Winner's Encore: Documentaries

Limited tickets on sale now - In the event of a sell out, additional tickets may become available for in-person purchase in advance or on the day of the show as we account for All Access Pass holders, filmmakers, and sponsors before releasing additional tickets to the public.

Special encore presentation of this year’s documentary award winners! This block includes the best documentary short winner “Tiger” directed by Loren Waters and the best feature documentary “Drowned Land” directed by Colleen Thurston.

Special ticket price of just $5 members, $10 non-members. This program is just the film screenings and does not include Q&A. In screen 2.

About "Tiger" dir. Loren Waters: Dana Tiger was just five years old when her father, legendary Muscogee Creek artist Jerome Tiger, passed away. She turned to his art as a way to know him, the richness of her culture, and the bounty of her family’s artistic tradition. In memory of Jerome's art and to support their family, Dana’s mother and uncle started a booming t-shirt printing business in the 1980s. Then, tragedy struck their family once more. Dana’s younger brother, Chris Tiger, was relentlessly murdered and their business was brought to a halt. Dana and her family have been working for nearly 30 years to revitalize the iconic Tiger t-shirt company, through immense grief and suffering from Parkinson’s. Now, everybody wants their hands on a Tiger T-shirt.

About "Drowned Land" dir. Colleen Thurston: In the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the Kiamichi River is a bastion of eco-diversity. A Texas corporation seeks to dam and build a hydroelectric plant on the river. For a group of locals, theirs is a generations-long struggle with resource extraction and displacement that began with the Trail of Tears. While the river drives the narrative, the director reflects on her Choctaw grandfather’s role in designing and building dams for the Army Corps of Engineers that displaced countless Oklahomans, many of them Native. Interwoven are the stories of the river’s advocates—residents, Choctaw culture-keepers, and scientists—who have come together to protect the river.

The 2025 Circle Cinema Film Fest is presented by Tulsa Club Hotel and American Heritage Bank. Sponsored by Ranch Acres Wine & Spirits, Cherry Street Jewelers, Mother Road Market, Nevaquaya Fine Arts, Aberson`s, Tulsa FMAC, Oklahoma Film Office, Community Care, The McNellie`s Group, Jenkins & co., Tulsa Artist Fellowship, Indian Territory Film Festival, and Mythic Press.