UCO Student Documentary Film Festival Tackles Oklahoma's Past, Present and Future

April 29, 2015

Media Contact: Lindsay Thomas, Communications and Marketing Coordinator, UCO University Relations, 405-974-2121, lhouts@uco.edu

UCO STUDENT DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL TACKLES OKLAHOMA’S PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Students in the University of Central Oklahoma’s College of Liberal Arts will present the UCO Documentary Film Festival from 7-9 p.m. May 5 in the Bob Burke Film Screening Room in the Mass Communication building on Central’s campus. The festival is free, open to the public and will be followed by a Q-and-A with participating students.

Each film focuses on a unique story set in Oklahoma. Topics include the rise of mega-churches in Oklahoma, an Oklahoma company that recycles roof shingles to pave roads, a firsthand account of Native American culture through one man’s art and an organization that aids victims of Oklahoma’s human trafficking rings.

“The UCO Documentary Film Festival gives students the opportunity to screen their work to a critical local audience, which will prepare them to push their documentaries into the national media market. Most of all, it allows students to see their creations on the big screen with an audience,” said Jeffrey Palmer, documentary filmmaker and assistant professor of mass communication at Central.

This is the third film festival produced by students enrolled in Palmer’s Introduction to Cinematography course, or its sister class, Nonfiction Cinematography. In fall 2014, the festival was a part of Central’s annual Media Ethics conference.

In previous semesters, films from the UCO Film Festival have gone on to Utah’s Slamdance Film Festival, the BigSky Documentary Film Festival in Montana and Oklahoma City’s deadCENTER Film Festival. Many films have also gone on to win awards from competitions like the online Fusion Documentary Challenge, the online Audience Awards and the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Awards.

For more information, contact Chelsea Ratterman, student coordinator for the festival, at cratterman@uco.edu or 405-650-2287.

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