Film lovers are in for a treat this weekend as the deadCenter Film Festival is back in person in Oklahoma City beginning Thursday.
The four-day event features documentaries, narratives, and shorts of all kinds with special focuses on Oklahoma, LGBTQ and Indigenous features. The schedule also boasts of parties, happy hours, and feasts all across the city.
Opening night will kick off with a documentary called Mama Bears, a story following two mothers who fight for the LGBTQ rights of their children and others in the community, despite coming from conservative or Christian backgrounds.
Daresha Kyi, the director of Mama Bears, describes the journey one of the mothers goes through— and why viewers will enjoy the film.
“Kimberly Chapley is one of the moms in my film, and she's fighting for her daughter to be able to use the girl’s bathroom – her transgender daughter. We just follow their journey as the situation in Texas becomes more and more and more and more difficult and hostile for the family of a trans kid," said Kyi. "Kimberly goes from being a Texas-based Tea Party Republican to winning an award as LGBTQ activist of the year because of her love for her child. If you like stories about transformation, if you like stories about heroic people, then you’ll like this movie.”
Kyi goes on to explain that the film is important to bridging the gap between the religious and LGBTQ communities.
“The Mama Bears, the ones who come from conservative Christian backgrounds, are natural bridge builders because they speak the language of the evangelical community, but they move beyond it, and so they can reach people,” Kyi said.
A full schedule of events and passes to deadCenter Film Festival are available on the festival’s website.
