Last weekend, I attended the 2009 GI Film Festival in Washington, DC. It is the first film festival in the nation to exclusively celebrate the successes and sacrifices of American service men and women through the medium of film. The four-day festival was held on May 13-17, 2009 at the Carnegie Institute in Washington, DC.
Richard S. Lowry is the author of Marines in the Garden of Eden and The Gulf War Chronicles.
The festival presented films from new and established filmmakers alike. Two-hundred films were submitted for consideration to this year’s festival and forty-seven were selected for showing. Seventeen films were full-length feature documentaries that brought stories of American courage and valor to the screen.
David C. Taylor and I have worked for nearly two years to bring our tribute to American service men and women to the screen in Perfect Valor. We worked very hard to make a film that shows the American people the courage, dedication and determination of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. We have also shown the stoic sacrifices of their loved-ones waiting for their safe return.
The stories of true American heroes in Perfect Valor are pulled from the pages of my next book, New Dawn, which I have meticulously researched for that last three years. This film is accurate in every detail, using never-before-seen combat footage.
The film follows three Marines, a battalion surgeon and a Navy Chaplain through their compelling experiences in Iraq. Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Workman is awarded the Navy Cross for his courage under fire in the December, 2004 fight in Fallujah and then he returns home with psychological wounds as severe as any physical injury. Sergeant Jason Arellano leads his squad through the streets of Fallujah, bringing everyone home safely. Only a few blocks from Workman’s fight, Arellano is severely wounded, and nearly killed. We also tell the story of a Navy doctor and a female National Guard medic moving to the front lines of the Fallujah fight to save Marine lives and a Navy Chaplain struggling to save their souls.
Lindsey and Jason Arellano, me, and LtCol Todd Desgrosseilliers
Perfect Valor had its world premiere last Saturday evening at the GI Film Festival to an overflow crowd at the Carnegie Institute. For ninety minutes we were exposed to the reality of the war in Iraq. The film touched our souls. Then, on Sunday, Perfect Valor won the festival’s Best Feature Documentary award.
Every American needs to see Perfect Valor.
Richard S. Lowry is the author of Marines in the Garden of Eden and The Gulf War Chronicles.
It was a great movie and a great crowd…