This year's deadCenter Film Festival showcases a variety of homegrown talent. There are directors who tell stories about teen adventures, explore dark comedy, and document the roots of the state's history. One of the more intriguing entries on this year's schedule is the surrealist coming-of-age drama, The Awkward Stage, a movie about a pre-teen student in a decaying Harrah, Oklahoma school who falls in love with a statue. Sound curious? 

In this deadCenter 2023 podcast conversation, the Blood Relative Films directing duo of Jeremy, and Kara Choate, join The Cinematic Schematic to discuss what inspired their sophomore outing.

The Choate duo made a strong first impression at last year's festival with their debut, Tenkiller. The Cinematropolis's Christopher Shultz said, "It's more interested in the slices of life happening in-between its narrative, emphasizing simple small-town happiness and hardship in equal measure."

The Awkward Stage takes an even simpler approach to the plot. It focuses more on the vibes of living in the head of a middle school student during an uncertain period of the pandemic. 

Adding to the awkward vibes is the unique setting of the old Harrah High School. The Blood Relative team filmed this movie inside the partially destroyed school mere weeks before it was demolished. Everything from the soundtrack from Smothered to the animations that transition the audience between vignettes serves to remind you of the less flattering moments of the pre-teen years.

Check out the conversation ahead of The Awkward Stage's world premiere at 7:30 PM on Friday, June 9th at the Harkins Bricktown Theater.