Actor Kerri Turner attends the GI Film Festival

“This effort between the GI Film Festival and the Military Channel will be invaluable in putting the heroism and the sacrifice of the nation’s bravest men and women on full display for all of America to witness. This has been the Festival’s core mission from day one,” said GI Film Festival Chairman Stephen K. Bannon.

The G.I. Film Festival is the first and only film festival in the country dedicated to honoring the successes and sacrifices of American GIs. The festival’s documentary and narrative films showcase themes ranging from the courage and ingenuity on battlefields throughout history to the struggles of homelessness and post-traumatic stress on the home front.

The G.I. Film Festival block runs on Military Channel from 9-11 PM ET on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays throughout November starting on Friday, November 12, the day after Veterans Day.

“We are proud to provide our filmmakers with a nationwide audience on one of the nation’s most respected television networks,” said GI Film Festival Co-Founder Brandon Millett. “We know Military Channel viewers will be touched and inspired by this programming. And we hope through our films that they gain a greater sense of appreciation for our nation’s men and women in uniform.”

“This national television program is a landmark event in the history of the GI Film Festival,” said GI Film Festival Co-Founder Laura Law-Millett. “With this ground-breaking new series, we now move from a DC-based event to a national organization fostering a positive image for American GIs.”

“The diverse lineup of the G.I. Film Festival is a natural fit for Military Channel, which prides itself on highlighting the full spectrum of human drama, courage and patriotism intrinsic to the armed forces,” said Henry Schleiff, president and general manager of Military Channel. “By providing the G.I. Film Festival a national platform, Military Channel invites its viewers to explore these beautifully produced films that resonate with the creative passion of each independent filmmaker.”

The opening weekend of G.I. Film Festival programming on Military Channel includes:

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 from 9-11 PM ET

SHAKEY’S HILL In 1970, CBS News cameraman Norman Lloyd followed a battalion of American soldiers into the jungles of Cambodia. The mission was to seek out substantial weapons and supply caches being used by the North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War. As the battalion closed in on the location of the caches, they encountered a growing resistance from the North Vietnamese forces. Rarely seen footage and first-hand accounts take the audience through each firefight leading up to the operation’s climax, which came to be known as the infamous taking of Shakey’s Hill. By melding field interviews from 1970 with retrospective interviews from 35 years later, SHAKEY’S HILL explores not only the events leading to this successful mission but the effects of war decades later. SHAKEY’S HILL, winner of the 2007 GI Film Festival’s Best Documentary Award, is produced and directed by Norman Lloyd.

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THE SURGE: THE UNTOLD STORY, the Military Channel Documentary Award winner at the 2010 GI Film Festival, offers a look into the real story of the troop surge in Iraq, as told by top U.S. military commanders, policy makers and soldiers on the ground. These never-before-seen interviews move beyond Washington politics to explore how 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 the military personnel who confronted nearly impossible circumstances, but found success through their dedication and hard work. THE SURGE: THE UNTOLD STORY is presented by the Institute for the Study of War, in association with The Stevens & Schriefer Group with Kim Kagan and Russ Schriefer as executive producers and Jason Killian Meath as director.

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13 from 9-11 PM ET

TRIANGLE OF DEATH: First-time filmmaker Marine Sergeant Folleh Shar Tamba tells the story of a foreign land engulfed in daily combat in TRIANGLE OF DEATH, winner of the 2009 GI Film Festival Founder’s Choice Award. Living day-by-day and seeing a country that wants to change, the 2nd Battalion 24th Marines’ struggles are chronicled in this poignant film. TRIANGLE OF DEATH is a story of people helping people, regardless of politics, presidents or public opinion. Told by the Marines who saw it firsthand, this is the story of the triangle of death and how its people chose to participate in Iraq’s first democratic national elections. TRIANGLE OF DEATH is produced by Wolf Dog Films with Folleh Tamba as director, Juan Montelongo and Thomas Hartmann as producers.

