Navy TV is proud to be a sponsor of the 2010 GI Film Festival being held in Washington, D.C. May 12-16. The GIFF, a non-profit public education foundation, is the first and only film festival in the nation dedicated to the American Armed Forces.  Their mission is to honor the successes and sacrifices of American GIs through the medium of film.  Watch trailers of the films being screened at this year's festival here and learn more about GIFF at www.gifilmfestival.com.

Media

GIFF 30-second PSA

GI Film Festival 30-second promotional video.

GIFF Promo Video

I shot, produced, directed, and edited this promotional video for the GI Film Festival in Washington, DC.

A Letter from Home

It is 1944. During the bitter winter of the Battle of the Bulge, an American GI receives a descriptive, heartfelt letter from his wife while a German sniper has him in his sights.

As Ever, Stan

In the summer of 1945, a Midwestern woman wakes to begin the most important day of her life. She dresses her newborn daughter in her “Sunday best” for a trip to the local train station, where she waits to pick up her husband, a recently liberated Prisoner of War. However, when the train finally reaches the depot something unexpected occurs. As Ever, Stan takes a look at war from the perspective of the loved ones left behind.

Beyond the Wall - Homeless Zone

Beyond the Wall: Homeless Zone navigates the journey of two Iraq War veterans who slipped through the cracks and now live on the streets and two Vietnam veterans who are fighting to end homelessness in Washington, DC.

Bicycle Lessons

Two Italian and two American veterans relate intimate stories of capture and escape at the hands of Nazis and Fascists during WWII in Italy. Fabio Ricci takes us back to his Tuscan village to demonstrate how he escaped capture from the Nazis by hiding under an artichoke plant. Floyd Dumas provides a glimpse into the Italian underground that helped him escape a prison camp. Pio Pieruccini reveals the details of his capture by the Nazis and his time in a prison camp making bombs. Albert Soria fled the Nazis to the United States and then returned to liberate his homeland as an American soldier. A poignant film about four men who faced the evil of Nazism and lived to tell their stories.

Der Vater

Near the end of WWII, the vicious SS recruited every able man to fight on the front lines in an attempt to push back the allies and further eradicate the Jews. When Erich, a peaceful man and father of two, is recruited, tragic circumstance befalls him as he is ordered to kill two Jewish children. Now he must decide between murdering the children or aiding in their escape, knowing that doing so will result in his own death.

Ghost Soldier

Two American soldiers are captured and become POWs in Fallujah. Both soldiers must fight to survive as they stage their escapes when nearby air strikes throw the prison into a state of panic.

Goldstar, Ohio

Ground-breaking in its presentation, Goldstar, Ohio is a fascinating exploration of the emotions experienced by four families notified by the Marine Corps of the death of a loved one. While narrative in form, the film’s dialogue is entirely authentic and based on actual first-hand audio and video recordings documenting the experiences of the families involved.

Head in the Sand

Henry is a seven-year old with a sweet tooth for combat-themed comic books, where he is always the hero, and no one dies. The film takes us from Henry’s vivid childhood imagination to Henry as a young soldier on a C-130 full of American soldiers flying to the combat zones of northeastern Afghanistan. An encounter with a fellow soldier on the plane reading war comics propels Henry back to the days of childhood and the memories of his days locked deep in his own reveries of the glory and heroism of war. Henry’s childhood preconceptions are immediately shattered on the battlefield.

L-Bird, The Little Plane that Did

They weighed less than 800 pounds and were completely unarmed. Yet these cloth covered spotter planes did more damage and created more chaos than any other aircraft used in WWII. Flying low and slow to see all enemy movement, the L Birds would call in artillery fire to rain death and destruction on their targets. Thanks to an innovative suspended landing system that hung above trees and over the sides of ships, pilots could land and take off without ever touching the ground. This landing system saved the US Navy from possible annihilation in Okinawa and earned the L Bird a reputation as the most deadly plane used in WWII.

Letters from Home

Letters from Home introduces us to a team of U.S. Army soldiers deployed to a remote base in Afghanistan during the highly anticipated mail call. Two soldiers’ lives are transformed forever by the news they receive from this round of letters.

Long Awaited

Long Awaited is the heartfelt story of a former soldier who seeks forgiveness from the widow of the man he killed by friendly fire. The encounter yields a surprising result.

New American Soldier

Today there are over 70,000 immigrants serving in the military, which is five percent of the Armed Forces. Roughly half of them are not yet citizens, but a post-September 11 executive order has made it easier to apply for citizenship. New American Soldier follows three immigrant soldiers as they sweat through training and deployment, inching their way towards U.S. citizenship.

Prayers for Peace

An artist confronts the memory of his younger brother who was killed by an IED in Fallujah. Handcrafting the film using pastels on a slate chalkboard and footage from his brother’s laptop, Prayers for Peace is a touching introspective journey through the heart and soul of a tragic loss.

