Norman ushers in new film festival
NORMAN — A new film festival is coming to Norman this month aimed at boosting opportunities for students and professionals in Oklahoma’s entertainment industry.
The Norman Film Festival kicks off its Year One event Saturday, with 16 featured films and more than 50 short films and music videos playing at four venues across the city.
Norman already is home to a Native American film festival and student film festival, but festival Director Chase Spivey hopes a general purpose festival will highlight the city’s talent and attract professionals who could bring film projects to Oklahoma.
“As someone who makes music videos and films myself, I hear from friends all the time that you have to move away from Oklahoma and from Norman to get work or make it in this industry,” Spivey said. “The state is already exporting so much of our arts and entertainment talent, and I’m hoping we can retain some of that rather than forcing them to go somewhere else to find success.”
The festival received nearly 200 submissions from 45 countries between January and June, including some local projects.
“I Stand: Guardians of the Water,” a documentary about North Dakota’s water rights struggle by Oklahoma filmmaker Kyle Kauwika Harris, will play at 2:45 p.m. at the new Mercury Event Space, 426 E Main St.
At 5 p.m., the Mercury also will feature “I’m OK,” a coming-of-age story about a doomsday prepper that is set and filmed in Oklahoma by an Oklahoma filmmaker featuring music from a local and starring Oklahoma native Justin Dwayne Hall.
Hall, 20, lived in Norman and Edmond before moving to Los Angeles in 2011 to pursue acting.
“There wasn’t much opportunity for acting in Oklahoma, which is why I had to leave,” Hall said.
Aaron Pence, manager of the computer training center at Norman Public Library, said the festival will encourage area students who are interested in film to participate in local programs like the library’s Middle School Movie Makers.
The club meets on Tuesdays to learn some tricks of the trade and create a short film from scratch that premieres during a movie night at the end of the session. Contact apence@pioneerlibrarysystem.org for information about the club.
The library and the University of Oklahoma’s Innovation Lab will host workshops during the inaugural film festival, providing a gateway for students interested in filmmaking. Stop-motion animation for teens, virtual reality demonstrations and acting workshops are part of the festival’s offerings this year.
“How do you get your feet wet when the entry barriers are really high because you have to have a $2,000 camera just to get started?” Pence said. “We have the equipment and the knowledge, so we’re all just trying to make film accessible for people who are interested.”
Screenings take place throughout the day at The Mercury, The Sooner Theatre, The Studio of the Sooner Theatre and Opolis. The first screening is at 12:15 p.m., and the final film begins at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance or $25 on the day of the event and provide unlimited access to all of the venues. Spivey said attendees are encouraged to move casually from one screening to the next to take in as many films as possible.
Admission to two after parties also are included with the tickets. Opolis will host a comedy showcase at 10 p.m., and an arts festival will be held in the lot next to Stash in the 400 block of Main Street with local vendors, food trucks and live music, which is part of the Sunset Market series.
For more information and the full festival schedule, go to www. normanfilmfestival.com.