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14 from 9-11 PM ET

L-BIRD: THE LITTLE PLANE THAT DID: They weighed less than 800 pounds and were completely unarmed – but these cloth-covered spotter planes, the L-Birds, created more chaos than any other aircraft used in WWII. Flying low and slow to see enemy movement, the L-Birds would call in artillery fire to rain death and destruction ontotheir targets. Thanks to an innovative suspended landing system that hung above trees or over the sides of ships, pilots of these unique planes could land and take off without even touching the ground. Hosted by Academy-award winning actor Cliff Robertson, L-BIRD: THE LITTLE PLANE THAT DID profiles this little-known but heralded warplane, which earned a reputation as the deadliest plane used in WWII. L-BIRD: THE LITTLE PLANE THAT DID is produced by On Air Media from the Drury TV Studios with Brian Shipman as director.

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GOD AND COUNTRY: In the spring of 1942, the world was at war. Hitler had swept unchecked across the European landscape and was pounding at the doors of Great Britain. The United States learned of a plot by the Germans to break the stalemate with Great Britain. The German’s plot involved the use of diabolical new chemical weapons that were being developed at a research facility in Poland. GOD AND COUNTRY is a dramatic film portraying a team of three Americans who put their lives on the line to stop this plot by putting their lives on the line. GOD AND COUNTRY, winner of the “Best Narrative Short” at the 2008 GI Film Festival, is executive produced and directed by Daniel Piatt.

 May 11-17, Washington, DC

Arlington, Virginia – GI Film Festival co-founders Brandon Millett and Major Laura Law-Millett announced today the line-up for the Third Annual festival showcasing the world’s best military films.  The festival will run from May 11-17, 2009 at the prestigious Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, DC and other DC area venues, including the Canadian Embassy and the Russell Senate Caucus Room.  The award-winning GI Film Festival is the first and only film festival in the nation dedicated to honoring American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines through the medium of film.  (See www.gifilmfestival.com for more information.) 

The GI Film Festival is not only the premiere film festival honoring America’s troops but also the most significant film festival in the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area.  Major corporate sponsors for 2009 festival include among others:  Target Corporation; TriWest Healthcare Alliance; America’s Huey 091 Foundation; Pence-Friedel Developers, Inc; USO International; MGM/UA; HBO, Inc.; American Military University, and Discovery Communications’ “The Military Channel.” 

Highlights of the “Seven Days in May” event include: 

• 48 documentary and narrative premiere films from the nation’s top independent and studio filmmakers, including active duty GIs and military veterans;
• Sixteen feature-length films: Perfect Valor; Lioness; The Way We Get By; Jerabek; Triangle of Death; Bedford: The Town They Left Behind; America’s Marine Aviators; Inheritance of War; The Divided; Seal Team VI; Everyman’s War; Warriors in their Own Words; Injury Slight…Please Advise; Art in the Face of War; My Vietnam, Your Iraq; The Lesson is Priceless;
• “Work in Progress” exclusive screening of the feature film Lt. DanBand: The Documentary, following actor Gary Sinise as he and his Lt. DanBand entertain our troops worldwide and the many incredible organizations that support our heroes and their families.  The film is directed by military veteran and Hollywood filmmaker, Jonathan Flora;
• World Premiere of Citizens United Production’s Perfect Valor, featuring former Senator Fred Dalton Thompson; produced by David Bossie (Border Wars);
• GI Film Festival red carpet premiere of HBO’s Taking Chance, starring Kevin Bacon;
• GI Film Festival red carpet premiere for “Wounded Warriors” of MGM/UA’s Valkyrie, starring Tom Cruise;
• World Premiere of the feature documentary America’s Marine Aviators;
• VIP reception featuring the launch of the new USO national publication, On Patrol;
• Special private screening for Members of Congress of the GI Film Festival’s 2008 “Best Feature Documentary,” Brothers at War;
• Presentation of the GI Film Festival’s “GI Spirit Award” to actress Karri Turner;
• A reception at the Russell Senate Caucus Room honoring military veterans in Congress featuring special guest Medal of Honor recipient Senator Daniel K. Inouye;
• VIP receptions featuring celebrities, top military leaders and warriors, and filmmakers.

 
“The GI Film Festival provides a unique opportunity to not only support the American warrior, but to participate in a meaningful and inspirational cultural event,” said GI Film Festival co-founder Brandon L. Millett.  “It is possible to sit through the entire slate of GI Film Festival films and experience the full range of human emotion.  Shocking combat films, patriotic tear jerkers, popcorn action films, historical documentaries; we will screen them all.”

