In Their Boots

This is awesome:

In Their Boots is a documentary series about the impact the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are having on people here at home. Every episode features a documentary about how America’s servicemen and women, their families, and our communities have been profoundly changed by our nation’s campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Shot on location throughout the country, these stories stress the courage of our participants, and the valor of the people and organizations that help our heroes on their journey.

Journalist and writer, Tina Malave, is this season’s host. After each story Ms. Malave will interview the participants featured in the documentary and lead a discussion that digs deeper into the issues affecting veterans, servicemembers and military families. 

Telling these stories and sharing these interviews are only part of the mission of In Their Boots. This website is also a rich resource with links to scores of organizations that support veterans, servicemembers and their families. In addition, it’s a place for interested viewers to find volunteer opportunities in the veteran community. In Their Boots is funded by a generous grant from the Iraq Afghanistan Deployment Impact Fund (IADIF) of The California Community Foundation and is produced by Brave New Foundation. Season 2 of In Their Boots will be streamed on this website.

What an outstanding way for servicemen and women, and their families, to tell their stories: through film. Here is a trailer for one webisode entitled “We Regret To Inform You”:

The website is here. And there’s a special showing tonight in L.A.. Per 24 Frames:

The five short films of “Operation in Their Boots,” written and directed by the veterans, vary in length and include traditional documentary, biopic and stop-motion animation. But all of them are decidedly nonpartisan, which is central to Brave New Foundation’s mission. “We didn’t want to question the legitimacy of the war,” says executive producer Richard Ray Perez. “Our focus was just to tell stories by people impacted by the war, the human stories. I realized there was a pool of talent out there among the recent veteran population. They had a perspective and point of view that we hadn’t seen in filmmaking before.”

“Operation in Their Boots” will premiere Tuesday at the Downtown Independent Theater, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. 251 S. Main Street, Los Angeles.

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