deadCENTER to Celebrate Diversity with ‘World Fest’
Free Outdoor Event to Feature Award-Winning Musical Comedy, Filmmaker Awards
OKLAHOMA CITY – deadCENTER Film Festival today announced that the award-winning Australian musical comedy Bran Nue Dae will be the featured film for a free outdoor event on Saturday, June 12 in downtown Oklahoma City.
The public is invited to celebrate cultural and creative diversity at “World Fest,” an annual closing night event held on The Lawn at N. E.K. Gaylord Blvd. and N.W. 3rd St. The event begins at 7 p.m., and will host a wide variety of community groups, concessions, musicians and artists. At 9 p.m., filmmakers will be recognized for their talent and hard work at the deadCENTER awards ceremony. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs for the film which begins at 9:30 p.m.
Pop Culture Junkie – Episode III: “deadCENTER 101: Comics by a Couple of Knuckleheads”
I’m a comic book nerd.
I’ve been one since I first peeled open the cover of an issue of Fantastic Four when I was five years old way back during the Ford administration. And this sadly misunderstood God Bless American art form has imprinted itself on me like a baby chick and has influenced the entirety of my career path (I’m a multi-hyphenate copywriter-graphic designer-broadcast producer-all around creative guy).
And I make no secret of my pushing-40 comic nerditude, a fact which led deadCENTER ladies Kim & Cacky to invite me to help create a comic book page to explain the elements of the film festival to the potentially unaware masses.
A “deadCENTER 101” if you will.
Since I’m the writer and have less of the burden of work to fulfill, I happily agreed, and brought in one of my creative collaborators, OKC artist Robert Wilson IV, to illustrate it.
The Birth of Big Air is coming to deadCENTER!
Legendary BMX pioneer and favorite native son Mat Hoffman will help kick off the 10th annual deadCENTER Film Festival on Wednesday, June 9 with a special free, open-to-the-public outdoor screening of “The Birth of Big Air,” the highly acclaimed documentary about his life and career.
Academy Award nominee Spike Jonze and extreme sport fanatic Johnny Knoxville, along with director Jeff Tremaine, showcase the inner workings and exploits of the man who gave birth to “Big Air.” Partially shot in Oklahoma, the film was created for ESPN’s 30 for 30 series.
deadCENTER at SXSW: Buckle Up.
Our very own Cacky Poarch and Melissa Scaramucci are in SXSW, looking for great films, spreading the word about deadCENTER and generally being awesome. Stay tuned to this space for their dispatches.
Cacky and I can’t remember how many times we’ve made the pilgrimage south together – maybe 7 years? 8? Known universally at SXSW as “Those fun girls from Oklahoma”, we work to pile on the magic in our brief time at the fest. Seriously. One year we extended our trip to Tuesday (instead of leaving on our usual Monday) and that extra day almost left us hospitalized. These are the sacrifices we make for deadCENTER.
This Is An Announcement: Screening of The Great Contemporary Art Bubble at City Arts Center this Wednesday
Be sure to make your way down to City Arts Center on Wednesday, March 31 for a screening of The Great Contemporary Art Bubble. A reception will begin at 5:30, with the movie following at 6:00 and a panel discussion beginning at 7:40. Tickets to the event are $10 – student price is $7.00. Tickets include wine, popcorn, the film and the panel discussion after the movie.
For more information, visit www.cityartscenter.org or call (405) 951-0000.
You there – the procrastinating filmmaker! Deadline for submissions is NEXT WEEK.
Oh wow. I know it’s not just us – March has officially snuck-up on everyone and is about to catch us with our time-wasting pants down. But here’s the deal. The deadline for submitting your film for this year’s deadCENTER film festival is March 3rd. Yeah, as in, NEXT WEEK, WEDNESDAY MARCH 3rd is our submission deadline.
So bust out the stiff envelopes, packing tape, or carrier pigeons and get your movie into our hot little hands. We want to see them. All of them.
Details for submitting are at the very top of our home page, and you’re already on our website. So you have no excuses. Get on it, people.
This Is An Announcement: Song of Sparrows Showing Today, 2pm at Kerr McGee Auditorium
“This is an announcement” is our new category when we have non-deadCENTER events in Oklahoma we want you to know about. So, yeah, pay attention when you see it. Follow the jump to get the details.
OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY FILM INSTITUTE
Presents eight international films in the theme of “This I Believe.”
Sundays, 2 PM, Kerr McGee Auditorium in the Meinders School of Business at NW 27th Street and McKinley – Free Admission
This Sunday February 21st:
Majid Majidi’s Song of Sparrows (2008), Iran, 96 min.
From Iran, the country once again most requested on evaluation forms last year, comes another film by Majidi. In fact, people wrote, “Anything by Majidi.” Working at an ostrich farm outside of Tehran, Karim leads a simple and contented life with his family in their small house until one day when one of the ostriches runs away. Thus begins another one of Majidi’s unforgettable parables. When Karim travels to the city to help his elder daughter’s hearing, he finds himself mistaken for a motorcycle taxi driver. He then begins his new profession: ferrying people and goods through heavy traffic. How will this change impact his life?
-“At times funny, sad, poignant and suspenseful, Sparrows is a showcase for Majidi’s masterful storytelling.” SF Chronicle
-“The images in The Song of Sparrows have a poetic grace that’s to be desired in storytelling.” Boston Globe
-“A fable of a righteous man’s relationship to his family, his community and most of all his faith..” NY Times
The Referral – Candler Blog has SXSW details
Friend of deadCENTER and all-around cool guy Jonathan Poritsky has a blog he calls the Candler. We’ll probably be linking to his posts fairly often. Now you know.
He has the goods on the latest announcements from SXSW – clicky click.
Sundance Dispatch: Cacky Poarch of deadCENTER
Stories of Sundance
Ian, the deadCENTER Technical Guru of all things internety and webish, asked me to make an insightful appraisal of my recent trip to the Sundance Film Festival. Be forewarned, I’ve imbibed a veritable barrel of coffee, have been taking care of a sick child, and my humor has landed in the land of lollipops and shiny things. I did just use the words “internety” and “webish” too, so buckle up for my totally ridiculous blogtopia, Stories of Sundance.
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