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Independent films are rare jewels on the cinema scene. But if life prevented you from catching a film or two the festival — or if you simply want something interesting to watch, we are here with some suggestions. NOTE: some streaming fees may apply. Thanks for checking them out and supporting these filmmakers.
The Black String
Jonathan is a lonely twenty-something, stuck in his home town working night shifts at the local convenience store. When an unexpected encounter with a mysterious woman turns his life upside down, Jonathan is stricken by illness and nightmarish visions. Paranoid and desperate, he launches on a quest across the suburbs to find the seductress who started it all. Friends and family believe he’s losing his mind, but Jonathan is convinced he’s the target of something far more sinister. Rated R. GIFFSD 2019 Award Winner: Best Actor | Narrative | 92 mins | Dir. Brian Hanson
Breaking Point
A mother and daughter confront each other about the sudden death of a loved one. GIFFSD 2019 Official Selection | Narrative | 6 mins | Dirs. Coren Benson and Kasey Weldon
Deviant
In the early sixties, a sexually conflicted teenager finds faith and acceptance after escaping the tortures of electrotherapeutic conversion therapy. GIFFSD 2019 Official Selection | Narrative | 10 mins | Dir. Benjamin Howard
Entrenched
When four Australian soldiers capture a young Afghani boy spying on their position, tensions rise among them as they decide whether he’s helping the Taliban or simply playing. GIFFSD 2019 Award Winner: Best International Film | Narrative | 14 mins | Dir. Joey Chebatte
Operation Allie
After losing 17 friends in combat, Marine Anthony Marquez depended on the companionship of his dog while fighting in Afghanistan. “Operation Allie” is the transformational story of this U.S. Veteran and his dog Allie as they reunite. GIFFSD 2016 Official Selection | Documentary | 7 mins | Dir. Manny Marquez
Scramble the Seawolves
Established in 1967 and tasked with providing close air support for Gamewarden Operations and friendly allies in the Mekong Delta, the Seawolves would become the most decorated squadron in the Vietnam War and naval aviation history. Fifty years later, this is their story. GIFFSD 2019 Official Selection | Documentary | 87 mins | Dir. Jeff Arballo
Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero
Army Pvt. Robert Conroy is adopted by a stray, stump-tailed terrier. Conroy names his new friend Stubby and gives him a home, a family, and a chance to embark on the adventure that would define a century. The two quickly find themselves in the trenches of France during World War I and on the path to history. GIFFSD 2018 Official Selection | Animated Feature | 84 mins | Dir. Richard Lanni
Thud Pilots
No war in American history is more misunderstood than what took place over the bloody skies of North Vietnam in the 1960s. Thud Pilots is the untold story of the men who flew the F-105 THUD over the deadly skies of North Vietnam. GIFFSD 2018 Local Film Showcase Award Winner: Best Film Made By or Starring Veterans or Military | Documentary | 90 mins | Dir. Mark Vizcarra
The Whistleblower of My Lai
This artful, resonant documentary counterpoints the story of one of the most shameful episodes in U.S. military history with the production of a radical new opera about the helicopter pilot who broke the story of the notorious My Lai massacre. GIFFSD 2019 Official Selection | Documentary | 65 mins | Dir. Connie Field
Who Killed Lt. Van Dorn?
The widow of a Navy helicopter pilot killed in a 2014 training exercise spurs an investigation that uncovers a long history of institutional failings that led to her husbands’s death. This poignant picture of a family’s tragedy is also a revelatory inquiry into the murky inner workings of the American defense establishment. Documentary | 80 mins | Dir. Zachary Stauffer
XVII Carvings
A Marine Corps veteran, Anthony Marquez, is on a quest to create a memorial for the 17 fellow Marines that his unit lost in Afghanistan. Anthony is doing this by carving with chainsaws a “Battlefield Cross” for every Gold Star family affected by that loss. He then hand delivers the carvings to the families. To some, this may just be folk art…to Anthony it’s his new mission in life, to honor the fallen. GIFFSD 2019 Official Selection | Documentary | 5 mins | Dir. Manny Marquez
