918 Day Short Films

The 2025 918 Day Film Festival celebrates stories made right here in the 918. Born from the overwhelming response to the Circle Cinema Film Festival, this special showcase extends the spotlight to even more locally made work.

Settle in for a fast-paced showcase of homegrown talent on the big screen. Explore the lineup below and celebrate local film on 918 Day.

Governor Wilcox is a Dead Man

English | 7m 5s | Directed by: Cade Thomas

Synopsis: During an election night watch party, two women discover the governor's dead body in their bathroom, sparking a tense showdown of accusations, politics, and personal grievances—all while the election results are too close to call.

Director Biography: Cade Thomas (Cherokee Nation) is a Tulsa-based filmmaker, photographer, podcaster, and digital creator. He has written and directed award-winning projects that include short films, documentaries, stage plays, and a feature film. His projects have received millions of views across various platforms and have played at film festivals across the globe. 

Cade is a founding member of the Tulsa-based sketch comedy group known as troublestart — which highlights talent across the local comedy, theatre, and film scenes.

Director Statement: This project was made for this year’s OKC 48 Hour Film Project, where it competed against 36 films from across the state and won the awards for “Best Director” and “Best Screenplay.” I’m very proud of the troublestart cast and crew for pulling this project off in a weekend. We set out to make a darkly funny, claustrophobic short film with political undertones (perhaps overtones?) and I think we accomplished that. 

Déjà Vú

English | 2m 15s | Directed by: Ryan Andrew Brandt

Synopsis: Jerry is interested in Layla. Layla is interested in Jerry. Someone watching is interested in both of them.

The Severs Lights

English | 8m 38s | Directed by: Steve Cypert

Synopsis: Three Witches meet in an abandoned Hotel every Halloween.

The Trip

English | Horror, Comedy, Queer | 10m 30s | Directed by: Carson Ball

Synopsis: A close-knit group of friends head to a remote cabin for a weekend getaway, with the promise of shrooms. As they trip through the night, strange visions and unsettling sounds challenge reality. Soon, the line between hallucination and danger blurs; leaving the group to figure out how to survive the night. "The Trip" is a twisted-queer journey that blends psychedelic horror with campy thrills and surreal suspense, where nothing—least of all the friends themselves—are quite what they seem.

Director Biography: Carson Ball is a non-binary, Indigenous filmmaker and writer from Tulsa, OK. Their work blends sharp humor with cultural storytelling, utilizing comedy to explore identity, resilience, and tradition. Their film "The Trip" is currently in the festival circuit and they are developing their first feature-length film.

Director Statement: I wrote/directed "The Trip" because I wanted tell a queer story that merged playful dialogue and campy energy with themes of identity and resilience. Horror challenges societal fears while comedy offers a way to reclaim those fears with humor. The film, completely self-funded and shot under restrictive conditions, embraced its low-budget charm, fueling creativity and a "DIY" spirit. The campiness is vital, subverting norms and celebrating queerness through exaggerated performances and cheeky dialogue. It’s a love letter to camp cinema and queer subculture, proving that even with limited resources, creativity and joy can thrive.

For The Record

English | Comedy, Adventure, Psychedelic | 11m 11s | Directed by: Blake Barrett

Synopsis: Needle & Groove go on a wacky Halloween adventure!

Director Biography: Born in 1994, Blake Barrett first rose to prominence in the 1994 Holiday Classic, “Blake’s 1st Christmas”; a family video filmed by his mother. Christened by cinema he went on to cultivate an iconoclastic guerilla style of filmmaking, creating genre-blending films such as 2023s “Stolen Voice” and 2021s “The Real Canta Claus”. Exploring the art form through countless hours of experimentation, Blake Barrett is committed to pushing the cinematic language forward by crafting audio-visual experiences that can’t be enjoyed anywhere else.

The Walk

English | 3m 50s | Directed by: Caleb Fisher

Synopsis: Paul makes the walk to eternity, passing murals of his life painted on a wall for him to see.

After Mom's Funeral

English | 5m 51s | Directed by: Cameron Hawkins

Synopsis: Danielle still reeling from the recent passing of her mother is trying to grieve. When strangely her mother keeps calling her phone.

The Forget-Me-Not Gallery

Documentary | 14m 6s | Directed by: Lucas James Jackson | English

Synopsis: Did you know that Oklahoma is No. 3 nationwide for the most women incarcerated? Laura Voth is a Tulsa artist who hosted the Forget-Me-Not Gallery, a 3-day exhibit dedicated to incarcerated survivors of domestic violence.

Victorian Ghost Child

English | 7m 21s | Directed by: Cade Thomas

Synopsis: Two roommates discover a Victorian Ghost Child living in their attic and decide to play board games with it for their own amusement.

Director Biography: Cade Thomas (Cherokee Nation) is a Tulsa-based filmmaker, photographer, podcaster, and digital creator. He has written and directed award-winning projects that include short films, documentaries, stage plays, and a feature film. His projects have received millions of views across various platforms and have played at film festivals across the globe. 

Cade is a founding member of the Tulsa-based sketch comedy group known as troublestart — which highlights talent across the local comedy, theatre, and film scenes.

Director Statement: This is the latest comedy sketch from the troublestart universe. We’re all very proud of this one. Visually speaking, it’s one of our most interesting sketches. We really leaned into the colorful, handheld, and digital look we have been developing. Also, Maria Turley’s central performance as the “Victorian Ghost Child” is something you’ll want to see on the big screen. 

Torment

English | 4m 57s | Directed by: Shaun Mcghee

Synopsis: After discovering his wife’s infidelity, a heartbroken man spirals into a drunken haze of grief and rage. Alone at his friends house, he begins experiencing strange occurrences—As his reality begins to unravel, he’s haunted by a chilling question: are these tormented visions just the product of alcohol and heartbreak... or did his wife's betrayal invite something far more sinister into their lives?

Eliza: A One Woman Show

English | 22m 43s | Directed by: Haley Cypert

Synopsis: An emotionally intelligent comedy smut.