Opolis served as a festival-screening venue. (Doug Hill)
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he first-ever Norman Film Festival took place during September across six venues downtown, including the storied Sooner Theatre. Ben Lindesmith and Chase Spivey, veterans of Norman Music Festival’s film crews for several years, were primary organizers of the event.
Feature films screened ranged from documentaries and crime dramas to comedies and an experimental mockumentary. Sixty percent of film submissions for festival consideration came from outside the U.S.
In addition to movie screenings, there were acting and film-production workshops along with music video showcases. Outdoor live music performances were staged, and food trucks set up on East Main Street.
The Norman Film Festival board of directors deemed the 2017 event a success, and plans are underway for a larger festival next year.
From left, Norman Film Festival organizers Ben Lindesmith and Chase Spivey stroll between venues. (Doug Hill)
Audience members attend a festival screening of animated short films. (Doug Hill)
Mainsite Art Gallery hosted a virtual reality demonstration during the film festival. (Doug Hill)
Resonator Arts Space’s presence at the festival featured live music and arts outdoors. (Doug Hill)
Norman music composer Geoffrey Burch conducts a workshop on producing movie soundtracks. (Doug Hill)
Spectators gather at screening venue The Mercury in downtown Norman. (Doug Hill)
A venue screens a documentary about swine ranching and how one rancher left the business. (Doug Hill)
Screening of “Kedi,” a documentary about street cats in Istanbul. (Doug Hill)
The festival recruited volunteers for managing venues and providing information to attendees. (Doug Hill)
Doug Hill earned a double-major undergraduate degree in English and East Asian Studies from the University of Kansas and a master's in human relations from the University of Oklahoma. He's been a freelance journalist and photographer in central Oklahoma since 1997.
