Exclusive: You Need This – Film Premiere with Director & Special Guests

Exclusive: You Need This – Film Premiere with Director & Special Guests

From the teams behind the Oscar®-nominated films Don’t Look Up and Buzkashi Boys comes a thought-provoking documentary that unpacks the hidden forces shaping modern life. Join us for the Oklahoma Premiere as director Ryan Andrej Lough takes us through a looking glass into the grip of consumer capitalism—how it shapes our values, identities, and even our dreams.

Q&A with guest speakers, director-Ryan Andrej Lough, co-writer/narrator-Serra Naiman and author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Moderated by Sally Mercedes, Magic City Books.

The event is co-presented by Tulsa Artist Fellowship & Magic City Books in partnership with Circle Cinema.

Friday, August 22

Circle Cinema

6:00 - 8:00 PM | Screening and Q&A

Circle Cinema

10 S. Lewis, Tulsa, OK 74104

Free Admission with Registration

About the Film:

YOU NEED THIS (2024, 82', USA) Directed by Ryan Andrej Lough. Written by Ryan Andrew Lough and Sierra Naiman. Executive Produced by Benjamin Rednour, Staci Roberts Steele, and Heather Mitchell. Produced by Adam McKay, Tyler Owen, Cecilia Butler, Isidoor Roebers, Lea Fels.

More than an economic system, consumerism has evolved into an insidious belief structure that distorts how we measure success, erodes our connections with one another, and pushes our planet toward collapse. Through conversations with economists, dream researchers, and social psychologists, the film unravels how the relentless pursuit of productivity and material wealth robs us of time—time to reflect, to connect, to dream, to simply be. Featuring insights from Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Juliet Schor, Adam Haar-Horowitz, and Reverend Billy, You Need This challenges us to rethink our role in an unsustainable system and imagine a different way forward—before we lose what matters most.

📽️ WATCH THE TRAILER

About Our Special Guests:

Ryan Andrej Lough is a director, producer, and writer for motion pictures and print media. These projects include Mediterranea(2015), Entertainment(2015), the Academy Award®-nominated Buzkashi Boys (2012), and the Netflix series Human Playground(2022). Ryan’s most recent film, You Need This (2025), explores consumer-capitalism and propaganda, and their effects on the planet and society. As a writer, Ryan’s work has appeared in Anthony Bourdain’s Roads & Kingdoms, CNN, Slate, and various fiction publications. Ryan is a graduate of Northwestern University and a Sundance Institute Alum.

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was raised in Spring Valley, New York, and now lives in the Bronx. His debut collection, Friday Black, was a New York Times bestseller, won the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Award and the Dylan Thomas Prize. His first novel Chain-Gang All-Stars was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize and the Books Are My Bag Awards, and selected as a New York Times Top Ten Books of the Year. Adjei-Brenyah is a National Book Foundation’s ‘5 Under 35’ honoree.

Serra Naiman is a comedy writer and actor whose work spans stage, screen, and digital platforms. A graduate of San Francisco State University, she trained at The Second City, iO Chicago, The Den, and CiC, and has performed widely in live sketch and improv. Her writing credits include the short Fuzzfeed and the 2025 documentary You Need This, which premiered at CPH:DOX and screened at DocLands and Docs Ireland. She currently co-develops a live sketch show and television pilot with collaborator Michael Saarela in Los Angeles. As an actor, she has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress by the Madrid, Antwerp, and World Independent Cinema Awards.

About Magic City Books

Magic City Books is an independent bookstore owned by the nonprofit Tulsa Literary Coalition. We specialize in literary and popular fiction and narrative nonfiction for adults. We also offer carefully curated sections for children and teens. We want Magic City Books to be your “third place,” the place besides home and work where you feel most comfortable. Come visit us, attend a literary program or author event, and get to know our knowledgeable and well-read staff.

About Tulsa Artist Fellowship

Established in 2015, Tulsa Artist Fellowship was created as a place-based initiative by the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) that addresses pressing challenges faced by contemporary artists and arts workers living in and joining Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa Artist Fellowship believes the arts are critical to advancing cultural citizenship and supports community-invested practitioners who intentionally engage with our city.

Our exhibitions and events are free, documented, and archived.

ABOUT CIRCLE CINEMA

As Tulsa’s oldest movie theater, Circle Cinema celebrates creativity, the arts, and filmmakers from around the corner and across the world. We educate, enlighten, and entertain guests 365 days a year through selected features and programs that connect our community to global issues, environments, and cultures. ​ Originally opened in 1928 as a silent movie theater, Circle Cinema now operates as the only nonprofit cinema in the area. Our mission is to use film to foster understanding and appreciation of the diversity of the human experience, creating a sense of community among our viewers.

VISITOR EXPERIENCE

Circle Cinema is committed to providing a welcoming and accessible experience for all guests. Free parking is available on-site, with wheelchair-accessible entry directly from the parking lot. Our facility is fully ADA-compliant, and assisted viewing and listening devices are available for many film screenings.

Please note that assisted viewing and listening options vary by film. For details on accessibility devices available for your next visit, please contact the Circle Cinema Box Office at 918-585-3456.