{"id":1560,"date":"2014-11-11T10:25:23","date_gmt":"2014-11-11T10:25:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/?p=6034"},"modified":"2023-08-11T11:47:08","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T18:47:08","slug":"5-independent-lens-films-veterans-day","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/5-independent-lens-films-veterans-day\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Independent Lens Films for Veteran’s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

In honor of our nation’s veterans on Veteran’s Day, we’ve compiled a list of a few Independent Lens<\/em> films that centered around American soldiers. While the day was initially intended to honor soldiers who fought in WWI (timed with the\u00a011th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect), it has evolved in the U.S. to be a day honoring all veterans who have served over the years. With that in mind, here are five documentaries that aired on Independent Lens<\/em> and which really bring the viewer emotionally into\u00a0the different challenges and perspectives faced by soldiers past and present. [Most of these films can be found either on PBS.org<\/a>\u00a0or Shop PBS<\/a>, or available to download or buy on DVD from various commercial retailers, or via the filmmakers’ own websites.]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lioness<\/a><\/em>
\nAn intimate look at war through the eyes of women on the front lines and the U.S. military policy that bans them from combat that illustrates the complicated role that women play in direct war combat. “McLagan and Sommers\u2019 Iraq-war doc avoids proselytizing in favor of telling the story of Team Lioness. The filmmakers check in with five of the women including one whose severe shell-shock speaks heart-wrenching volumes as to what they all endured.” –\u00a0New York Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n

Be Good Smile Pretty<\/em><\/a>
\nMovingly captures\u00a0filmmaker Tracy Droz Tragos’s\u00a0journey to find the father she lost in Vietnam, Lt. Donald Glenn Droz, who was 25 when he died; Tracy was three months old. The film won an Emmy Award in 2004, and now Tragos is back with a new acclaimed film, Rich Hill<\/em>, which premieres on Independent Lens<\/em> in January.<\/p>\n

Hell and Back Again<\/em><\/a>
\nIndiewire’s Eric Kohn wrote of this Oscar-nominated doc: “There have been plenty of combat documentaries over the last 10 years, but photojournalist Danfung Dennis’ Hell and Back Again<\/em>\u00a0adopts an original conceit. Dennis follows Marine Sgt. Nathan Harris, a gruff 25-year-old who was stationed in Afghanistan, during two seminal moments in his life. During an assault on a Taliban stronghold, Harris received a bullet wound in his rear that prematurely sent him home. Back in North Carolina with his wife, temporarily unable to walk and unsure of his military future, Harris drifts through his mundane life dealing with echoes of the past. Rather than letting his subject attempt to explain the trauma, Dennis shows it, repeatedly cutting between the two periods. The events speak for themselves.”<\/p>\n

Ask Not<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>reveals the psychological tolls on gay Americans who served in combat under a veil of secrecy.\u00a0\u201cTimely and balanced… a strong, serious effort at mixing a discussion of civil rights and a look at Americans forced to choose between love for their country and love for another human being.\u201d \u2014Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/p>\n

Red White Black & Blue<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>
\nSixty years after fighting in a lesser-known but important battle in Alaska in WWII, two veterans embark on an intense and emotional journey, returning to their former battlefield. See more about the film in an update on our sister blog, Beyond the Box. Sadly we learned of the passing of one of the film’s main “stars,” veteran Bill Jones, in 2010.<\/p>\n

These films cover just a few stories, but can\u00a0serve as a reminder to us all: veterans should be remembered, honored, and taken care of, not just one day a year but every day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In honor of our nation’s veterans on Veteran’s Day, we’ve compiled a list of a few Independent Lens films that centered around American soldiers. While the day was initially intended to honor soldiers who fought in WWI (timed with the\u00a011th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":6035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[939],"tags":[],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-1560","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lists"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n5 Independent Lens Films for Veteran's Day - Independent Lens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Independent Lens focuses on five of its documentaries about soldiers, in honor of Veteran's Day, with stories about vets who served in WWII to Iraq War.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/5-independent-lens-films-veterans-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Independent Lens Films for Veteran's Day - 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