Lance McDaniel, executive director of Oklahoma's deadCenter Film, announces plans to step down

After 10 years leading the organization, Lance McDaniel has announced his plans to step down as executive director of deadCenter Film at the conclusion of the 20th annual deadCenter Film Festival in June 2020.

The festival is scheduled June 11-14 in downtown Oklahoma City.

“Running deadCenter has been one of the greatest joys and most interesting challenges of my life,” said McDaniel in a statement. “I look forward to my next big adventure. And, I’m excited to see how deadCenter grows under new leadership.”

Growth has been key to deadCenter’s success during McDaniel’s 10-year tenure: sponsorships have increased 300%, film submissions 500%, and festival attendance has grown from 10,000 to 35,000 people, according to a news release.

McDaniel’s legacy also will include the successful programs he has implemented, including deadCenter University for high school students, the Oklahoma Film Icon panel series, the techCenter conference, deadCenter Virtual Cinema, deadCenter Distribution Forum,and a statewide education program that has reached 25,000 students since its inception.

In 2018, deadCenter was selected as Oklahoma’s Outstanding Arts & Cultural Nonprofit by the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits.

McDaniel is also an Emmy-nominated filmmaker who has worked on 21 feature films, including Oscar winner" Million Dollar Baby." Eleven of his features, shorts, documentaries, and virtual reality films have screened at deadCenter since 2006.

To honor McDaniel’s decade of service, deadCenter Film is setting up an endowment in his name with the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, according to the news release.

In accordance with best practices, deadCenter is opening up the executive director position to all interested applicants. Anyone interested in applying should email a resume and cover letter to careers@deadcenterfilm.org by 5 p.m. Jan. 10.

“We are a statewide nonprofit that serves thousands of constituents across Oklahoma,” said Alyx Picard Davis, deadCenter’s director of operations, in a statement. “If there are awesome people out there that can help us achieve our vision, we want to meet them and bring them into the deadCenter family.”

deadCenter Film is an Oklahoma City-based nonprofit that leads free film classes to 3,000 students each fall, offers continuing education classes for working film professionals each quarter, and hosts Oklahoma’s largest film festival each June, attracting 35,000 to downtown Oklahoma City. For more information, go to deadcenterfilm.org.

-BAM

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