2023 Circle Cinema Film Festival
Presented by The Mayo Hotel
Celebrating Circle Cinema's 95th Birthday
Thursday July 13 - Sunday July 16
The Circle Cinema Film Festival returns this July with a special celebration for Circle Cinema's 95th birthday! Join us for four days of the best new independent art, music, and film from Oklahoma alongside memories from Circle Cinema’s history.
Thank you to our sponsors The Mayo Hotel, Black Optical, WeStreet Credit Union, Cherokee Nation Film Office, Aberson's, Oklahoma Film + Music Office, McNellie's Group, Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts, and Culture, Spexton Fine Jewelry, O'Fallon Properties, Nevaqaya Fine Arts, Tulsa Remote, and Bob Hurley RV.
Sun 7/16, 11:00a: Student Shorts part 2 with filmmaker Q&A
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Click here for a list of all the shorts. We had such a great response to our open submission short film programs we split them in two parts this year! These program will feature new short films made by talented student filmmakers from across the state.
Sun 7/16, 1:30p: Karen Carpenter: Starving for Perfection Documentary | 90min
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with Randy Schmidt (writer/producer), Andy Streitfeld (executive producer), and Brad Osborne (editor) Q&A moderated by Jeff Huston (Oklahoma Film Critics Circle)
Oklahoman Randy Schmidt wrote the book on Karen Carpenter - literally! He's the writer and producer of this new doc that draws from his bestselling biography Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter. Karen was the first in a long line of celebrities to suffer from an eating disorder during an era when the vastly misunderstood phenomenon brought shame and public humiliation. For the first time in this film, we hear Karen Carpenter’s personal struggle in her own voice through never-before-released recordings—and through the legendary voices of those who knew her and were inspired by her music.
Sun 7/16, 1:30p: Okie Shorts part 2 with filmmaker Q&A
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Click here for a list of all the shorts. Our collection of new short films continues with works from great Oklahoma amateur and professional filmmakers!
Sun 7/16, 12:00p: Exploring Feminism in Horror film + conversation with Kris Rose, author of Mentally Unbalanced and Violent: The Hagsploitation Film
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What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?: Horror | 134min
Kris Rose hosts a screening of the mother of all hagsploitation films, “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” followed by another great discussion on horror and feminism.
Sun 7/16, 2:00p: Hugh Jackman in Oklahoma!
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Stage Play | 180min
Oh, what a beautiful day! The magic and energy of live theatre is coming to cinemas around the globe with the National Theatre’s acclaimed, Olivier Award-winning production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” Starring then newcomer Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables, The Greatest Showman) as Curly, alongside Maureen Lipman, Josefina Gabrielle and Shuler Hensley, this riveting stage production was filmed during its record- breaking 1998 run in London.
Sun 7/16, 4:00p: Tulsa! Workshop FREE admission
"Oklahoma!" is a classic, but what about a modern take on a musical for Tulsa? A local group of filmmakers and musicians are planning just that with "Tulsa!" See a proof of concept short film, then chat with the creative team on workshopping this catchy earworm of a song into a full-fledged musical.
Sun 7/16, 4:00p: ᏓᏗᏬᏂᏏ (We Will Speak) Winner of the Circle Cinema Film Festival Best Documentary Feature! Screening includes filmmaker Q&A.
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Documentary | 98min
With fewer than 1,500 fluent speakers left, a small group of Cherokee activists race to save their language from extinction.
Sun 7/16, 5:30p: Barroom Heroes Documentary | 70min
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Premiere screening with remembrance for Daniel Davis Aston who was tragically killed in the Club Q shooting. Daniel was from Broken Arrow and worked at Elote, the restaurant featured in the film. Q&A with Libby Billings (Elote owner), Logan Walcher (director and luchador), Ray Martinez (wrestling booker and luchador), Kellan Parker (luchador), and Pat Foster (luchador) moderated by Tim Landes (Tulsa People).
"Barroom Heroes" documents the journey of an indigenous Chickasaw filmmaker from Oklahoma, Logan Walcher, as he joins the world of pro wrestling and lucha libre over the course of six years. The film takes the viewer inside Elote, a restaurant in Tulsa that hosts some of the most entertaining comedy wrestling in the country within its hilariously small 10-foot ring.
Sun 7/16, 7:00p: Bug Man Bug Man: Drama | 88min
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Winner of the Circle Cinema Film Festival Best Narrative Feature, with Clayton Tramel (director) and Alex Sanchez (actor) Q&A moderated by Jimmie Tramel (Tulsa World)
"Bug Man" follows the life of a young man who after his world is turned upside down by a bad breakup along an old Oklahoma highway, ends up moving into a 1968 VW Beetle with 8 foot spider legs.