New military doc shows how veterans can face traumatic injuries together
“‘Sum Function’ is not a sports story, and it’s not a war story. It’s a raw, unflinching look at survival, connection, and the fight for access in a world that isn’t built for people with disabilities.”—official press release of “Sum Function”
The teammates of the Oscar Mike Militia—the nation’s only all-veteran wheelchair rugby team—have learned to survive great loss.
Every athlete on the team is impaired in all four limbs due to war, illness, or life-altering events. But now these military vets are rediscovering their strength and resiliency through sports. More than that, these men and women have formed a support system that proves that the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.
And now a moving, award-winning documentary captures their journey over years of filming. It portrays victories and defeats, teamwork and connection.
Helping Injured Vets Through Adaptive Sports
First-time director Noah Currier, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and quadriplegic, sustained a devastating injury three days after returning home from combat. A car accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. His spirit endured, and Currier went on to found the Oscar Mike Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to keeping injured veterans “on the move” through adaptive sports and community.
Now his debut feature documentary, “Sum Function,” is an inspiring story told from inside the community it represents. Talking with We Are The Mighty, Currier said his first intention was to create the film he wishes he could have seen when he was first injured.
“It’s common to go through a really dark period after a traumatic injury, and this could have helped me save years of finding my way through that,” he told WATM.
Currier also wanted the film to help change the world’s perspective on disabilities.
“The only way to do that successfully is to also make something highly entertaining,” he said. “It can’t just be like asking someone to watch a class. We wanted to make audiences feel like spectators of this really exciting sport.”
‘Sum Function’ Makes Film Festival Circuit
“Sum Function,” therefore, defies genre. It isn’t just a sports documentary, a film about veterans, or a piece about disabilities. It transcends all three and adds in excitement, levity, and heart.
The film already earned the Best of the Fest: Audience Award at the Annapolis Film Festival in March and is slated for the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival and the Beverly Hills Film Festival.
“[“Sum Function”] is not a story of pity. It’s a raw account of my teammates and fellow disabled veterans, who are battling on the court and in life,” Currier said in the press release. “Our stories are messy, jarring, and painful—but also disarmingly human.”
Co-director Nick Cavalier is an award-winning filmmaker and visual artist whose expertise in capturing meaningful and cinematic moments paired perfectly with Currier’s lived experiences. Their friendship goes back 15 years, so there is plenty of trust between them.
Together, they created a film that is emotionally authentic and visually powerful.
How Wheelchair Rugby Is Played
The Oscar Mike Militia competes in the United States Wheelchair Rugby Association, where each player is assigned a classification from 0.5 to 3.5, based on their level of function. A unique sport, wheelchair rugby combines elements of rugby, basketball, and handball where players compete in teams of four to carry the ball across the opposing team’s goal line. Contact between wheelchairs is not only permitted, but it’s an integral part of the sport.
Army veteran and triple amputee Bryan Anderson said the Oscar Mike Militia has given him a renewed sense of purpose.
“I’m at a time in my life where I can pretty much do anything I want, including hiding out in a little hole,” he told We Are The Mighty. “Instead, these guys got me back out there. I got in better shape because I had to support my teammates. This mission, Oscar Mike—“on the move”—it helpskeep our veterans going [and] helps the next person along. [It] saves their life at times, showing them you can live a happy, successful life. It means everything to me.”
“Sum Function” has a runtime of 94 minutes. It can be seen in various festivals around the country, including the Beverly Hills Film Festival on April 14, 2026.
“We’re excited to head to Beverly Hills,” Currier said. “We were just on the opposite coast, and we’re all very happy that it won Audience Choice for Best Feature Documentary. We’re trying to make it just as successful on the West Coast.”
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