There was more than the 25th anniversary to celebrate at this year’s deadCenter Film Festival in Oklahoma City. Two men with connections to Lincoln and Pottawatomie counties received awards.
Dale alum and Shawnee residentAdam Hampton was one of five selected to win this year’s Icon Award, while a film produced by Chandler native Jacob Snovel won Best Oklahoma Feature and the Grand Jury Cinematography Award.
Hampton, an actor, writer and director, said he was stunned when he found out he was receiving the award, before his mind went straight into imposter syndrome.
“You know, ‘Do I deserve it? Have I earned it?’ It’s such a huge honor, and I just felt really humbled and very thankful,” he said. “Filmmaking is so collaborative that you have to… you just start running through the list of everybody that you worked with and that helped you get there.”
Hampton had three films that he was a lead or co-lead in that had world premieres at deadCenter this year -- “The Jurassic Games,” “Salt of the Earth,” and “Reverence,” the last of which was filmed in Chandler. However, he’s no stranger to the festival.
“deadCenter has been around for as long as I’ve been doing what I do. And so it’s always been kind of… It’s certainly a beacon for creative voices out here, of what you can achieve. It’s kind of a proving ground,” he said. “The competition is so high, the quality of the work is so good. So, I mean… like I’ve been rejected there many times. I have played there several times. But no matter how often I’ve gone, it’s always special. It always feels very important and gratifying.”
The IconAward is given to Oklahomans who have helped elevate the global perception of the state in film and TV. Past winners include actorsAlfre Woodard and Gary Busey, and filmmaker and showrunner Sterlin Harjo.
Of course, Hampton said it’s now back to work. As a writer, he has a script that was picked up and stars Mel Gibson, which should be out this year. His script for “The Waif,” which won the first-ever Kinolime.com screenwriting contest, is about to go into production.
“So I’ve got a lot of writing, and then I’m hoping that some of these acting gigs that are sort of, I’ve got some projects on it that I’m hoping come true, but right now it’s just a big, fat, open, crazy horizon,” he said.
Jacob Snovel said the awards surprised him. He produced four films that featured at the festival, and thought “Reverence” would do well. He produced the film, which was directed by Kyle Kauwika Harris and starred Hampton as Shannon Sadler, a father who would do anything to find his missing teen daughter .
However, it was “Anywhere” that caught the judges’ eyes.
“It’s kind of strange because we really, really expected ‘Reverence’ to make such a big impact, and then it got beat by one of our own movies, so it’s still a win and it’s not a bad one. It’ s a very good one,” he said.
In addition to Best Oklahoma Feature and the cinematography award, the movie’s lead, Hayley McFarland, also received an Icon Award. “Anywhere,” directed by Adam Seidel, is about a lonely roughneck who commits a hasty and brutal crime after discovering that his brother plans to run off with his unfaithful wife.
The film has a few more festival appearances, with even more chances to pick up awards, Snovel said. “Anywhere” will then eventually make it to streaming, though he is unsure of the platform as of right now.
The jury is still out on the audience award, which Snovel feels “Reverence” could still receive.
“It was big. People were ready to see it. And I mean, just like flooded with people,” he said. “And just everybody’s really impressed.”