The critically acclaimed Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and the historic Circle Cinema in Tulsa, Oklahoma have announced a special one-night film festival event to be held on Saturday, May 18. The event, which is presented by Arvest Bank in Tulsa, is the first of what will be an annual collaboration between the two organizations.
The one-day festival will serve as a preview to the 33rd edition of HSDFF, which takes place in Hot Springs, Arkansas in October, and will include a double feature presentation of Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s Sugarcane, which won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and Emmy Award-winner Lana Wilson’s Look Into My Eyes, which also debuted this year at Sundance. Special guests are set to appear at the event.
“The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival is the longest-running documentary film festival in North America,” said Brent Ortolani, Executive Director of the Circle Cinema. “The Circle is proud to partner with this highly regarded festival and bring a preview of the amazing collection of films to Tulsa.”
“For years, Tulsans have been coming to Hot Springs to attend the annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival,” added Ken Jacobson, Executive Director of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute. “We are thrilled to be bringing a little bit of the flavor of Hot Springs to Tulsa. It makes perfect sense to strike up a partnership with the Circle Cinema, which has long been a haven for documentary film lovers. Presenting these two incredible films, fresh after their Sundance premieres, is the perfect way to launch the inaugural Tulsa Hot Doks.”
Tulsa Hot Doks will begin with a 4:00pm screening of Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s Sugarcane. The film explores the investigation of unmarked graves at an Indian residential school in Canada, unearthing secrets above and below the ground and igniting a reckoning in the lives of survivors and their descendants, including Julian Brave NoiseCat, one of the film’s directors.
Following a post-screening reception taking place in the Circle Cinema lobby, Lana Wilson’s Look Into My Eyes will screen at 7:00pm. The film is a riveting and eye-opening story of a group of New York City psychics who conduct deeply intimate readings of their clients, revealing a kaleidoscope of loneliness, connection, and healing. Lana Wilson, the film’s Emmy®-award winning director, is best known for her films Miss Americana (2020), a profile of Taylor Swift, and the two-part documentary Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (2023). Nikenya Hall, a psychic featured in the film, who is originally from Tulsa, will attend the screening, participate in a Q&A, and conduct an in-theater group seance following the film.
Tickets for both films, including the receptions, will be $25 for Circle members and $30 for non-members. Single film tickets may be purchased for $15 for Circle members and $17 for non-members. Discounted pass and ticket prices are available for those who purchase passes to the 2024 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. To purchase tickets, visit https://www.circlecinema.org/tulsahotdoks.
Planning is well underway for the 33rd Annual Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, an Oscar qualifying festival for “Documentary Short Subject” by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. HSDFF is scheduled to take place Oct 18-26th, 2024. Announcements regarding the film lineup, events, honorees, and guests will follow throughout the year. For more information on HSDFF please visit: hsdfi.org.
