GI FILM FESTIVAL: Memories of the Coldest War

In the winter of 1950, 15,000 U.S. troops were surrounded and trapped by 120,000 Chinese soldiers in the frozen mountains of North Korea. Refusing surrender, the men fought 78 miles to freedom while saving the lives of 98,000 civilian refugees. Chosin is the first documentary on the Chosin Reservoir Campaign. The survivors take us on an emotional and heart-pounding journey through one of the most savage battles in American history. These accounts, combined with footage never before seen by most Americans, create a visceral, emotionally-charged experience unlike that provided by any other war documentary. The upcoming major motion picture “17 Days of Winter” is based on these real-life heroes.

[vimeo 10635599]

—–

With approximately 600 film submissions over the last four years, we’ve seen a lot of historical war documentaries come across our flat screen. A LOT. But within the first few moments of reviewing Chosin, we knew we had something completely different. And it had nothing to do with the technical aspects of the film, which were impressive by any standard. Or even the incredible story itself, which will soon be seen on the big screen in narrative form.

No, what is extraordinary about this film is the depth emotion expressed by these heroes and the strikingly graphic nature of their descriptions. It’s been over a month since we reviewed the film and I still can’t shake the image expressed by one of the heroes who said when he shot one of the Chinese invaders at close range, the man’s “blood burned my eyes.” In other words, this was not a group of vets swapping war stories around a campfire. This was a great unburdening. A cleansing. (Check out the trailer above and you’ll see what I mean.)

For 85 minutes we were completely transfixed. And when it was all over we were left asking the question: How did these rookie filmmakers manage to pull such incredible material from these men in a way we had never seen before? Well, here’s how.

The filmmakers (Brian Iglesias and Anton Satter) are military veterans, Iraq War veterans, to be exact. And fellow Marines. And this is why they were able to extract from these men stories they had never told their wives, their children or their closest friends.

Chosin Film Premiering at GI Film Festival

Iglesias and Satter spent eight months on the road collecting the stories of 184 Korean War veterans in 27 cities, living out of a van and eating military rations. And what they have delivered is an intimate, breathtaking and important piece of work that must not be missed.

Click here to buy tickets. The screening will begin Saturday night, May 15, 8:30 pm at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, DC. The GI Film Festival (GIFF) runs from 11 May – 16 May 2010 in Washington DC. The GIFF is a non-profit event and the only film festival in the nation whose mission is to honor the the service and sacrifices of the men and women in uniform through the medium of film.