Introduction to the film festival
Now in our 26th year, the deadCenter Film Festival remains Oklahoma's largest and most celebrated film festival. The festival has been named one of the "20 Coolest Film Festivals" and “Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” by MovieMaker Magazine. In 2020, deadCENTER was celebrated by Smithsonian Magazine as “One of Eight Festivals Worth Attending (Virtually).”
deadCenter Film Festival continues to be an Academy Award®-Qualifying Festival in three categories: Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short and the recently added Best Documentary Short category.
The deadCenter Film Festival manages a slate of roughly 200 films during the mid-June Festival event.
Founded by independent filmmakers in 2001, the festival focuses on providing engaging experiences for filmmakers, distributors, industry professionals, and film audiences. Pre-pandemic, the festival hosted sold-out screenings and were notorious for legendary special events. In 2020, the festival pivoted from creating the biggest and rowdiest film festival to planning an 11-day, completely virtual festival that was experienced in 42 states, 24 countries, and home to over 140 films securely protected on our platform. In 2021, the festival created a hybrid festival, focusing on bringing audiences back to the theater by highlighting our Oklahoma films.
In 2022, returning full-force to theaters the festival expanded its footprint into neighboring communities to highlight a more inclusive and diverse slate of films and filmmakers. deadCenter Film brought filmmakers and audiences together with vibrant special events, connected filmmakers to industry professionals at our Annual Distribution Forum, and highlighted visiting filmmakers in the Oklahoma Film + Music Office Panel Series.
Awards
Best Narrative Feature
Awarded to a single narrative fiction film from the eligible submissions of the Narrative Feature, Oklahoma Feature and Indigenous Feature categories
Best Documentary Feature
Awarded to a single documentary film from the eligible submissions of the Narrative Feature, Oklahoma Feature and Indigenous Feature categories
Best Live Action Short
Within this Academy Award®-qualified category*, the award recognizes the best live action short film with a running time of 40 minutes or less.
Best Animated Short
Within this Academy Award®-qualified category*, the award recognizes the best animated short film with a running time of 40 minutes or less and have a significant number of the major characters animated. Documentary short films that are animated may be submitted in either the Animated Short or Documentary Short category, but not both.
Best Documentary Short
Within this Academy Award®-qualified category*, the award recognizes the best live documentary short film with a running time of 40 minutes or less. Documentary short films that are animated may be submitted in
Rules
Please read the following carefully. By submitting your project, you are agreeing that you have read and acknowledged the following rules and terms. All films that adhere to the following terms and are submitted by the final deadline will be considered for the 2026 deadCenter Film Festival.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Each film must be submitted with a working screener and be paid in full to be considered. Once a film is received with a screener the status will be changed to “In Consideration.”
Submissions must be received by our submission deadlines to be eligible for award competition within the submitted categories.
FEE WAIVERS
deadCenter Film Festival is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit and therefore we are unable to offer fee waivers.
SCREENING PROCESS
All deadCenter submissions will be reviewed by at least three members of our screening committee before making their way to our programmers. No decisions will be made until the end of our screening cycle in late April 2026.
SUBMISSION CATEGORIES
Please read the submission categories carefully to determine where your submission belongs. If you feel you’ve entered incorrectly, please contact us at . Films will be considered for awards based on categories entered. dCFF reserves the right to determine the eligibility of submissions in each category.
| Jury Name | Judge photos | Jury Profile |
|---|
Authorization type
Authorization Letter
Duration (several sessions)
Film Festival Features
Dates & Deadlines
2025-08-15
Submission start time
2025-10-13
Earlybird Deadline
2025-12-31
Regular Deadline
2026-02-11
Late Deadline
2026-02-11
Submission end time
2026-05-01
Finalist notification start time
2026-05-01
Finalist notification end time
2026-06-10
Award ceremony start time
2026-06-14
Award ceremony end time
Categories and fees
2025/10/13
Earlybird Deadline
Standard: 55 Dollar
Student： 45 Dollar
2025/12/31
Regular Deadline
Standard: 65 Dollar
Student： 55 Dollar
2026/02/11
Late Deadline
Standard: 105 Dollar
Student： 80 Dollar
2025/10/13
Earlybird Deadline
Standard: 55 Dollar
Student： 45 Dollar
2025/12/31
Regular Deadline
Standard: 65 Dollar
Student： 55 Dollar
2026/02/11
Late Deadline
Standard: 95 Dollar
Student： 75 Dollar
2025/10/13
Earlybird Deadline
Standard: 45 Dollar
Student： 35 Dollar
2025/12/31
Regular Deadline
Standard: 55 Dollar
Student： 45 Dollar
2026/02/11
Late Deadline
Standard: 95 Dollar
Student： 75 Dollar
2025/10/13
Earlybird Deadline
Standard: 45 Dollar
Student： 35 Dollar
2025/12/31
Regular Deadline
Standard: 55 Dollar
Student： 45 Dollar
2026/02/11
Late Deadline
Standard: 95 Dollar
Student： 75 Dollar
2025/10/13
Earlybird Deadline
Standard: 45 Dollar
Student： 35 Dollar
2025/12/31
Regular Deadline
Standard: 55 Dollar
Student： 45 Dollar
2026/02/11
Late Deadline
Standard: 80 Dollar
Student： 60 Dollar
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