All Films & Events
An exciting line up of films and events is being put together, including an opening night reception, a family movie night, and awards ceremony. Click on images below to learn more about films presented in the GI Film Festival San Diego.
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Happy
Mike Dorsey / Air Force, WWII, History / USA / 2017 / Documentary / 40 mins
WWII fighter ace Larry ‘Happy’ Powell flew 68 missions over Europe in his P-51 fighter. After crashing and spending time as a POW in Germany, Larry returned to his home city of Los Angeles for a dual career in the Air National Guard and as an assistant director in Hollywood. He worked on many Hollywood classics including Breakfast at Tiffany’s and The Right Stuff. Happy showcases gripping stories from WWII and Hollywood sets, and leaves us with Larry’s unique outlook on life.Preceded by: All American, The Rifleman’s Violin, We Can Do It: Stories of Rosie the Riveter
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High Low Forty
Paddy Quinn / Army, LGTBQ, Healing / USA / 2017 / Narrative / 80 mins
Long estranged brothers reconnect during a road-trip home to say goodbye to their hardened father on his deathbed.High Low Forty
AMC Mission Valley 20
October 21, 2017 1:15 pm
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The Last Ring Home
Josh Shelov / Navy, WWII, History / UK / 2016 / Documentary / 27 mins
"The Last Ring Home” is the incredible story of U.S. Navy officer and Word War II hero Lieutenant Minter Dial and his last wish to have his Annapolis ring returned to his wife after 2 1/2 years of imprisonment by the Japanese. Compiling 25 years of research and 130 interviews with his grandparents’ peers, grandson Minter embarked on a journey to discover his grandparents and bring healing to his father by uncovering the mystery of how the ring was lost and found, as well as its lasting legacy.Preceded by: Aircraft Warning Service Volunteer, Bud’s Odyssey, Pearl Harbor Survivors Relive the Infamous Day, Remembering Pearl Harbor: Mary Lou Mawhiney, USS Pearl Harbor
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Once Guilty, Now Innocent, Still Dead
Mark Vizcarra / Local Film Showcase, Military Filmmaker / USA / 2017 / Narrative / 15 mins
A 19th-century legendary assassin finds himself in the middle of a clash between the cattle barons who hire him and the 20th-century expansion of the west.Precedes: Black Christmas, Call Me Ma’am, Child’s Play, Fletcher & Jenks, Forgotten Hero, Refuge, USO San Diego 75 Year Anniversary
Plays In:
Local Film Showcase: Made By or Starring Veterans
AMC Mission Valley 20
October 21, 2017 3:30 pm
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Pearl Harbor Survivors Relive the Infamous Day
Howard Lipin and Luis Cruz / Local Film Showcase, WWII, History / USA / 2016 / Documentary / 6 mins
Pearl Harbor survivors speak out about their experiences on December 7, 1941, when the United States was attacked by Japan and consequently thrust into World War II. Stuart Hedley, a crew member on the battleship, USS West Virginia when it was hit, Ray Chavez, the oldest living Pearl Harbor survivor at 105-years-old, was a crew member on the USS Condor, a minesweeper, and the first American ship believed to have made visual contact with a Japanese Naval vessel, Woody Derby, a crew member on the battleship, USS Nevada when it was hit several times, and Gordon Jones, stationed at the Kaneohe Naval Air Station as it was called at the time, tell their stories of December 7, 1941, the date that has lived in infamy.Precedes: Aircraft Warning Service Volunteer, Bud’s Odyssey, The Last Ring Home, Remembering Pearl Harbor: Mary Lou Mawhiney, USS Pearl Harbor
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Places Like This
Nicholas McNaughton / Afganistan, Veteran Filmmaker, Healing / USA / 2016 / Documentary / 9 mins
A group of veterans embark on a six-day winter expedition into the Colorado wilderness. Through the Outward Bound program for veterans, 11 strangers come from all over the country seeking peace, answers, and direction by using the wilderness as a vessel to carry them both spiritually and physically to reach a peak of more than 13,000 feet. Each veteran will take the same path to a different destination in this visually stunning and emotionally charged film.Precedes: Comedy Bootcamp: The Documentary
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Refuge
Ryan Kelly / Sci Fi, Local Film Showcase, Military Filmmaker / USA / 2016 / Narrative / 8 mins
In the Year 2049, women face enslavement to bring back the male population. Four women embark on a risky journey to escape their current reality. Will it pay off?Preceded by: Black Christmas, Child’s Play, Fletcher & Jenks, Forgotten Hero, Once Guilty, Now Innocent, Still Dead
Precedes: Call Me Ma’am, USO San Diego 75 Year Anniversary
Plays In:
Local Film Showcase: Made By or Starring Veterans
AMC Mission Valley 20
October 21, 2017 3:30 pm
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Remembering Pearl Harbor: Mary Lou Mawhiney
Howard Lipin and Luis Cruz / Local Film Showcase, WWII, History / USA / 2016 / Documentary / 3 mins
Pearl Harbor survivor, Mary Lou Mawhiney, 94, remembers December 7, 1941.Preceded by: Aircraft Warning Service Volunteer, Bud’s Odyssey, Pearl Harbor Survivors Relive the Infamous Day, USS Pearl Harbor
Precedes: The Last Ring Home
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The Rifleman’s Violin
Sam Ball / WWII, History / USA / 2015 / Documentary / 13 mins
With wit and verve, 90-year-old virtuoso violinist Stuart Canin recounts his deployment to the German front as a 19-year-old GI with his rifle and violin on his back during World War II. He was again pressed into service as a musician in the Army’s 6817th Soldiers Show Company. Canin was eventually dispatched to Potsdam to perform privately for the Big Three - Harry Truman, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin – in an effort to break the ice during the negotiations over the division of Europe and the prosecution of the war against Japan.Preceded by: All American
Precedes: Happy, We Can Do It: Stories of Rosie the Riveter
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Thank You for Your Service
Jason Hall / Veterans, Iraq, Events, Army, Afghanistan, Healing / USA / 2017 / Narrative / 108 mins
"Thank You for Your Service" follows a group of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq who struggle to integrate back into family and civilian life, while living with the memory of a war that threatens to destroy them long after they’ve left the battlefield. From DreamWorks Pictures’, this film stars an ensemble cast led by Miles Teller, Haley Bennett, Joe Cole, Amy Schumer, Beulah Koale, Scott Haze, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Brad Beyer, Omar J. Dorsey and Jayson Warner Smith, the drama is based on the bestselling book by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and author David Finkel. This film is rated R (Restricted – Under 17 Requires Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian) for strong violent content, language throughout, some sexuality, drug material and brief nudity.Preview Screening: Thank You For Your Service
Regal Carlsbad 12
October 19, 2017 7:30 pm
