In the spirit of a past Red Bull Film Festival blog-post, here's a quick list--alphabetical and chronological by year of release--of recent and upcoming Afghan-themed documentary projects:
"ARMADILLO" (2010)
This film depicts the 2009 experiences of a Danish army platoon located at Forward Operating Base Armadillo in Southern Afghanistan's Helmand Province. Earlier this fall, the film premiered in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service's (P.B.S.)"P.O.V." documentary series.The film is subtitled, and rich with post-production saturations of color and manipulations of sounds. Some critics argue that the film blurs the line between truth-telling and entertainment. That said, the soldiers' opinions and daily life are presented without obvious editorial comment, starting with good-byes to friends and family, landing in unforgiving country, and grinding through daily battles, boredom, and emotional fatigue. The troops are regularly frustrated by an enemy who seems always just out of reach, until a fateful and successful ambush of Taliban forces.
As the POV website notes:
Whether they go over the line in killing wounded Taliban is in the eye of the beholder, and the soldiers immediately begin justifying their actions to themselves. The wounded men moved and who could take a chance that they weren’t reaching to detonate a bomb? There is even a suggestion that the shootings were mercy killings for men dying slowly. The most potent aspect of the men’s solidarity in the face of criticism is their own accusation: How could anyone who was not there presume to judge them?Such questions are guaranteed to generate thought and discussion. There is a lesson-plan based on the film for use by educators.
Internet Movie Database (I.M.D.B.) listing here.
See preview trailer online here.
To be released on DVD
Oct. 18, 2011.*****
"THE BATTLE FOR MARJAH" (2010)
In February 2010, in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, U.S. Marines, Afghan, and other forces launched Operation Moshtarak, the largest military operation since the start of the Afghan war, and the first major move since the Obama administration had announced plans to send an additional 30,000 troops to that country.Centerpiece to the effort was the town of Marjah, a town of 80,000 people in Southern Afghanistan's Helmand Province. The film explores the efficacy of U.S. forces "clear, hold, and build" strategy, as well as the effects of engagement rules intended to minimize civilian casualties.
Journalist Ben Anderson spent two months embedded with the Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. Four months after the success of Operation Moshtarak, Anderson returned to Marjah to find the troops fighting for a shrinking zone of control. "Marines fight battles," press materials quote one marine. "They don't fight wars."
IMDB listing here.
Recently released in DVD and Blu-ray combo-pack
.*****
"RESTREPO" (2010)
This is the proverbial 155-millimeter artillery round of Afghan war documentaries. In 2007 and 2008, author Sebastian Junger and photographer Tim Hetherington repeatedly embedded with a company of active-duty soldiers of the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Eastern Afghanistan.Red Bull Rising blog readers will remember that "Restrepo" was previously nominated for an Academy Award in the documentary feature category, and was a 2010 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize recipient.
Recently, the film garnered two additional awards: an Emmy for long-form news coverage and another for editing.
Click here for a June 2010 Red Bull Rising review of "Restrepo."
IMDB listing here.
View preview trailer online here.
Available on DVD
and Blu-ray
.*****
"SHEPHERDS OF HELMAND" (2010)
Deployed to Southern Afghanistan's Helmand Province in 2008, an Embedded Training Team (E.T.T.) comprising 17 Oregon National Guard soldiers was tasked with mentoring an Afghan National Army battalion--a "kandak." Instead, they found themselves assigned to an Afghan counter-narcotics battalion, with whom no U.S. team had ever before worked. The team spent three months in daily firefights out of Patrol Base Attal. One charismatic captain was killed by Improvised Explosive Device (I.E.D.) in September 2008. Two other soldiers were wounded in that attack. The next year, thousands of U.S. Marines deployed to the area. Directed by Gary Mortensen.IMDB listing here.
See preview trailer online here.
Available on DVD here. Fifty percent of proceeds go to support Honored American Veterans Afield (H.A.V.A.), a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting disabled veterans with the healing process by facilitating their participation in outdoor sports.
*****
"THE TILLMAN STORY" (2010)
In 2004, National Football League player Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire while serving as an active-duty U.S. Army Ranger in Eastern Afghanistan. Along with his brother Kevin, Tillman had enlisted following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2011. Military leaders and politicians subsequently sought to subvert the truth, as well as Tillman's wishes against being used for propaganda purposes, whether living or dead.While lacking the richer explorations of Tillman's personality, drive, and beliefs that can be found in two previously published books—Jon Krakauer's "Where Men Win Glory"
and Mary Tillman's "Boots on the Ground by Dusk"
—the documentary is no less damning of military and governmental sins of omission and commission following Tillman's death.IMDB listing here.
Available on DVD
and Blu-ray
.*****
"BOMB PATROL: AFGHANISTAN" (2011)
Not a feature documentary, but rather a 10-hour cable television reality series. The high-definition production follows an 8-member U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (E.O.D.) from stateside training to deployment in Northern Afghanistan. Previews and press-talk for the show promise plenty of explosions, robots, and helmet-cam video. Could this equal "Hurt Locker" (2008) meets "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare"?
*****
"PATROL BASE JAKER" (2011)
This film tells the story of the U.S. 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment during the unit's 2009 tour in Southern Afghanistan's Helmand Province. Originally built in 2008 by the British Army's Task Force Helmand, Patrol Base Jaker is now an expeditionary base maintained by U.S. Marines.The film premiered May 2011 at the G.I. Film Festival in Washington D.C., where it won best documentary.
In an August post on the film's Facebook page, director David Scantling is preparing final cut for a Nov. 10, 2011 theatrical release. The movie will also be released on DVD/Blu-ray and Internet/iTunes venues around that same time.
IMDB listing here.
See preview trailer online here.
*****
"HELL AND BACK AGAIN" (2011)
Theatrically released earlier this month, this Danfung Dennis film flips between 2009 events in Southern Afghanistan with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, and the subsequent homecoming of 25-year-old Marine Sgt. Nathan Harris. According to press materials: "When Sergeant Harris returns home to North Carolina after a life-threatening injury in battle, the film evolves from a war exposé to the story of one man’s personal apocalypse. With the love and support of his wife, Ashley, Harris struggles to overcome the difficulties of transitioning back to civilian life."Notably, Dennis chose to avoid a traditional soundtrack in the film. "There isn't an orchestra playing when you're running through a battlefield," he said in a recent interview with National Public Radio. "There isn't, you know, huge drums. It's just pure terror." In place of music, Dennis and sound designer J. Ralph manipulated sounds found on the battlefield. "The sound of gunfire, the sound of crying, it's often that you'll hear these sounds and you'll see these images in your mind as if they were a memory," Dennis told NPR. "But they become so intense that you actually stop seeing what's around you and you stop hearing it."
The film received the World Cinema Jury and Cinematography prizes at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.
IMDB listing here.
See preview trailer online here.
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