The fifth annual Wide Open Experimental Film Festival is set to bring a bold mix of boundary-pushing cinema to Oklahoma City Museum of Art from April 24–26. Presented by the Oklahoma City University Film Department, the festival will showcase 65 short films from around the world, organized into six curated programs over three days. Known for its eclectic and immersive approach, the lineup leans into experimental storytelling — with films described as abstract, mind-bending, liberating and even soul-healing. Screenings begin at 6 p.m. on April 24, 4 p.m. on April 25 and 1:30 p.m. on April 26. Admission is free for all events, making the festival an accessible entry point for curious viewers and seasoned cinephiles alike. Beyond the screenings, attendees can engage more deeply with the art form through three panel discussions featuring filmmakers, scholars and students. Topics will explore the political role of experimental film, reimagining what film education can be, and insights into Oklahoma’s underground art scene. Several filmmakers will be in attendance throughout the weekend, offering audiences a chance to connect directly with the creative minds behind the work. For more information, contact Festival Director Billy Palumbo at [email protected]. Follow updates on Instagram at @woefilmfest and @okcufilm. The Festival of Arts will be taking place within the block of the OKCMOA April 23-26. Make plans to attend both! Wide Open Experimental Film Festival 2026 Thursday, April 23 Oklahoma Film Exchange, 701 W Sheridan Ave 7pm SPECIAL PRESENTATION EL SIGNO VACÍO (the empty sign), Kathryn Ramey – virtual QA with the filmmaker! Friday, April 24 Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Dr 6pm Program 1: What Words Can and Cannot Say My Body is a Lens I Can Look Through With My Mind, Ellery Bryan – filmmaker in-person! hiatus B, Jenelle Stafford The Next World, Grau Del Grau Assets, Christine Lucy Latimer (for once I dreamed of you), Kate Solar Shapeless Variations, Francisco Rojas You Do Not Exist, Dwayne LeBlanc The Whitest of Shadows, Damien Cattinari apocalipsis, Lauren Vick 7:20pm Panel Discussion — Is Avant-Garde Our Last Hope? A conversation about the political efficacy of experimental filmmaking and its connection to makers’ and audiences’ lived experiences.  Panelists: Cali M. Banks (Abortion Clinic Film Collective) Ellery Bryan (Grand Valley State University) Jeremy Drummond (University of Richmond) Moderators: Billy Palumbo (WOEFF Director, Oklahoma City University) Hannah Campbell (Oklahoma City University BFA On-Camera Acting and BA Film ’26) 8:30pm Program 2: Experience Tells Us Las Animas, Matt Feldman On the Glue, Dave Johnson Your Darkness, Susan DeLeo The Sight Is A Wound, Parham Ghalamdar BETTER LIGHTING, Kathryn Ramey Good Neighbors Care, Kate E. Hinshaw Trump Pinochet, Gerald Habarth The Call, Kelly Sears The Man Cave, Sarah Legow T4T, Avian de Keizer Prison and Time, Evan Bode Marvin Wade – filmmaker in-person! Monument, Jeremy Drummond – filmmaker in-person! Catch Us on the Way Down, Cali M. Banks – filmmaker in-person! Saturday, April 25 Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Dr 4pm Program 3: You Are Here Sous le soleil exactement, Noa Blanche Beschorner a traveller’s lament, Faye Shu The Phalanx, Ben Balcom Inhale, Lagha Ghavam Mohsen Pouryousefian Structural Changes, Jonah Primiano Conversations in Brooklyn, Ingrid Stobbe – filmmaker in-person! Digital Durham, Cal Young Silence, Toni Mešrović 5:20pm Panel Discussion — Real Film Education Film educators discuss approaches to teaching film that meaningfully impact learners’ lives.  Panelists: Bryan Cardinale-Powell (Oklahoma City University) Ingrid Stobbe (Lesley University) Lily Tucker (Director of Okie Women Film Festival; Oklahoma City University BFA Film Production ’24) Moderators: Gabe Wyatt (Oklahoma City University BFA Film Production ’26) Analise Rodriguez (Oklahoma City University BFA On-Camera Acting ’26) 7pm Program 4: Creation Plays Itself Does the Sea Have a Heart?, Miglè Križinauskaitė Sunny 16 Helsinki, Eve Le Fessant Coussonneau Drift, Tessa Garland summer school, Josh Weissbach Morii, Mireille Heibreder Alpine Tundra, Kathleen Rugh Ochlockonee Split, Dave Rodriguez Ashes to ashes, Sidney Gordon Same Water, Martine Granby Mist, Brittany Gravely Ancraophobia, Mahda Purmehdi ​ Sunday, April 26 Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Dr 1:30 – 2:45pm Program 5: Living Through It Half Halt, Sofia Theodore-Pierce Chicken Salad, CK Thornton The Golden Bough, Luke Thompson – filmmaker in-person! Absolut, Caroline Rumley des rêves des rives, Louise Luck Harry Bracho HOWW TO WAYT, Johanna Winters Children of the Chicken, Jessi Kyle – filmmaker in-person! Sunspots, Abinadi Meza Dance Film, Kelly Gallagher These Shirts Are Not Mine, Lily Tucker – filmmaker in-person! All of This Must Be Paid For, Gabi Rudin 2:45pm SPECIAL PERFORMANCE Myein, Andrew Lee     Live accompaniment by ut mutem 3:10pm Panel Discussion — Digging Underground: (Some of the) Grassroots, DIY, and Anti-Corporate Art in Oklahoma Representatives from local organizations discuss the art scene outside the mainstream.  Panelists: Lauren Bumgarner (Picture Garden) Andrew Lee (Dissociation) River Lunsford (Oklahoma Film Exchange) Luke Thompson (Available Light Cinema) Moderators: Julia Witcher (Oklahoma City University) Kathryn Odum (Oklahoma City University BFA Film Production and BA English ’26) 4:15pm Program 6: Last Words Resistance Meditation, Sara Wylie River of Days, Mark Street nearer to thee in a triptych, Matt Whitman Strange Radiance, Lauren Marie Dake The Four Columns, Dominick Rivers Algo, Arianna Gazca Traces with Elikem, Ariana Gerstein Resting Place, Brittney Appleby Ghost Rider, Big Top Collective Afterimage, Cara Fairchild – filmmaker in-person! refrigerator hum, Jade Wong The post Wide Open Experimental Film Festival returns to OKC with boundary-pushing cinema appeared first on Oklahoma Gazette. ...read more read less