Dreamland Theatre was built in 1914 by pioneering Black couple John and Loula Williams. The inclusive theatre inclusive theatre was located in the historic Greenwood neighborhood part of the famous Black Wall Street which at the time was the most affluent Black community in the world.

The Dreamland festival celebrates music, films and conversations on rebuilding our community with the virtues of what made Greenwood a healthy, wealthy and connected community.

Our film selections center Black and Brown experiences in joy, healing and overcoming that inspire community imagination.

The theater once was a perfect example of what the Greenwood community had achieved with ornate art deco details excessive an egregious auditorium containing 750 seats, a home for the Williams family, offices for doctors and attorneys, and a confectionary run by Loula that was known as the most popular spot in town to be proposed to.

After it’s destruction during the infamous Tulsa Race Massacre Dreamland took on a even greater meaning as a vision of what was and what could be. The theater was rebuilt a short few years later and run by the immovable Loula Williams. Unfortunately eminent domain and the development of interstate 244 and a university center destroyed Dreamland and the Greenwood neighborhood once again.

Today we use film and music to spark conversations that inspire our community to seek joy and healing where we may while finding good rest that may allow us to not only dream of our future, but share those visions to create a new neighborhood in Greenwood in which a new Dreamland will one day help create the systems of community care that made the Greenwood community so great.

Dreamland and the Dreamland festival are Black community legacy institutions seeking reclamation of the land of our shared legacy and new voices and visions to honor them.

Join our festival to go deeper into the power film and dreams have to change our reality.

What conversations need to happen around your film?
What’s missing in our community?
What’s your dreamland?

Awards & Prizes

We’ll reach out to short filmmakers about paid opportunities for screenings throughout the year. Juneteenth and Black History month in particular. We strive to help filmmakers cultivate an audience and feedback around their films which helps us do the same for our institution.

Rules & Terms

Submissions centering Black and Brown experiences hold priority for our official selections. We aim to amplify stories of joy and healing in Black and Brown communities. Likewise stories that evoke the achievements of community and or communal uses of land reminiscent to the legacy of the historic Greenwood/Black Wall Street community.

We accept all genres and many mediums.

Films must be completed during or after 2020.

-----------

International films must include subtitles.

Dreamland will notify all submissions in writing if the film has been accepted for screening or not.

If your film project has been accepted, you will receive further instructions regarding the screening process.

Dreamland is hereby granted the rights to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted for promotional purposes of the festival. The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements, rules and regulation

Dreamland reserves the right to refuse submissions.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Dreamland from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

All participants must be 18 years or older.

Submission fees are non-refundable.
Contact info@dreamlandtulsa.org for fee waiver eligibility