CENTER FORWARD

TWENTY YEARS AGO, TWO BROTHERS CREATED A SMALL FILM FESTIVAL IN A CITY WITH NOT MUCH MOVIE CULTURE. TODAY, THE DEADCENTER FILM FESTIVAL IS A MARKER OF THE STATE’S GROWTH AND A MUST-ATTEND EVENT FOR FILM LOVERS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

- BEN LUSCHEN

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is one of more than half a dozen screening venues for the deadCenter Film Festival in downtown Oklahoma City.

OTHER THAN HISTORY’S most famous Nazarene, there are few who can truly say they’ve raised the dead. Cacky Poarch and Melissa Scaramucci are two Oklahomans who can claim just that.

Granted, deadCenter Film Festival was only “dead” by name when the two inherited administrative responsibilities from the event’s founders in 2003. But the then three-year-old independent film festival was far from the bona fide Oklahoma City institution with a zealous following many now know.

Nowadays, getting into one of the festival’s screenings counts as a competitive sport, as newcomers likely will find out for themselves as the film festival celebrates its twentieth anniversary this June across various venues in downtown Oklahoma City. But attracting consistent screening crowds once was a challenge for the fledgling festival.

Against the odds, Poarch and Scaramucci wrapped up deadCenter 2003 as an overall success. After breaking down and cleaning up the night’s final screening, they headed to a downtown sushi bar, where anofficial closing-night party was planned. Poarch did not see anyone on the patio as she approached. The night was still, and it appeared as if everyone had gone home. The women each took a door, fully expecting to see an empty bar. Instead, a room packed with deadCenter filmmakers and patrons turned to greet them. The pair received a raucous hero’s welcome—worthy recognition for a completed miracle.

“It makes me want to cry,” Poarch says of the memory. “Everyone was so excited about deadCenter and excited about the experience they had.”

J