There is no mistaking 2026 has been a successful year for film and Hollywood. Audiences are returning to the theater in droves, creating the most profitable year for the box office since the COVID-19 pandemic and the biggest summer of all time.
While audiences are showing their hunger for new releases, Available Light Cinema Club is serving a growing appetite for under-seen, challenging films in Tulsa.
The monthly film club is led by co-founders Sara Wilson, director of operations, and Luke Thompson, programming coordinator. Wilson and Thompson share a passion for film but recognized the existing barriers of engaging with art house cinema in the city. That’s what led them to launch Available Light in spring 2025.
“Luke would take 10-hour drives to Chicago to see a Stan Brakhage film,” Wilson said. “That shouldn’t have to be the reality if you are passionate about this medium. It shouldn’t be a barrier that you live in Oklahoma. There are places for that, and we want to be one of those places.”
Attendees watch a movie at Available Light Cinema Club at Drifters Theater Aug. 30, 2026. Credit: Zac Thomas for Tulsa Flyer 
The Available Light Cinema Club hosts a screening of ‘The Red Shoes” at Drifters Theater Aug. 30, 2026. Credit: Zac Thomas for Tulsa Flyer 
Available Light Cinema Club is a monthly film club led by co-founders Sara Wilson, director of operations, and Luke Thompson, programming coordinator, inside Drifters Theater on Aug. 30, 2026. Credit: Zac Thomas for Tulsa Flyer 
The Available Light Cinema Club hosts a screening of ‘The Red Shoes” at Drifters Theater on Aug. 30, 2026. Credit: Zac Thomas for Tulsa Flyer
In July, while audiences packed major theaters for films such as “The Odyssey,” “Minions & Monsters” and “The Invite,” the club enjoyed record attendance for its “Experimental Film Festival Fundraiser.” Attendees enjoyed live music and six films connected by a central theme: light.
“The last film was a 26-minute silent film which just investigates different ways light reflects and refracts on water, and people were rapt,” Thompson said. “It was exactly the kind of experience I was hoping for. Even if you don’t watch movies for anything but entertainment, if you sit down and have a curated experience, where you are prepared for what you are about to watch, a lot of people are surprised with what they are able to engage with.”
On the last Sunday of August, Tulsa movie lovers gathered at Drifters Theater west of downtown to enjoy Michael Powell’s 1948 classic, “The Red Shoes.” Audience members pay what they can to watch the films.
Pamphlets were handed out at the door before Thompson introduced the screening. After the viewing, groups easily formed around the room to discuss the film.
“I encourage people to continue supporting small-scale, independent art experiences, in Tulsa,” Wilson said. “As time goes on, we are a more and more commercialized city, and art can sometimes cheapen in environments like that. Creativity and the ability to express yourself is essential to keeping art alive in Tulsa.”
Available Light Cinema Club meets at 6 p.m. on the last Sunday of the month at Drifters Theater, located at 1305 W. Cameron St. On Sept. 27, the club plans to screen director Yasujiro Ozu’s “An Autumn Afternoon.” More information regarding upcoming events can be found here.
News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.