OKLAHOMA CITY – With the endless drama and unstoppable momentum of Oscar season in full swing, sometimes you really need to take a break, take a step back, and look around at what’s happening outside of the walls of cinematic competition and awards campaigns.
Every day lately, it feels like the news is bringing us another unprecedented story of activists being attacked, whistleblowers being vilified, and even the nuclear paranoias of the once-forgotten Atomic Age being unceremoniously resurrected for our modern times.
It’s a fraught, worrying world that we’ve found for ourselves in 2026, and it can feel like there’s no way to make sense of it or to see the worst consequences coming.
But, like so many times before, we can find a road map in the stories of those at the forefront of these same issues in the past, stories of departed figures that stood up to make their voices heard or of people living with the continuing consequences of that past right now.
Throughout February, some OKC theaters are presenting some of those stories in films old and new, giving us a chance to contextualize our current world within history and to learn from the past enough to (hopefully) not repeat it.
‘Silkwood’ presented by LEAD Agency – Oklahoma Film Exchange – Tuesday, February 10th
Anyone that’s done any work in journalism or activism in Oklahoma probably knows the story of Karen Silkwood and her mysterious death in 1974 at the height of her whistleblowing actions against the Kerr-McGee Corporation.
Silkwood had been an employee and union organizer at Kerr-McGee’s fabrication site in Logan County where she and other employees manufactured fuel rods for nuclear reactors.
After finding inconsistencies and possibly falsified safety reports about the work and its potential for causing radiation poisoning, Silkwood became a whistleblower, going so far as to testify before the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington.
She died in a single-car crash in November of 1974 on her way to meet a New York Times reporter with what she claimed was clear evidence of a cover-up.
By 1983, Silkwood’s story had fully enthralled Hollywood, powering through nearly a decade of development – seeing multiple studio attempts and even an OKC-based lawsuit demanding the film’s research materials – before finally emerging as director Mike Nichols’ “Silkwood” starring Meryl Streep in the title role with backup from Kurt Russell and Cher.
Oklahoma’s own LEAD Agency is an environmental justice and anti-pollution concern, and at a time when environmental protections and vital regulations are being rolled back or dismantled completely, they’re partnering with the Oklahoma Film Exchange for a panel discussion and public screening of “Silkwood.”
For more, visit oklahomafilmexchange.com.
‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ – Oklahoma Film Exchange – Monday, February 16th
One of the most overtly and unapologetically political and fiery films in recent memory, this 2021 gem is director Shaka King’s unvarnished look at radical activism giant Fred Hampton and the young man manipulated by the FBI into helping orchestrate the raid that killed him.
Daniel Kaluuya is electrifying as Hampton in a role that easily won him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but that much more urgently helped to catapult Hampton’s activism back into the spotlight, propelled by his unmatched charisma and passion for leftist ideology during the Civil Rights Movement.
In the late-60s, as Hampton rose to lead the Chicago Black Panthers and built his Rainbow Coalition of united cross-cultural socialist groups, his close friendship with young William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) also grew, even as O’Neal was secretly reporting back to the FBI to avoid jail time for car theft.
Anyone that knows the story of Hampton and his brutal death knows that that friendship plays a tragic role, and that O’Neal remains a deeply controversial figure to this day, with some even protesting King’s insistence on centering the story on him rather than on Hampton and his work.
Still, “Judas and the Black Messiah” is a deeply moving and deeply rousing film that illuminates the very real tactics of manipulation and vilification that can be used to destabilize a movement, but that more importantly stands as a testament to the continuing fire set by Hampton so many years ago.
It’s presented at the OK Film Exchange in partnership with the Central Oklahoma Labor Federation as part of a full slate of screenings and discussions celebrating Black History Month.
For more, visit oklahomafilmexchange.com.
’67 Bombs to Enid’ – Oklahoma City Museum of Art – Wednesday, February 18th
I’ve written about this integral, deadCenter-winning Oklahoman documentary a lot, I know, but with a new screening set for OKC for the first time since last year’s festival, now is your best chance to finally see this powerful film if you still haven’t.
Filmmakers Kevin Ford, Ty McMahan, and Brandon Kobs take a deep, personal look at the vibrant Marshallese community of Enid, Oklahoma and the devastation of the US military’s nuclear testing throughout the 1950s that drove so many from their homes in the Marshall Islands and changed that nation’s landscape forever.
But more than just an infuriating history lesson, it’s also a portrait of the rich and beautiful culture that they’ve brought to Enid and the unique history of their community and how it’s blossomed here in Oklahoma.
While it’s already a must-see, especially for Oklahomans, it’s also sadly more relevant than ever.
The Trump administration has signaled a return to nuclear testing, a key nuclear agreement with Russia is set to expire for the first time in a half-century, and Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has ordered a study to possibly bring nuclear energy to Oklahoma (a topic that will also be discussed heavily during the “Silkwood” screening.)
And on Monday this week, even, future nuclear reactor sites were wholesale excluded from environmental impact reporting, raising some serious questions about the possibility of exactly the kind of environmental and health damage that “67 Bombs” highlights.
So there’s no time like the present to see and learn about these real people and real-life stories right here in your own state.
For more, visit okcmoa.com.
Catch Brett Fieldcamp’s film column weekly for information and insights into the world of film in the Oklahoma City metro and Oklahoma. | Brought to you by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
Brett Fieldcamp is our Arts and Entertainment Editor. He has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for 15+ years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
