What you'll see at the 2022 deadCenter Film Festival: New venues, Oscars opportunity

After two years of primarily celebrating independent film online, the deadCenter Film Festival returns to an in-person format this year for its 22nd edition.

Scheduled for June 9-12 at various Oklahoma City venues, the state's largest film festival is just two months away.

Here's what we know about deadCenter 2022 so far:

1. Festival receives record submissions

The deadCenter Film team considered nearly 2,000 submissions over the festival's open call timeframe, which closed in March. That number of entries breaks pre-pandemic records for submissions.

In its mostly virtual format, the 2021 fest showcased a record-setting slate of more than 175 films, including about 30 made by Oklahomans.

It will be interesting to see how many of the submissions make the cut when this year's lineup is announced in the coming days.

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2. OKC event adds new venues

The festival's 22nd installment will be a citywide event, and the team will have two new venues to work with: the new First Americans Museum and the historic Yale Theater, both in South Oklahoma City.

The festival is expected to return indoors at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Harkins Bricktown 16 and Rodeo Cinema.

Free outdoor screenings have become popular attractions at deadCenter, and festivalgoers can mark their calendars for two chances to catch movies outside this year: A Friday night showcase June 10 at Scissortail Park and a Saturday night double feature June 11 in the Wheeler District.

3. Oscars opportunity awaits deadCenter short film winners

Just a month after the 2021 event, staffers announced a major milestone for the fest: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that hands out the Oscars, has designated deadCenter a qualifying festival in two Academy Awards categories: Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film.

This is the first year that deadCenter winners in the Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film categories will be eligible to enter the Oscars Short Film competition.

"It puts deadCenter on the map, nationally and internationally, as a film festival that can really help a filmmaker in their career, on their path, on their film's journey," Sara Thompson, deadCenter Film's director of programming, told The Oklahoman in 2021.

As of this year's March 1 deadline, a peak of 1,065 films had been entered in the Live Action Shorts competition for deadCenter 2022.

Submissions are still being reviewed, with the full slate of shorts to be released in early May.

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4. Indigenous feature film category added

Between the success of the trailblazing made-in-Oklahoma series "Reservation Dogs" and the launch of the Cherokee Nation's $1 million annual film incentive, Native America is playing a big role in Oklahoma's booming movie and TV industry.

And deadCenter Film is recognizing that: The 2022 festival will add a Best Indigenous Feature award to its slate, doubling the event's number of financially sponsored juried awards.

In 2021, the fest launched its first cash prize category, for Best Indigenous Short Film, with support from the Cherokee Nation.

Directed by Cherokee filmmaker Jeremy Charles, "Totsu (Redbird)," about an Indigenous woman who must confront a mysterious predator in parallel worlds of a prehistoric past and dystopian future, won the inaugural Best Indigenous Short Film prize.

5. deadCenter keeping virtual aspect

Although the focus in 2022 will be returning the festival to indoor theaters and in-person events, deadCenter will offer a selection of films within its virtual library.

The virtual library is to remain accessible through June 19.

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6. Familiar face returns to lead nonprofit

Founding Executive Director Cacky Poarch, who established the nonprofit as a corporation in 2004, is back as interim executive director of deadCenter Film.

Alyx Picard, who was named executive director in 2020, has left the organization to pursue other opportunities, the nonprofit has announced.

Picard, who continues to serve as president of the board of the global Film Festival Alliance, started at deadCenter in 2006 as a volunteer, transitioning from program coordinator to director of festival and operations. As executive director, she helped guide the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic and led the conversion of the 2020 and 2021 festivals to a virtual platform.

“Alyx has been a vital asset to deadCenter for over a decade, and we are so grateful for her steadfast work of steering the festival through the pandemic,” Poarch said in a statement. “In just a few short weeks, we will be enjoying independent film back in the theaters, and I can’t wait. Filmmakers and directors from across the globe will connect here in Oklahoma, and I look forward to celebrating creativity and community through film with them at the 2022 deadCenter Film Festival.”

During her previous tenure leading deadCenter Film, Poarch helped grow the festival, leading it to becoming one of the “Top 20 Coolest Film Festivals in the World," according to MovieMaker Magazine.

Poarch has produced and directed multiple films in Oklahoma, many of which premiered at deadCenter, including the award-winning documentary “Faces of the 47th: The Art of Activism.” Poarch is an Artist INC Fellow, and she received the deadCenter Festival ICON Award at the 2018 Glitterball.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC's deadCenter Film Festival returns in person - what to know