Nearly 14 hours across five locations pass before Zach Singer yells “Cut!” for the final time, ending a very full day of movie making. As the moon hovers overhead, the nine remaining cast and crew members pat each other on the back.
The celebratory mood quickly ends as everyone starts talking about the urgency to recharge batteries — and themselves — in the limited hours before another day of shooting begins shortly after sunrise for the short film “The Day Before.”
That’s a lot of work crammed into two days. But then again, the writer and director had only five days to edit and sound mix it ahead of this week’s three-day premiere. Starting Tuesday, downtown’s East Village, which served as a filming location, will host a celebration of what Singer is calling a “micro cinema experience.”
“It’s always been really important to me that this is really authentically a Tulsa movie,” Singer said. “We didn’t just shoot in Tulsa because we needed to, but Tulsa is a character of the story.”
Filming locations included multiple spots in the East Village, including The Bend Mercantile and Studio 308, plus some scenes at Singer’s midtown residence.
The Aug. 25 world premiere at 820 E. 3rd St. will include a gallery of costumes and pieces from the film, a live jazz trio, food from East Village Bohemian Pizzeria and a special solo performance by BRONCHO frontman Ryan Lindsey, who stars in “The Day Before” and serves as the film’s composer. There are screenings at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. with a Q&A after.
Other filming locations will host screenings as well. The Bend Mercantile, 810 E. 3rd St. B., will screen the film at 8 p.m. Thursday, with Friday screenings at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. at Studio 308, 308 S. Lansing Ave. Tickets for all screenings, which range from $7 to $20, are available here.
“The Day Before,” which features Los Angeles actress Nemi Brooks in a lead role, is a prologue to Singer’s feature film “Handsome Johnny,” which is slated to begin production in early 2027. This week’s screenings also mark the launch of a crowdfunding campaign to help finance the production.
“The short film exists to sort of show how all of these people are connected and imply that they each have their own motive,” Singer said. “So the approach was really that the short film is an exploration of characters who are performative and manipulative.There is heart in some of these people, but they all have their own objective. Then through the feature film we discover how that could all come undone.”
Zach Singer directs Ryan Lindsey while filming a scene for “The Day Before” at The Bend Mercantile on Aug. 18, 2026. The short film is a prologue to “Handsome Johnny,” which is slated to film locally in 2027. Credit: Tim Landes / Tulsa Flyer 
Actress Nemi Brooks films a scene for the short film “The Day Before” on Aug. 18, 2026. Credit: Tim Landes / Tulsa Flyer 
Director/actor Zach Singer drives his neighbor’s classic Ford Thunderbird for a scene being made for “The Day Before” on Aug. 18, 2026. Credit: Tim Landes / Tulsa Flyer 
The Day Before” actress Ava Singer on set Aug. 18, 2026. Credit: Tim Landes / Tulsa Flyer 
“The Day Before” writer/director/actor Zach Singer watches a take with his daughter and crew on Aug. 18, 2026. Credit: Tim Landes / Tulsa Flyer
Singer was born and raised in Tulsa until his family relocated when he was 8. After living in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Miami, Singer returned to his birthplace last year. Most of his career to date has been spent as an editor on commercials and movie trailers, so Singer was more than ready to focus on his own narrative project.
He cited Tulsa’s affordability and the chance to raise he and his wife’s daughter in his hometown were two big draws to move back — with the other being the city’s growing reputation as a hotbed for filmmaking.
The timing was right. The more he got to know the community, the more he felt the urgency to get to work.
“In being back in Tulsa and being new in the film scene in Tulsa, and also not being a new filmmaker, I wanted to make a film that felt big enough to give me my footing in the community,”
Singer said. “Coming here was kind of an answer to, ‘how can I pour in totally to my thing and get a green light,’ so to speak. So far, so good.”
Singer called on his longtime friend Jonathan Mahoney to be director of photography, then asked more friends to help him make his short. They worked together through two days of 100-plus temperatures under the August sun, moving locations multiple times. They did take after take until it felt right, then they moved on to the next shot.
“You don’t need to be friends with everyone to make great work,” Singer said. “You need to be friends with the people you work with. A lot of these people I’ve known for more than 10 years now. When it’s time to make a movie, I call my friends.”
News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
