deadCenter University Educator Workshop at Oklahoma City University
deadCenter University for Educators at Oklahoma City University was held on June 6-7, Oklahoma teachers learned implementation strategies for the state’s new standards for media arts during the two days of professional development which was led by one of the architects of the standards, OCU Associate Professor Bryan Cardinale-Powell. This training is laying the groundwork for teachers to receive a media arts micro-credential from the state of Oklahoma on their teaching certificate.
EDUCATORS WORKSHOP @ OCU
Bryan Cardinale-Powell is a teacher, filmmaker, and photographer. His professional experience includes working at Panavision-Chicago and as a freelance producer, writer, editor, and cameraperson based out of Atlanta, where he won a Southeast Region Emmy Award. He is currently Associate Professor and Chair of Film at Oklahoma City University. His film interests include American independent cinema and personal documentary, and his writing is included in Devised and Directed by Mike Leigh, a collection of essays on the British director’s work that Bryan co-edited with Marc DiPaolo.
Billy Palumbo is an experimental filmmaker and the director of the Oklahoma City University film department’s Wide Open Experimental Film Festival. Through unpredictable camera movement and abstracted imagery, his work explores the dizzying impermanence of moving images. His films, including “All Clear,” “Curley: A Historiophoty by Billy Palumbo,” and “Bound,” have screened and won awards at festivals internationally. Billy holds a BA and MFA from Emerson College. To learn more about Billy's work, visit billypalumbo.com.
Ashley Stewart is a local Oklahoma crew member who entered the film industry in 2015 working on a small feature film called Heartland. Ashley has since enjoyed working on both indies and large studio productions. A few years after entering the industry, they joined IATSE Local 484 and has since been working for both the Set Decoration and Property departments. With a drive and desire to advocate for crew members, Ashley pursued the Recording Secretary position for the IATSE Local 484 Executive Board and is proud to be the first Oklahoma crew member to be voted into an officer position for 484. In addition to working in the industry and keeping up with local politics, Ashley works for an Oklahoma-based non-profit to build a film program for high schoolers. They hope to inspire and empower the next generation
Victor Caballero is an award-winning producer and director of independent films. His latest film, “Seeker,” has won Best Thriller and Best Directing awards at regional film festivals.
One of Victor’s passions is teaching students the art of cinema. Since 2017, he has provided hands-on filmmaking experience through the OKCine Latino Film Institute, where each student has the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and tools needed to become filmmakers. Since taking the lead in deadCenter’s education programming in August 2023, Victor has brought dC’s Statewide Education Tour to more than 14,000 students, giving them an introduction to filmmaking and a workforce development experience tol help them gauge their interest in a film career.
Jóvenes Latinos Emprendedores Profesionales recently named Victor to its list of 20 Under 40 young Latino Entrepreneurs and Professionals, and he will receive the Bare Bones International Film Festival’s Trailblazer Award in early May.
