GI Film Festival | Reel Stories! Real Heroes!

Got Your Six!

Laura Lynn — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:21:24 +0000

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt From 6-12 May 2013, I took Mrs. Roosevelt’s advice to heart while I experienced my first GI Film Festival in Washington D.C. A dear friend of mine has been trying to get me here for years but I found it a challenge living in a suburb of Philadelphia. However, fate had other plans in mind. This year, when she came calling again, I was able to partake in the event. My time was well spent as I met a plethora of i... Read more..

A Look at Veteran Nation with James Carafano

GI Film Festival — Sun, 12 May 2013 20:27:24 +0000

Veteran Nation, executively produced by Army veteran James Carafano, explores the treatment of veterans throughout decades of war. The documentary features inspirational interviews from veterans of all branches of the service and encourages community involvement to honor their sacrifice.

James was inspired to make the film after learning about a community service group in Montana called Warriors and Quiet Waters, which helps rehabilitate veterans using fly fishing as a therapeutic experience. "I thought every community can do something like this," he sa... Read more..

Love On A Battlefield

Laura Lynn — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:00:03 +0000

SACRIFICE. HONOR. RESPECT. SELFLESSNESS. LOVE. Pop culture has had an enduring obsession with the subject of love and war. From the likes of the silver screen to literary prose you would be hard pressed to find an artistic outlet that did not explore the various emotional situations that embrace the aforementioned subject matter. Lyricists & musicians often pen and perform these sentiments as well. Think Tracy Lawrence’s “If I Don’t Make It Back”, Tim McGraw’s “If You’re Reading This”, David Gray’s “You’re The One I Love”, Carrie Underwood’s “Just A Dream”... Read more..

4PM Film Block Today: Bighorn

GI Film Festival — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:25:22 +0000

Bighorn, by Alfred Thomas Catalfo, is a supernatural/fantasy film that links two different events—Custer’s last stand in 1876 and the 2002 Super Bowl game. Many of Custer’s soldiers are played by re-enactors who are veterans, including one who served in the 7th Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam.

In 2002, the New England Patriots won their first Super Bowl game with a 48-yard field goal made in the last seconds of the game. The kicker, Adam Vinatieri, is the great-great-grandson o... Read more..

Showing at 1:30PM: Choc’late Soldiers from the USA

GI Film Festival — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:23:21 +0000

Choc’late Soldiers from the USA, directed by Noel Izon, tells the story of thousands of African-American soldiers who were sent to Britain during WWII. These soldiers, members of segregated Army units, were engaged in preparations for the Normandy invasion. Bonds formed between the American soldiers and British civilians as the soldiers introduced the Brits to jazz, jitterbugging, and African-American culture. The documentary includes these vetera... Read more..

4PM Film Block Today: The Making of Fallujah

GI Film Festival — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:57:30 +0000

John Bolton's The Making of Fallujah is a behind- the-scenes look at the chamber opera Fallujah. In a series of flashbacks, the opera looks at the Iraq war and its aftermath through the eyes of Sgt. Christian Ellis, USMC. Sgt. Ellis suffered severe back injuries when his platoon was ambushed in Fallujah. John was inspired to make the film because of the challenges faced by Sgt. Ellis in dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which afflicts over two mi... Read more..

A soldier tries to find stillness in short narrative

GI Film Festival — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00:27 +0000

“Still” depicts a veteran of the U.S. Army coping with transitioning from war. The film was made as part of a festival competition known as the “Seven Day Shootout.” Filmmakers had seven days to write, shoot, and edit a film. Though given the time restraints, we wanted to tell an earnest story of PTSD while using the film’s title as a metaphor for someone that cannot move forward in life. The filmmakers Kristin Tunstall and L... Read more..

O CANADA

Laura Lynn — Fri, 10 May 2013 03:55:14 +0000

Last Wednesday I traveled to foreign soil without ever leaving the United States of America. You may be asking yourself, “How is that possible?” Well, it’s entirely possible when you’re spending time in our great nation’s capitol! The Canadian Embassy hosted another GI Film Festival Event in which I was given the gracious opportunity to attend. Premiering at this event was a block of short International films which ranged in subject matter from an Australian journalist fighting for survival armed with only her camera to a Japanese Army medic whose moral compass is challenged when... Read more..

Bond…James Bond

Laura Lynn — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:19:11 +0000

Bond...James Bond. Who would have thought that Monday evening’s adventures would find me surrounded by mystery and intrigue? The GI Film Festival, now in its seventh year, kicked-off its week long festivities Monday night with its Opening Night James Bond Gala: “SECRETS AND SPIES” PARTY AND SILENT AUCTION – A SALUTE TO 50 YEARS OF JAMES BOND. The venue was filled with past and present James Bond memo... Read more..

The Glorious “Inglorious Basterds”

Courtney Siegert — Tue, 07 May 2013 22:17:52 +0000

In honor of the film, "The Real Inglorious Bastards," one of 2013's Official Selections for the GI Film Festival, I thought it would be very fitting to examine one of Hollywood's more acclaimed movies depicting the struggle to take down history's most formidable regime - the Nazi Party. " The 2009 release of Quentin Tarantino's audacious film "Inglourious Basterds" inspired mostly praise (with some mixed reviews... Read more..