GI Film Festival San Diego is back, making it’s third annual appearance, featuring the untold stories of America’s military through film. The five-day military film festival features more than 30 films, including eight West Coast premieres, at various San Diego County venues from Oct. 18-22. All major film genres are represented throughout the festival, including dramas, documentaries and personal narratives in both short and feature length formats.
GI Film Festival San Diego is back, making it’s third annual appearance, featuring the untold stories of America’s military through film. The five-day military film festival features more than 30 films, including eight West Coast premieres, at various San Diego County venues from Oct. 18-22. All major film genres are represented throughout the festival, including dramas, documentaries and personal narratives in both short and feature length formats.
GI Film Festival San Diego will feature the work of Spring Valley residents Devin and Jeanne Scott and their film “Distinguished Wings Over Vietnam,” a 57-minute documentary featuring the honest, personal accounts of four Vietnam War combat pilots. From helicopters to jets, these men reveal how they felt risking their lives in a war that was confusing and unpopular. They talk about their missions, the close calls and how they were treated when they came home. “Distinguished Wings Over Vietnam” will screen Oct. 22 at 12:30 p.m. at AMC Mission Valley 20.
The Scott’s are no strangers to the GI Film Festival as they won the 2015 Audience Choice award for their documentary “She Wore Silver Wings.” Their latest film, “Distinguished Wings Over Vietnam,” has already aired on KPBS in August. This year’s screening gives audience members a chance to see it on the big screen along with the filmmakers and film subjects, and to ask questions during the discussion.
The opening night film on Oct. 18 at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park also involves the Vietnam War, but in an entirely different way. The West Coast premiere of “The 2 Sides Project” is a post-Vietnam War-focused documentary and follows the unforgettable journey of six U.S. sons and daughters as they discover a country and a people with whom they share a common history.
In December 2015, American and Vietnamese sons and daughters — who had all lost fathers fighting on opposite sides during the war — held their first formal meetings. The film captures the entire story, not just the transformative encounters, but the profoundly moving experiences these Americans had while visiting the sites where their fathers died, and the powerful encounters they had with the country itself.
Director Anthony Istrico and some of the film’s subjects are scheduled to attend the opening night event. There will be an encore screening of “The 2 Sides Project” on Oct. 22 at the AMC Mission Valley 20 at 3:15 p.m.
The GI Film Festival San Diego’s only all-ages event is the popular Family Movie Night that returns to the USS Midway Museum on Oct. 20. Family Movie Night celebrates military families while providing a fun evening out after a busy week. Military-connected and civilian families are welcome. Festival organizers will work with partner organizations to provide complimentary tickets to local military families. For film title and schedule, visit GIFilmFestivalSD.org.
Screenings continue throughout the weekend at the AMC Mission Valley 20, ranging from short films on World War II to award-winning feature-length selections and West Coast premieres of films that were originally shown at the GI Film Festival in Washington D.C. last May.
The festival’s Local Film Showcase is featured on Saturday afternoon with films that feature San Diego area filmmakers, locations and people. Each film was selected through a competitive submission process by the festival’s advisory committee and were eligible for an award nomination. Category winners will be announced on the evening of Oct. 21 at the GI Film Festival San Diego’s awards celebration to be held at KPBS on the campus of San Diego State University. The event honors the festival’s best from the Local Film Showcase. The 2017 GI Film Festival San Diego is organized by KPBS in partnership with the I Film Group and Film Consortium San Diego.
All festival events are open to the public with special discounted opportunities for active duty personnel and veterans.
To purchase festival passes, tickets and for a complete schedule of the five-day military film festival, visit GIFilmFestivalSD.org.
