

At 2 pm, the museum will screen “For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism,” and a panel discussion moderated by OKMOA film curator Brian Hearn will follow immediately afterwards. The panel will feature Elvis Mitchel, Pete VonderHaar and the director of the film, Gerald Peary. We expect a big turnout for this screening, so make sure you secure a seat early.

4 Questions: RICHARD GARRIOTT: MAN ON A MISSION

June 12th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in Interviews

Tonight we’ll be gathering under the stars to watch a tremendous documentary about one man’s journey to follow his father’s footsteps into space. The name of the film is Richard Garriott: Man on a Mission, and it’s a free screening Saturday June 12th at 9:00pm, immediately following the deadCENTER Awards ceremony and Cosmic Arts Jubilee.

Let’s hear from the director, Mike Woolf:

1. Tell us about your movie. Give us the reductive, 25-word or less, “It’s like [pop culture reference a] meets [pop culture reference b]!” pitch, then explain what the quick and dirty sell leaves out.

We could try and come up with a “Apollo 13 meets Dungeons and Dragons” analogy but it will never be as cool as some of the reviews we’ve been getting. Here are a few of our favorites: Read More »

The Panels Series Kicks Off With “Technology in Film”

June 11th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in deadCENTER News

Okay, you’ve seen some films and gone to some parties – but your deadCENTER experience isn’t complete unless you’ve checked out our panel series.

It all kicks off today with our “Technology in Film” Panel.  Every week there’s a new gadget, platform, or software that promises to change the way we make, watch, and share movies.  It’s hard to keep up, but there’s a new breed of filmmakers who have ideas about how to stay ahead of the curve.

Following the World Premiere screening of Heart of Now, our program director Kevin Ely will be sitting down with the director, Zak Forsman and the star, Marion Kerr, along with filmmakers Christopher Sharpe and Jeremy Berger to talk about rapidly changing technology has changed how they produce, market and distribute films both practically and creatively.

So go see Heart of Now at 2 pm at the Museum today and stick around for the panel at 4. It’s like a DVD commentary right in front of your face.

Going Retro

June 10th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in The Guest Spot

Although I’ve only been involved with the festival for around 4 years, it’s been amazing to see how much it has grown while remaining completely indie and awesome. The “Tattoo” party has been traded up for the fantastic Friday Night Frolic. Super-duper famous people take our phone calls (or at least the message gets to their assistants). Our programs are in full color. Small steps towards making the biggest film festival in Oklahoma even bigger.

I know what you’re thinking. And yes, the parties are at the Museum of Art and Nonna’s tonight. But also, wouldn’t it be cool to get to see the spectacular growth of deadCENTER?

Well kiddos, you’re in luck. Tonight through Sunday, the Independent Artists of Oklahoma gallery (or IAO for you hipsters) is housing an interactive eXhibition spanning all 10 years of the festival. Come see the good and the not-so-good-but-so-bad-its-awesome, get a drink, sign our autograph wall, and take some pictures with bonafide celebrities. It’s your opportunity to become a part of deadCENTER history.

See you there!

Tonight’s screening of Biker Fox has been moved to Kerr Auditorium

June 10th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in deadCENTER News

Due to an over-whelming amount of awesomeness, tonight’s screening of Biker Fox has been moved to Kerr Auditorium at 10:15 pm. Please, tell your friends, your neighbors, your family and random people on the street.

If you need help finding Kerr, check the map below, or use the walking directions tool on our front page. And if you need reminding of why this news is important, well, I’ve included the Biker Fox trailer below as well.


View Larger Map

Page 1 of 41234