OKC filmmaker's new short documentary follows disabled athletes to Oklahoma's Endeavor Games

Although he grew up in Edmond, Heartland Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Iancu “Bunee” Tomlinson had never heard of the Endeavor Games until someone suggested he make a documentary about the long-running event that draws participants from across the country and even around the world.

The Endeavor Games is the nation’s largest multi-sport, multi-disability event, which marked its 25th anniversary in June. The 2024 games included 10 adaptive sports — air rifle, archery, cycling, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, swimming, track and field, table tennis, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair softball — with competitions at seven sites across the University of Central Oklahoma and other Edmond locales.

"We're a very big sports state, but for people to see that there's adaptive sports here in Oklahoma, it just shows families or people who decide to come to Oklahoma that there's opportunities here," said Tomlinson, who was born in Romania, raised in Edmond and is based in the Oklahoma City area.

"What's great with Endeavor (Games) is you've got people coming here from over; it's not just Oklahoma athletes. You have people coming from Louisiana, San Diego, Missouri. ... And they're also seeing what Oklahoma is like and the people here."

With his new half-hour documentary "Endeavour," which premiered last month at Oklahoma City's deadCenter Film Festival, Tomlinson and his crew followed several competitors in the games, including Derek Loccident, a runner and former UCO football player from Oklahoma City; Haven Shepherd, a Missouri swimmer born in Vietnam; Micah Campbell, a multi-sport wheelchair athlete from Wichita, Kansas; Douglas Charles Duval, an archer and U.S. Army veteran; and Kisha McFadden and Richard Empson, multi-sport competitors from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Loccident, who also was the subject of the 2023 OKCThunder Films short documentary "Steps," has earned two silver and one bronze medal at the World Championships in Kobe, Japan, with the U.S. Paralympics Track and Field team. He is expected to qualify for the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games, set for Aug. 28-Sept. 8 in Paris, France.

Following its deadCenter debut, Tomlinson's "Endeavor" is showing at the annual Circle Cinema Film Festival July 11-15 at the nonprofit Circle Cinema movie theater. "Endeavor" will screen at 4:45 p.m. July 13, followed by a Q&A with with Nick Hodge, an associate producer on the film, and Anthony Meadows, an adaptive sports coordinator at Tulsa's The Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges.

At an interview during deadCenter, Tomlinson spoke with The Oklahoman about how the story of "Endeavor" resonated with him:

Q: What drew you to this project?

Being an orphan myself, I was adopted at 6, and I was basically a 2-year-old in a 6-year-old body. I grew up in an orphanage ... and so coming here at 6, I had to learn to be basically a kid again. I had to learn to do basic things, like how to jump and walk. I didn't have any of that, because I was basically confined into a crib. So, I had to adapt on how to do that since I was very behind. ...

One way I think I adapted is that I found technology: I was fascinated with computers. I started a little pirate radio station in my house; my parents bought me this little transmitter. I did that when I was in fifth grade, and then I discovered filmmaking in middle school. Because I struggled with reading and writing, my teacher said, 'Hey, why don't you do video essays vs. writing?' And I turned those into little video skits, and I made more friends and developed friendships, because everyone wanted to be in the movies.

But filmmaking didn't teach me about just making stories: It also taught me life skills. So, if you look at these athletes, they are the same way. They're having to adapt their life, from these challenges that they have to overcome. ... They have to learn to love themelves, and I think that's what 'Endeavor' really captures, really telling that it's OK to love yourself — and then you could do anything.

Q: Do you feel like a lot of people can find parallels in their own lives when they see the athletes in 'Endeavor?'

When I capture stories — especially in documentaries, and even with my production company, when I do my corporate (work) — I try tell a humanistic story. It's all about the human touch, the personal stories. ... I think anyone can relate to this film, even if you don't have a disability or anything like that.

We all face challenges. We grieve; we go through different things. People struggle, but I always say this: There's always a finish line. ... But we have to know that, hey, not everybody's going to reach that finish line as fast as maybe your peers are. But that's OK.

Q: What was your initial response when you went to the Endeavor Games for the first time?

My first response was how happy everybody was. It's the same as when I went to a Romanian orphanage gathering up in Minneapolis. I got to hang out with those kids, and we all got to talk about our challenges and struggles. And I could just be open and comfortable.

I'll be honest with you, I sometimes kind of hide myself when I'm out with my colleagues or my friends from high school. I kind of shelter (them), and I don't want them to know what some of the challenges are. And I think it's just because you want to be like everybody else.

With these athletes, I think sometimes they probably feel that way in their life. So, when they come to the Endeavor Games, they get to see, 'Hey, there's someone just like me,' and what's beautiful is that they forget about what their challenges are. And they just become humans, people, friends, just one another. So, it's not really about their disability, it's really about just having that community.

Q: What are your plans for the documentary?

We really targeted film festivals where each of the athletes are based ... and then we've submitted to several documentary festivals around the country. ... I would say the end goal for the film is to get it on TV, kind of what we do with (his 2015 documentary) 'Boomtown: An American Journey,' so we can get qualified for the Emmys.

TULSA'S CIRCLE CINEMA FILM FESTIVAL

• When: July 11-15.

• Where: Circle Cinema, 10 S Lewis Ave., Tulsa.

• Information: https://www.circlecinema.org.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'Endeavour' short film follows Oklahoma's Endeavor Games