The Eagle and the Pit

In the midst of World War I a young American waits in the trenches for his first experience on the battlefield against the Germans. A seasoned infantryman shows the soldier that it is much easier to talk about killing than to actually engage in the act.

The Inner Wounds of War

The Inner Wounds of War shares Ret. Sgt. Arredondo’s journey to overcome not only his visible limb-loss, but his invisible psychological scars. Through candid interviews and intimate photographs, the film captures the heartfelt story of a wounded soldier and the community effort it takes to help our nation’s warriors.

The Surge - The Untold Story

The Surge: the Untold Story is the only documentary of its kind offering a look into the real story of the troop surge in Iraq, as told by top U.S. military commanders. These never-before-seen interviews move beyond Washington politics to tell the ground truth of a failing mission transformed into one of the most successful military operations in a generation of war fighting. This documentary honors the sacrifice, courage and ingenuity of military members confronting nearly impossible circumstances.

Brats - Our Journey Home

Their passports say “United States,” but they’re really citizens of the world. U.S. military BRATS share intimate memories about their unique childhoods – growing up on military bases around the world, then struggling to fit into an America lifestyle with which they have little in common. This is the first cinematic glimpse into a global subculture whose journey to adulthood is a high-octane mixture of incredible excitement and enormous pain. BRATS is about military children, who grow up in a world that is both idealistic and authoritarian, privileged and perilous, supportive and stifling. Narrated by and featuring the music of Air Force brat Kris Kristofferson.

Chosin

In the winter of 1950, 15,000 U.S. troops were surrounded and trapped by 120,000 Chinese soldiers in the frozen mountains of North Korea. Refusing surrender, the men fought 78 miles to freedom while saving the lives of 98,000 civilian refugees. Chosin is the first documentary on the Chosin Reservoir Campaign. The survivors take us on an emotional and heart-pounding journey through one of the most savage battles in American history. These accounts, combined with footage never before seen by most Americans, create a visceral, emotionally-charged experience unlike that provided by any other war documentary. The upcoming major motion picture 17 Days of Winter is based on these real-life heroes.

Minus One

When three Army Reservists are called to fight in the Middle East, they must face the possibility of never returning home. Minus One is a moving story about three American soldiers from the 951st Army Reserve Unit, as they spend their last few days in the U.S. preparing to deploy.

Mother of Normandy

Madame Simone Renaud witnessed the liberation of France on June 6, 1944 from a very unique point – the small town of St. Mere Eglise – the first town liberated in the Normandy invasion. It was there that Madame Renaud watched the triumph and tragedy unfold during that day that defined history. And it was there that so many American soldiers found their final resting place. Madame Renaud spent a lifetime tending to the graves of those American soldiers and corresponding with their loved ones back home. She became friend, family and touchstone to those whose lives were forever changed by D-Day. The mark she left is indelible and so is her story.

Patrol Base Jaker

Fresh and innovative, Patrol Base Jaker is a captivating retelling of the remarkable history of Afghanistan from the Russian invasion to the current U.S. counterinsurgency operation. Walk in the boots of the Marine combat and civil affairs teams in Helmand Province, Afghanistan as they fight to turn the tide against a resurgent Taliban and Al Qaeda. Travel to the front lines where U.S. Marines stand at a wicked intersection of war, radical Islam, international drug trade, reconstruction, and a counterinsurgency strategy designed to reestablish the rule of law in Afghanistan.

Soldiers of Conscience

Their country asked them to kill. Their hearts asked them to stop. U.S. soldiers today, some who killed and some who said no, reveal their inner moral dilemma over killing in combat. Made with official permission from the U.S. Army, this controversial documentary transcends the usual rhetoric to reveal the human truth that all soldiers are soldiers of conscience, wrestling with the demands of duty and the call of conscience.

To End All Wars

In a jungle war of survival, they learned sacrifice. In a prison of brutal confinement, they found true freedom. This is a true story about four Allied POWs who endured harsh treatment from their Japanese captors during World War II while being forced to build a railroad through the Burmese jungle. Ultimately they find true freedom by forgiving their enemies. Based on the true story of Ernest Gordon. Starring Kiefer Sutherland.

Warrior Champions

From Baghdad to Beijing, Warrior Champions tells the emotional and inspiring story of a group of severely wounded American Soldiers, as they fight to turn nightmares of war into Olympic dreams. Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans Kortney Clemons, Scott Winkler, Melissa Stockwell, and Carlos Leon set out to do what many thought impossible; to compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. Though at times heart wrenching, Warrior Champions is not a sad tale of the tragedy of war, but rather an uplifting testament to the human spirit that challenges preconceived notions of what it means to be disabled.