What Led Me Here Today
Where do I start? I have loved film my whole life. It’s always felt like this collective feeling we could all experience together and separately at the same time. I can remember watching Saturday morning cartoons with my brother. My mom would make a pallet in the living room and set us up so moms could do whatever moms do when they need some peace and quiet. Almost every weekend was spent at Blockbuster (yes kids, Sierra is a millenial), Hastings, or the nearest Albertson’s Video Store. Mom let us get a movie each and of course being the oldest, I for sure tricked my little brother into choosing two films I wanted to watch. He caught on as we got older. As a kid I loved musicals; Doris Day was the musical queen to me. Calamity Jane is Doris Day, and Doris Day is Calamity Jane. I also loved a good comedy. In my youth Dunston Checks In and 3 Ninjas were perfect examples of what was funny to little Sierra.
Of course, as I got older my taste in films and tv expanded. (I specifically said expanded rather than evolved because on a rainy I might still watch any of the previously mentioned films.) But the feeling of briefly belonging to another universe and sharing that love of something with other like-minded humans remained the same. I bonded with my best friend Melissa over musicals, and to this day you can hear us belt out all the songs from every musical ever. My love of films led me to working at theaters to be able to screen films before the public, and there I met my other bestie, Aimee (she volunteers as Box Office Daychair every summer) as we bonded over our favorite movie snacks. In my twenties, I decided to study film at OCCC. While at OCCC, I made many film friends and was invited to this cool film festival in downtown OKC called deadCenter Film Festival. There we met this cool cat who asked a couple of us to come back and be Box Office Daychairs the next summer. I loved the idea of volunteering a little to be able to sit and watch some movies I might not see anywhere else. So awesome! I got to meet so many wonderful people living right here in Oklahoma that I would have never met otherwise. These people loved film too, and they had all these interesting takes on film. I didn’t always agree, but I love to listen.
After volunteering for 10 years, Cacky Poarch (a deadCenter OG) herself called me up and asked me to join the team. It never crossed my mind to work here; I just wanted to be involved as much as I could be. I loved my retail job. Leaving was not something I thought I would do, but I knew this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. So I stepped down from my position and started TWO MONTHS before the 2024 deadCenter Film Festival. After two years with this nonprofit, I can confidently say I still have no idea what I am doing, but I know more than I did when I started, I get to work with the best team, we have the BEST VOLUNTEERS in the world, and I still get my retail fill at Christmas. I guess you can teach an old dog news tricks. Y’all stay cool out there and ask me more about films I love at this year’s festival in JUNE!