In only its third year, the GI Film Festival has become the most significant venue for the screening of military films, including Hollywood features The Great Raid, Forrest Gump, and a never-before-released version of the Civil War epic Gods and Generals.  In addition, one 2007 GI Film Festival premiere, Operation Homecoming, was a finalist for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary.  Last year’s GI Film Festival “Best Feature Documentary,” Brothers at War earned a theatrical distribution deal from the prestigious Samuel Goldwyn Films and is now in theaters.  Another award-winning offering from 2008, The Last 600 Meters, will release in theaters and air on PBS in 2010. 

 ”This range of films is important, not only for the American GIs but for the public to see our warriors’ story from a variety of perspectives; from the active duty service member inside the arena of war, to the wounded warrior struggling to overcome his or her disability, to the military spouse at home waiting for their loved one to return.   This diversity is the heart of what we offer at the GI Film Festival,” said GI Film Festival co-founder Major Laura Law-Millett. 

The GI Film Festival has quickly become the “go to” festival for warriors, military film buffs and filmmakers.  This year’s slate includes 16 original feature-length documentaries and narratives, two major studio feature films, and 30 short films covering the Civil War, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  

“This festival is all about warriors and filmmakers.  It is established for the very reason to let artists tell the story of our great troops, their successes and their sacrifices,” said GI Film Festival Chairman Stephen K. Bannon. 

Tickets for GI Film Festival premiere films are available for $10.  Tickets for primetime events, which include film screenings and receptions, are available for $50.  Full festival passes are available for $250 and include access to all film screenings and primetime events on Thursday through Sunday. 

Other GI Film Festival sponsors include – Corporate:  AAFES; American Military University;  AUSA; Meco Environmental; MillerCoors; MPAA; No Jurisdictional Boundaries; Media: GreatAmericans.com; The Hill Newspaper; ICR, Inc.; Military History Channel; Military.com; Stars and Stripes; Washington Times; WMAL; WUSA9; ZAM Media; Military:  American Red Cross; American Veterans Center; Army National Guard;  Freedom Is Not Free; Operation Hug-a-Hero; Snowball Express; USO Metro DC; Young Marines; In-Kind: Gallo Winery; Hint Water; The Leadership Institute; Resolution Gear; Skincando; Solas by Kara Kurz; and the Sony Corporation. 

For more information, please visit www.gifilmfestival.com.

Marine CPL Folleh Tamba

There are many Iraq War documentaries on the market, but few are as exciting and honest as “Triangle of Death,” directed by first time filmmaker Marine CPL Folleh Tamba.  Triangle of Death shares the story of the marines of Echo Company 3rd Platoon as they endured life changing experiences, fought a war, trained a nation’s army, endured daily mortar and sniper fire, and managed to survive a year in Iraq’s deadliest zone, the triangle of death. The marines of 2/24 worked together through these hardships to create the only outcome they could imagine in their world: Mission Accomplishment.

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In how many documentaries do you get to see a filmmaker who is wounded in a firefight?  And in how many films do you get to see the filmmaker’s camera getting blown up by an IED?  All that and more occur in this gripping, graphic and personal film. Triangle of Death will premiere at the GI Film Festival, on Sunday, March 17, 2009 in Washington DC.  Co-Producer Juan Montelongo, of Wold Dog Films,  will attend this world premiere representing the film, while the film’s director, Folleh Tamba will be on a ship returning for his third tour as a Marine Rifleman to Iraq.

CPL Tamba is not only a filmmaker but a decorated Marine–he was wounded while in Iraq, but refused medical help for several days so he could continue fighting along side of his fellow Marines. CPL Tamba’s parents escaped the civil war of Liberia and brought their children to Chicago to find a better life.  His family found peace, prosperity and patriotism in the US and instilled those values in their children.  All the Tamba children joined the military — following in big brother Folleh’s footsteps.  He has a sister in the Army (who served with him in Iraq during his first tour), another sister in the Air Force, and a younger brother in the Army. 

When asked why he made the film, Tamba replied, ”I just wanted Americans to know the truth about Iraq.  That we are making a positive difference.”

If you enjoy this film and want to see more like it get the recognition they deserve, please consider supporting the GI Film Festival.  The GI Film Festival is a 501 c (3) organization and all donations are deductible to the full extent of the law.  No contribution is too small.