The fifth annual Wide Open Experimental Film Festival is set to bring a bold mix of boundary-pushing cinema to Oklahoma City Museum of Art from April 24–26.
Presented by the Oklahoma City University Film Department, the festival will showcase 65 short films from around the world, organized into six curated programs over three days. Known for its eclectic and immersive approach, the lineup leans into experimental storytelling — with films described as abstract, mind-bending, liberating and even soul-healing.
Screenings begin at 6 p.m. on April 24, 4 p.m. on April 25 and 1:30 p.m. on April 26. Admission is free for all events, making the festival an accessible entry point for curious viewers and seasoned cinephiles alike.
Beyond the screenings, attendees can engage more deeply with the art form through three panel discussions featuring filmmakers, scholars and students. Topics will explore the political role of experimental film, reimagining what film education can be, and insights into Oklahoma’s underground art scene.
Several filmmakers will be in attendance throughout the weekend, offering audiences a chance to connect directly with the creative minds behind the work.
For more information, contact Festival Director Billy Palumbo at woefilmfest@gmail.com. Follow updates on Instagram at @woefilmfest and @okcufilm.
The Festival of Arts will be taking place within the block of the OKCMOA April 23-26. Make plans to attend both!
Wide Open Experimental Film Festival 2026
Thursday, April 23
Oklahoma Film Exchange, 701 W Sheridan Ave
7pm
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
EL SIGNO VACÍO (the empty sign), Kathryn Ramey – virtual Q&A with the filmmaker!
Friday, April 24
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Dr
6pm
Program 1: What Words Can and Cannot Say
My Body is a Lens I Can Look Through With My Mind, Ellery Bryan – filmmaker in-person!
hiatus B, Jenelle Stafford
The Next World, Grau Del Grau
Assets, Christine Lucy Latimer
(for once I dreamed of you), Kate Solar
Shapeless Variations, Francisco Rojas
You Do Not Exist, Dwayne LeBlanc
The Whitest of Shadows, Damien Cattinari
apocalipsis, Lauren Vick
7:20pm
Panel Discussion — Is Avant-Garde Our Last Hope?
A conversation about the political efficacy of experimental filmmaking and its connection to makers’ and audiences’ lived experiences.
Panelists:
Cali M. Banks (Abortion Clinic Film Collective)
Ellery Bryan (Grand Valley State University)
Jeremy Drummond (University of Richmond)
Moderators:
Billy Palumbo (WOEFF Director, Oklahoma City University)
Hannah Campbell (Oklahoma City University BFA On-Camera Acting and BA Film ’26)
8:30pm
Program 2: Experience Tells Us
Las Animas, Matt Feldman
On the Glue, Dave Johnson
Your Darkness, Susan DeLeo
The Sight Is A Wound, Parham Ghalamdar
BETTER LIGHTING, Kathryn Ramey
Good Neighbors Care, Kate E. Hinshaw
Trump Pinochet, Gerald Habarth
The Call, Kelly Sears
The Man Cave, Sarah Legow
T4T, Avian de Keizer
Prison and Time, Evan Bode & Marvin Wade – filmmaker in-person!
Monument, Jeremy Drummond – filmmaker in-person!
Catch Us on the Way Down, Cali M. Banks – filmmaker in-person!
Saturday, April 25
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Dr
4pm
Program 3: You Are Here
Sous le soleil exactement, Noa Blanche Beschorner
a traveller’s lament, Faye Shu
The Phalanx, Ben Balcom
Inhale, Lagha Ghavam & Mohsen Pouryousefian
Structural Changes, Jonah Primiano
Conversations in Brooklyn, Ingrid Stobbe – filmmaker in-person!
Digital Durham, Cal Young
Silence, Toni Mešrović
5:20pm
Panel Discussion — Real Film Education
Film educators discuss approaches to teaching film that meaningfully impact learners’ lives.
Panelists:
Bryan Cardinale-Powell (Oklahoma City University)
Ingrid Stobbe (Lesley University)
Lily Tucker (Director of Okie Women Film Festival; Oklahoma City University BFA Film Production ’24)
Moderators:
Gabe Wyatt (Oklahoma City University BFA Film Production ’26)
Analise Rodriguez (Oklahoma City University BFA On-Camera Acting ’26)
7pm
Program 4: Creation Plays Itself
Does the Sea Have a Heart?, Miglè Križinauskaitė
Sunny 16 Helsinki, Eve Le Fessant Coussonneau
Drift, Tessa Garland
summer school, Josh Weissbach
Morii, Mireille Heibreder
Alpine Tundra, Kathleen Rugh
Ochlockonee Split, Dave Rodriguez
Ashes to ashes, Sidney Gordon
Same Water, Martine Granby
Mist, Brittany Gravely
Ancraophobia, Mahda Purmehdi
Sunday, April 26
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Dr
1:30 – 2:45pm
Program 5: Living Through It
Half Halt, Sofia Theodore-Pierce
Chicken Salad, CK Thornton
The Golden Bough, Luke Thompson – filmmaker in-person!
Absolut, Caroline Rumley
des rêves des rives, Louise Luck & Harry Bracho
HOWW TO WAYT, Johanna Winters
Children of the Chicken, Jessi Kyle – filmmaker in-person!
Sunspots, Abinadi Meza
Dance Film, Kelly Gallagher
These Shirts Are Not Mine, Lily Tucker – filmmaker in-person!
All of This Must Be Paid For, Gabi Rudin
2:45pm
SPECIAL PERFORMANCE
Myein, Andrew Lee
Live accompaniment by ut mutem
3:10pm
Panel Discussion — Digging Underground: (Some of the) Grassroots, DIY, and Anti-Corporate Art in Oklahoma
Representatives from local organizations discuss the art scene outside the mainstream.
Panelists:
Lauren Bumgarner (Picture Garden)
Andrew Lee (Dissociation)
River Lunsford (Oklahoma Film Exchange)
Luke Thompson (Available Light Cinema)
Moderators:
Julia Witcher (Oklahoma City University)
Kathryn Odum (Oklahoma City University BFA Film Production and BA English ’26)
4:15pm
Program 6: Last Words
Resistance Meditation, Sara Wylie
River of Days, Mark Street
nearer to thee in a triptych, Matt Whitman
Strange Radiance, Lauren Marie Dake
The Four Columns, Dominick Rivers
Algo, Arianna Gazca
Traces with Elikem, Ariana Gerstein
Resting Place, Brittney Appleby
Ghost Rider, Big Top Collective
Afterimage, Cara Fairchild – filmmaker in-person!
refrigerator hum, Jade Wong