NewFilmmakers NY Presents THE ROAD HOME, War-Themed Documentary Series and More, 9/19

On Wednesday, September 19th, NewFilmmakers goes to War with our Documentary Series, our Short Film Program and the new Feature THE ROAD HOME.

Our 6:00 PM Documentary Series about War presents three new films. In Bob Jones IMMIGRANT SOLDIER (2012, 4 minutes) an immigrant soldier obtains his citizenship while fighting in Iraq. In Costa Moshopoulos NAWZAD LOST (2011, 14 minutes), a woman struggles to shield her little girl from the violence. As the mayhem rages on outside, the mom's battle to protect her daughter's innocence quickly turns into a fight for survival. Ryan Garrett HISTORY MINOR (2010, 20 minutes) documents a reenactment of the Vietnam War set entirely in Jackson, MS. Through 16mm film stock and field audio recorded on Vietnam Era equipment, the film offers a deadpan view of the reenactment as an historical event in its own right.

Our 7:15 PM Short Film Program presents four films about War. In Iva Radivojevic NELSON (2010, 4 minutes), Ik Nam Cho was drafted into the US Army to fight in the Vietnam war where his name was changed to Nelson. Now a senior citizen with a bullet permanently residing in his back, he carries his past. In Michael E. Harkins SOLDATEN (2008, 6 minutes) while moving through the Norman countryside, an American medic discovers a wounded German soldier. Cynthia Granville IN MEMORIAM (2010, 9 minutes) is a controversial look at the collateral damage of war as seen through a thirteen year old girl's eyes. A young girl's father returns from the war, but despite the love of his wife and daughter, cannot re-adjust to life with his family. Meng Qiao Li WALL (2011, 12 minutes) is a story about the leading character and his younger brother during World Wall II. At that time, just like many Germans, this pair of brother is deeply overwhelmed by the enormous charisma of their Fuhrer-Adolf Hitler. Lautaro Gabriel Gonda LOVE AND WAR (2011, 15 minutes) unfolds across two parallel storylines: one in the trenches of World War I and the other in the trenches of romance in the 1920s. In David B. Sarensen BELLUM (2011, 18 minutes) a young man visits home before going to war.

Our 8:30 PM Feature Presentation is Phil Hopper THE ROAD HOME (2010, 70 minutes). The Road Home is a film about not only the costs of this war, but the enormous long-term responsibility on our side from all our recent conflicts. It utilizes the losses incurred by these men and woman, recently wounded amputees, many with traumatic brain stem injuries, and PTSD, to bring home a message of redemption and the ability to return to some semblance of one’s previous life by the output of a tremendous self-effort, and the alliance with an unusually motivated support team. If duty compelled you to serve your country at wartime, and you returned home as an amputee, perhaps with a traumatic brain stem injury, how would you deal?

NewFilmmakers screens at Anthology Film Archives on the Lower East Side at 32 Second Avenue & 2nd Street. NewFilmmakers LA screens in the Stanley Kramer Theater at the Sunset Gower Studio and has become a leading showcase for new films in Hollywood. Many features screened at NewFilmmakers are now available on NewFilmmakers Online. New York Admission is $6 for the whole evening and tickets are available at the Anthology Box Office the night of screening. Additional information is available on the website at www.NewFilmmakers.com.