For all of the visible diversity and the wide range of interconnected cultures and communities across Oklahoma, there are still some deeply rooted cultural stories that seem to be rarely told and even more rarely understood.
For instance, even many Oklahomans aren’t aware that the generally small and quiet North-Central Oklahoman city of Enid boasts a richly active and heavily populated Marshallese community helping to develop the daily life and culture of Enid through the vibrant heritage and traditions of the Marshall Islands.
But the story of how and why the Marshallese community of Enid developed over the last half-century is a stark and uncomfortable one, stemming from displacement following the United States military’s widespread nuclear testing across the Marshall Islands in the 1940s and 50s.
All told, 67 atomic warheads were detonated on and around the Islands, leaving behind radiation, decimated agriculture, and acute health complications, with mission work and outreach efforts eventually encouraging a large population of Marshallese residents to relocate to Enid.
That harrowing history and the vivid Marshallese community of present day Oklahoma are the focus of the new documentary “67 Bombs to Enid,” produced by Oklahoma City’s Allsweet and acclaimed executive producer Errol Morris.
Since taking the trophy for Best Documentary at the 2025 deadCenter Film Festival, “67 Bombs to Enid” has been touring the country, picking up some national buzz and even some significant international attention.
According to producer Brandon Kobs, it’s a validation of years’ worth of efforts to bring both the dark past and the bright present of Enid’s Marshallese community to light.
Brandon Kobs (producer): This was four years of filmmaking effort, and the information is out there, it's just kind of baffling that more people don't know about it.
A lot of the stuff that we talk about is physical and environmental, but also there's this generational trauma, and the fact that you look at all that, like, uphill battle, and then to watch the film and see how beautiful of a people they are, how positive they are, and how it's something that we as filmmakers, I think personally, we were like, we could learn a lot from this community in that way.
We expected to find people who were angry and upset, but what we found was just this unbelievable community that should be, you know, a shining example of how we should treat other people.
Brett Fieldcamp: The resilience of that community, and the unique challenges and realities that its members face even now, are the focal points of the film.
But, as co-director Kevin Ford explained, a lot of work went into finding the right balance between spotlighting the lives and experiences of Enid’s modern Marshallese community and tackling the responsibility of presenting the unvarnished history of nuclear testing on the islands through blunt and often callous archival materials from the time.
Kevin Ford (co-director): This film shows people the real life consequences from other fellow human beings. We tinkered with that all the way through, up until we locked the picture.
The archival audio, about the testing, or referring to people in a less than human way, almost, you know, that was all part of that balance, and we found, like, a nice balance. We didn't want to go too much with that and have it be this hitting you on the head history lesson, but just enough to remind you that this was on purpose. This wasn't an accident. This was intentional.
Brett Fieldcamp: It’s that human focus that audiences have been responding to across the country, with screenings in New York and Los Angeles garnering acclaim, connection, and offers of new outreach and assistance for Oklahoma’s Marshallese population, many of whom live under a complex and singular immigration compact that makes accessing work, aid, and healthcare more difficult.
But co-director Ty McMahan explained that there’s been one source of interest in the film that they found particularly surprising.
Ty McMahan (co-director): Something we didn't expect was a couple days after we premiered here in Oklahoma City, we got an email from Geneva. It was the United Nations saying they had caught wind of the story and were interested in visiting with us.
And so we've been working with the United Nations for several months now.
And you know, we've been able to collaborate with them on an upcoming Human Rights Report, and they would like to screen the film in Geneva. And what's more exciting is they plan to come to Oklahoma and visit Enid and try to understand, you know, the story firsthand from them.
Brett Fieldcamp: The team says they feel encouraged to be reaching organizations and officials of that caliber with such a community-focused and definitively Oklahoman film, drawing attention to the lasting effects of America’s Atomic Age and the daily struggles of the people still living with them, especially as nations around the world, including the US, have recently vowed to resume or even increase nuclear testing in the coming years.
It’s with that knowledge, and with their own firmly formed bonds within the community, that they’ll finally be bringing the film home to Enid early in the New Year.
Brandon Kobs (producer): We're doing a screening in Enid January 8th in the arena, in the Stride Bank Center.
That's been a long time coming, and we hope that that homecoming screening really helps the community itself, because there's still, like, there's still so many people that don't know about it, and they live down the street.
We really hope that we can open some doors just directly in that community.
Brett Fieldcamp: “67 Bombs to Enid” is screening in limited engagements across the country right now, with a special screening at the Stride Bank Center in Enid on January 8th.
For more, visit 67bombs.com.
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