A lengthy line inside Eton Square 6’s lobby Saturday evening quickly turned into a capacity crowd for the Oklahoma premiere of acclaimed filmmaker Boots Riley’s “I Love Boosters.”
Co-hosted by Dreamland and Tulsa Film Collective, the event featured a conversation between Riley and Tulsa Film Collective co-founder Sterlin Harjo, creator of “The Lowdown” and “Reservation Dogs.”
“I Love Boosters,” out nationwide May 22, is a sharp, stylish heist-comedy centered on a crew of shoplifters targeting a ruthless fashion mogul. It features an all-star cast including Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, LaKeith Stanfield and Demi Moore.
After the film, the Oakland-based filmmaker and rapper told Harjo how his lifelong involvement in activism continues to shape his creative outputs.
“What gets people to do something is the idea that you can win,” Riley said. “There’s optimism that goes into my music and goes into my films. We can have a mass militant radical labor movement. We can withhold labor and we can help change policy through understanding what power is and through class struggle.”
Moviegoers fill the Eton Square 6 lobby ahead of the Oklahoma premiere of “I Love Boosters” on May 9, 2026. Credit: Tim Landes / Tulsa Flyer 
Eton Square 6’s largest auditorium fills to capacity before the Oklahoma premiere of Boots Riley’s “I Love Boosters” on May 9, 2026. Credit: Tim Landes / Tulsa Flyer 
Kinship Frame founder and filmmaker Colleen Thurston gets her portrait taken by filmmaker Boots Riley before the Oklahoma premiere of his “I Love Boosters” at Eton Square 6 on May 9, 2026. Credit: Tim Landes / Tulsa Flyer 
Filmmaker Boots Riley talks with moviegoers after the Oklahoma premiere of his “I Love Boosters” at Eton Square 6 on May 9, 2026. Credit: Tim Landes / Tulsa Flyer 
Dreamland’s Kolby Ari and filmmaker Boots Riley after the Oklahoma premiere of Riley’s “I Love Boosters” at Eton Square 6 on May 9, 2026. Credit: Tim Landes / Tulsa Flyer
Earlier that day, Riley hosted a student filmmaker forum at OSU-Tulsa, where about 50 students and emerging filmmakers from across the region learned from the filmmaker. His previous film, “Sorry to Bother You,” was named a Top 10 Independent Film in 2018 by the National Board of Review.
Riley’s visit coincided with the launch of Kinship Frame, a new film and storytelling initiative rooted in Black and Indigenous community in Tulsa. Led by local Choctaw filmmaker Colleen Thurston and Dreamland’s Kolby Ari, the project is supported by a grant from The Native Arts + Cultures Foundation.
The space where the event was held is also undergoing a transformation. As part of a $2 million renovation, Eton Square 6, 8421 E. 61st St., will feature heated recliners with attached tray tables, new screens, laser projectors and Dolby Atmos surround sound in two auditoriums.
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