Foreign Policy Blogs

'Restrepo' a Must See Film on the War in Afghanistan

If there is only one film you see this summer, make it ‘Restrepo.’ Awarded the 2010 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for a Documentary, it follows the lives of one U.S. platoon of soldiers in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley during their entire 15 month deployment. The valley is considered one of the U.S. military’s most dangerous postings.

See a trailer of the film here.

The footage for the film was captured by journalists Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger From May 2007 to July 2008, as they lived with the men of the Second Platoon, Battle Company of the 503rd Infantry Regiment (airborne).

Restrepo opens nationwide on June 25.

The film shows every side of men in war, from the silly and hilarious to the bizarre and heartbreaking. It captivates and frightens from the opening scene. But Hetherington and Junger’s real accomplishment with ‘Restrepo’ is how they show the human side of the soldiers they lived with. It brings the war in Afghanistan, now America’s longest war ever, out of the headlines and into your heart and head.

The film will be in wide release in theaters across the U.S. from June 25. But for those who can’t wait, the Human Rights Watch Film Festival will also be showing ‘Restrepo’ starting June 18.

Some of the screenings during the festival include Q&A with Hetherington and Junger.

See more details here.

 

Author

Genevieve Belmaker

Genevieve Belmaker is a freelance journalist and contributing editor with The Epoch Times (www.theepochtimes.com). She also contributes to Quill, the magazine of the Society of Professional Journalists and Poynter.org. Her blog on journalism is http://artofreportage.com.

Genevieve has traveled throughout the U.S., Asia, Central America, Israel and the West Bank for reporting assignments, including major investigative reports on the recovery of New Orleans, the encroaching presence of China in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the dangerous import of melamine-contaminated milk into the U.S. and settlement outposts in the West Bank. She regularly reports on issues related to journalism, and the work of journalists.

She holds a BA from the University of Southern California in International Relations, and has been a member of several prominent national and international professional media organizations, including the Society of Professional Journalists, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the International Women’s Media Foundation, the New York Press Club, and the Newswomen’s Club of New York. She lives in Jerusalem, Israel with her husband and son.

Areas of Focus:
New Media; Journalism; Culture and Society