Documentary Over Tulsa’s History Premieres At Circle Cinema

A documentary focusing on Tulsa's history and economic extremes premiered at the Circle Cinema Tuesday night.

Produced locally, Boomtown: An American Journey highlights the city's history all the way back to before Statehood.

Discussions began back in 2013 about the possibility of putting together a short video, but then the executive producer realized there was more to tell; and Tuesday, they got to share their vision with hundreds.

The popcorn flowed and the crowd inside the Circle Cinema grew as everyone, including the film's creators, anxiously awaited the premiere.

"I've had butterflies for the last week. We've worked so hard on this project, and it has been 18 months in the making," said Michelle Place with the Tulsa Historical Society.

Boomtown: An American Journey is a documentary about Tulsa, made by the people who know it best.

"It is this local story, and a great story about Tulsa luminaries; and we are going to use the great people from this place to tell this story," said producer, Russ Kilpatrick.

Tuesday's screening was successful in bringing out quite a crowd to hear the story, and now those who worked on the film for almost two years hope the crowd takes something away from it.

“These are lessons that have been learned from this place. And if this place in the world can manage through these issues, I really wonder if we can't all manage these issues," Kilpatrick said.

Place said, "Being committed and asking yourselves, 'Are you satisfied? and if you're not gonna fix it, who is?’"

Wednesday, the public will be able to view the film at the Circle Cinema or the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum on South Peoria.

The filmmakers said the biggest challenge was fitting all the history that Tulsa has to offer into only 45 minutes. They said they could've easily made it feature film length or made it into a series.