For many Oklahomans, deadCenter arrives once a year.
It shows up in June with red carpets, packed theaters, celebrity sightings and a flood of independent films that briefly transform downtown Oklahoma City into a gathering place for filmmakers and cinephiles. But for Amy Janes, deadCenter Film’s newly appointed executive director, one of the organization’s biggest challenges is helping people understand that the annual festival is only one chapter in a much larger story.
“The festival is our crown jewel event,” Janes said. “But education never stops. It’s 24/7, 365.”
This year marks Janes’ first festival at the helm, though she is far from a newcomer. A longtime filmmaker, advocate and familiar face within Oklahoma’s film community, Janes has spent years orbiting deadCenter in various roles. Now she steps into leadership at a moment when both the organization and Oklahoma’s broader film ecosystem are evolving rapidly.
As deadCenter enters its latest chapter, the organization seems intent on expanding not just what it screens, but what it means.
This year’s festival, running for five days, will showcase 194 films selected from roughly 1,800 submissions. Now in its 26th year, the festival has evolved from a tiny event staged by a few local independent film fans to an Oscar-qualifying film festival. When the festival earned that distinction, the number of submissions ballooned, as did the need for volunteer screeners, who then funnel selections to the festival’s programming department for review. Films that win a qualifying festival award between October 2025 and September 2026 are eligible to submit for Academy Awards consideration.
As always, the programming includes a significant Oklahoma presence, with approximately 20% of films connected to the state. For Janes, Oklahoma filmmakers remain central to the mission. “deadCenter was built on elevating Oklahoma filmmakers,” she said.
Opening night, traditionally one of the festival’s largest events, reflects that philosophy. This year’s Oklahoma-focused kickoff expands beyond the theater with an outdoor red carpet, live musicians and a broader effort to create an atmosphere that invites curious passersby into the festival experience.
Music returns as a major component throughout the event, with performances woven into multiple venues and activations. Janes sees film as an intersection of art forms rather than a standalone medium. “Film encompasses all the arts,” she said, with “music being the most obvious.”
This year also introduces a new Legacy Icon Award, with actor Lou Diamond Phillips receiving the inaugural honor. The award recognizes artists from outside Oklahoma who contribute positively to the state’s creative landscape.
In another expansion effort, deadCenter is extending into Tulsa for a new satellite experience, bringing festival screenings to audiences who may not be able to make repeated trips to Oklahoma City. Scheduled for June 26-27, the Tulsa experience will be hosted at the Philbrook Museum of Art and the legendary Circle Cinema.
Although the festival may be the most visible expression of deadCenter, Janes quickly redirects attention elsewhere. When she talks about the organization’s future, she rarely starts with June; she starts with education. Over the past three years, deadCenter’s educational programming has reached more than 67,000 students across Oklahoma, much of that work taking place in rural communities where arts access can be limited. Programs now stretch into communities across the state, exposing students not just to filmmaking but to storytelling as a broader creative tool.
One of those initiatives, deadCenter University, brings students together for immersive week-long sessions where they collaborate on original films. Scripts are developed beforehand; students select projects, and then move through production together. Several student-created works will screen during this year’s festival.
The urgency behind that work has only intensified. Janes expressed concern about the changing landscape for arts education in Oklahoma schools, and views deadCenter as increasingly responsible for helping fill those gaps.
The organization’s Continuum program operates similarly, extending deadCenter beyond festival season and using film as a community tool throughout the year. Rather than traditional screenings, Continuum events frequently partner with nonprofits and civic organizations, using documentaries and discussions to engage audiences around larger issues. Some projects have produced unexpectedly tangible outcomes.
One Continuum initiative connected to a documentary effort surrounding a death-row clemency case ultimately helped amplify advocacy work tied to a young man’s sentence. Janes is careful not to overstate deadCenter’s role, but she points to the project as an example of film functioning as something more active than entertainment. For her, the goal is exposure and connection: Someone unfamiliar with a subject can walk into a screening and leave with an entirely new understanding of a community, issue or art form.
The organization is also experimenting with new outreach opportunities. This year, deadCenter will partner with the Oklahoma State Fair to host a collaborative Film Friday initiative involving festivals from around the state. The strategy reflects a broader vision Janes repeatedly returns to: accessibility. That mindset also shapes how she approaches her first year as executive director.
Although she knew deadCenter carried strong support, she admits she underestimated the emotional attachment people have to it. “I knew from the outside that deadCenter was cherished,” Janes said. “But once you get on the inside day-to-day, it’s remarkable how much this festival means to people here.” For someone stepping into a beloved institution, that affection can create both opportunity and pressure.
Fortunately, Janes inherited a team eager for collaboration and organizational growth. Process and structure, she said, matter deeply to her, and she credits staff members with embracing that approach. So far, the transition appears smoother than expected. “This is the first year we’re ahead of schedule on everything,” Janes said.
Still, she is already thinking years ahead. Her larger ambition is not simply maintaining deadCenter’s standing but redefining it. As the organization moves toward 2027, Janes envisions deadCenter becoming what she calls “the deadCenter of indie film” — a destination for emerging artists and filmmakers searching for a place to premiere work and find community.
In her view, many larger festivals have drifted beyond the reach of true emerging voices. She sees room for a festival that feels accessible both geographically and culturally, and she believes Oklahoma City is increasingly positioned to support that vision.
The festival, which spans five days across 15 different venues, has been named one of the “20 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” by MovieMaker Magazine. It prioritizes the filmmaker experience, and attendees have many opportunities to meet and mingle with filmmakers, both local and visiting. At parties and events sprinkled throughout the weekend, connections are made as filmmakers network with each other, industry insiders and patrons of the arts.
“I went to a festival in Nashville and everybody knew deadCenter,” Janes said. That recognition, she hopes, will continue growing, not simply because of a festival weekend, but because of everything happening throughout the year.
For deadCenter Film, June may still be the marquee moment. But increasingly, it appears to be just the beginning.
The 26th annual deadCenter Film Festival begins on Wednesday, June 10, and runs through Sunday, June 14. For more information, including a full schedule and pass pricing, visit deadcenterfilm.org.
This article appears in deadCENTER Film Festival returns.