"AT WAR" Film…Intense and Heartbreaking

Leah and I had the opportunity to attend a screening of the film, “AT WAR,” during the 2009 Milblogging Conference.

The film is not a Hollywood production. Far from it, yet packs a punch more emotionally explosive than any Tom Hanks war drama. This is real life. There is no set. No makeup. The blood is real. The tone of film is intense from start to finish. I am still wrestling with emotions and questions after watching this film…though not to the extent our troops and their families.

How this film came to present…

“Filmmaker Scott Kesterson was 41 when he decided to change his life. He owned a small construction company in Portland but had never given up on his dream of being a photojournalist. But as he grew older, circumstances always had a way of leading him down different paths.   

Then one day, while surfing the web, he came across Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist David Leeson, and decided to contact him.  Within a week, David offered to be a mentor. Six months later Scott was on a plane to Afghanistan with the Oregon National Guard as an embedded journalist – finally pursuing his lifelong dream.

AT WAR presents what Scott found with his camera – a whirlwind of diverse experiences illustrating the chaos of war through the eyes of U.S., Canadian and Afghan soldiers.”

From what I understand, the screening we attended at the conference was unlike any other screening held over the past year. The film is constantly being tweaked and updated with new footage. In fact, a recent Bouhammer podcast is of the filmmaker’s screening in Afghanistan the night before our conference.

A huge thank you to SOG Media and Milblogging Conference personnel for giving us the opportunity to screen this film and to Troy Steward/Bouhammer for hosting and giving us the back story about the film and maker.

INTENSE.

I cannot even think of the words to describe this film and do it justice without you seeing it. Unfortunately, I do not think many will choose to watch this film because it is real life. The film depicts events that are harder to swallow and forget with fiction or fictitious recreation of past historical events.

UNCOMFORTABLE.

We noticed several soldiers and vets had to excuse themselves from the screening.

POWERFUL.

This is a story worth telling and being spread to every American. The military story. Not told by mainstream media, but by the words spoken from those on the frontline.

Thank you.

May I add…the soundtrack rocks! Also, perhaps in future versions a female voice could be added?