As someone who writes screenplays and has devoted my life to the essence of filmmaking, documentary, features, and otherwise, I cannot help but support others.
Documentary filmmaking in particular is one of the most inheritantly critical forms of expression in the world today. We learn about one another, other cultures, other struggles, other truths, other losses, other wars, other lies, other … everything.
Films embody the core of humanity and while there are plenty that aren’t all that worth watching, there are some that take hold. Below are links to videos that are made by friends or fellow filmmakers that I hope will inspire, educate, and motivate you to be a part of something incredible.
[separator type=”thick”]SEPTEMBER
CHARGED
Chef Eduardo’s extraordinary recovery is not just about getting back what he lost, but about moving forward with more than he ever had.
I know Eduardo and there isn’t a more phenomenal man in existence. He lights something up inside of you and his devotion to living life fully is undoubtedly contagious. He’s the real deal. And I encourage ALL of you to support this film and everything this man does. He inspires hope and tenacity and perseverance and does so with a smile on his face, and honestly, who can say that? He’s a miracle and a gift to this world. This film only makes that more visible …
You can SUPPORT this Documentary via KICKSTARTER:
[button content=”Support CHARGED” color=”black” text=”white” url=”https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/814359407/charged-the-eduardo-garcia-documentary?ref=nav_search” openin=”_blank”]
[separator type=”thin”]The Jolly Oyster
The Jolly Oyster is the Official Partner of ATOD Magazine at this year’s Sustainable Seafood VIP Lounge at the 1st Seafood Festival on Santa Monica Pier, “OFF THE HOOK”. Their passion and work that they do to empower the public and educate on the efforts and importance of sustainability is profound.
Support the JOLLY OYSTER:
[button content=”OYSTERS + Joy” color=”black” text=”white” url=”http://www.thejollyoyster.com/” openin=”_self”]
[separator type=”thin”]2015 | A 3-Part Documentary Series by Sebastian Junger
RESTREPO
I first saw this movie at the Academy Foundation’s Academy Award Documentary Symposium. That is where I first met Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington and screened 2 minutes of RESTREPO … and I knew this wasn’t a film I could afford to miss seeing. Both men made a huge impact on me and as time went on, I had the pleasure of becoming friends with Sebastian Junger. I’ve interviewed him, had him as a guest on my radio show, and continue to support ALL of his endeavors as a filmmaker, author, and political editor. A few short months after meeting Tim, he was among those journalists killed in Libya. As a result, Sebastian did the only thing he could: Make sure no journalist dies unnecessarily ever again.
RESTREPO is one of the only Apolitical documentaries showing the face of war – not from one side or another, but simply the harsh reality of any soldier in the world. The difference is, it takes place in the most dangerous valley in the world: KORENGAL.
Restrepo is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the one-year deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers at one of the most dangerous outposts in Afghanistan–a remote 15-man outpost in the Korengal Valley, named “Restrepo” after a platoon medic who was killed in action. This is an entirely experiential film. There are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 94-minute deployment.
[button content=”Rent NOW on Netflix” color=”red” text=”white” url=”http://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Restrepo/70129360″ openin=”_blank”]
[separator type=”thin”]PART 2
KORENGAL
KORENGAL picks up where RESTREPO left off; the same men, the same valley, the same commanders, but a very different look at the experience of war. KORENGAL explains how war works, what it feels like and what it does to the young men who fight it. As one soldier cheers when he kills an enemy fighter, another looks into the camera and asks if God will ever forgive him for all of the killing he has done. As one soldier grieves the loss of his friend in combat, another explains why he misses the war now that his deployment has ended, and admits he would go back to the front line in a heartbeat. Every bit as intense and affecting as RESTREPO, KORENGAL goes a step further in bringing the war into people’s living rooms back home.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
” … Tim and I often talked about making a follow-up to Restrepo, but he was tragically killed in Libya two years ago, covering the civil war, and I was left on my own with the project. I enlisted the other two members of our old Restrepo team and we went back to work. The result, Korengal, is another feature-length film that will come out in theaters in June, and online in September. Like with Restrepo, we paid for the entire production ourselves, which gave us complete control of what the film would be. Restrepo was intended to be a way for civilians to experience what combat feels like; Korengal is very different. It tries for understanding rather than experience. How does fear work? Courage? What is it like to come home from war? Why do so many soldiers miss the war they were in?”
[button content=”Buy NOW” color=”red” text=”white” url=”https://korengalthemovie.com” openin=”_blank”]
[separator type=”thin”]PART 3
The Last Patrol
After extensive experience in combat and the loss of good friends, all four men declared they never wanted to go to war again. The goal was to get to know America again after a decade of war, and discuss why combat is so incredibly hard to give up. The Last Patrol recreated the hardship, brotherhood and closeness of combat, without getting fired upon – except once in Pennsylvania.
In conjunction with the film’s premiere, Manhattan’s Anastasia Photo will present Guillermo Cervera’s first solo exhibition in New York, scheduled to run from Oct. 24 to Jan. 4. In addition to photos he took during the filming of THE LAST PATROL, the show includes selections from 20 years of documenting armed conflict and social issues around the world.
Sebastian Junger is a New York-based writer, journalist and filmmaker. THE LAST PATROL concludes his trilogy on war, following 2014’s “Korengal” and “Restrepo,” which he co-directed with Tim Hetherington. “Restrepo” won the 2010 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature the following year. Junger’s accompanying book, “War,” was a New York Times bestseller. His other books include “The Perfect Storm,” which was adapted for the hit feature film of the same name, “Fire” and “A Death in Belmont.” Junger’s other credits include the 2013 HBO documentary “Which Way Is The Front Line From Here? The Life And Time Of Tim Hetherington.”
[button content=”Now on HBO” color=”red” text=”white” url=”http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/the-last-patrol” openin=”_blank”]
“Since the death of my friend and colleague, Tim Hetherington, was killed by a mortar blast in Libya. Since that awful day I have started a non-profit organization called RISC (Reporters Instructed in Saving Colleagues). It is dedicated to training freelance journalists in frontline combat medicine. It is possible that Tim’s life could have been saved if those around him had known what to do, and I want to minimize the chance of something like that happening again.
RISC has successfully completed multiple training courses since it’s inception, all around the world. Participants are provided free lodging, instruction and combat medical kits; all they have to do is get themselves to one of our three cities. Now that we have successfully launched RISC, the time has come to raise money for the next sessions. Almost all frontline war reporting is done by freelancers, and they absorb a disproportionate number of casualties. And yet they are often the lowest-paid and most under-resourced people in the news business.
Thank you to the generosity of many, we have funded several sessions but there are more to come. Please help us provide crucial, life-saving skills to this group of courageous people … without them, we would have far less information available about the troubled times in which we live.
Donations can be made online here or mailed to RISC c/o The Half King, 505-507 West 23rd Street, New York, NY, 10011.