Long time reader Brendon sent us an email asking us if we would be willing to put up a trailer for a documentary he made. After watching the trailer we were more than happy to oblige.
Take a moment to check it out.
Growing up I have always been drawn towards the theme of war in any medium, whether it be books, movies, or video games. One day me and my Dad (Paul Culliton, Producer) got talking about making a documentary about Canadians and the Afghan War. My Dad set up some interviews, and with the help of a few school buddies, we started filming. At that time we wern’t exactly sure what we were going to make. We met and interviewed the Diab family in February 2010. During the car ride back to London from Mississauga, I began to wrap my head around the story that had just landed in my lap. Being 22 at the time, I had a connection to Marc’s story and his family. Marc was 22 when he was killed by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) in March 2009.
Working on the project was a difficult challenge both on a technical story telling level and an emotional level. Part of what really helped me as an editor was working with music by Loreena McKennitt, which has often been decribed as very ‘of the soul’. As surprising as it sounds, we told Loreena about the project, sent a sample edit I put together, and she gave us full permission to use her work with no cost because she recognizes the signifigance of a project like this. She herself is also a Honorary Colonel out of Winnipeg.
As the project continuned to develop and the editing began to come together, I really began to reflect more on what it was I was making. Even though the movie focuses around Trooper Marc Diab’s life and death, it is also telling a bigger universal story of what it means to lose a loved one to war. As a film I am really proud of it. It was a unique project to work on and in the end I feel I have created something special. Even though it is a movie about death, it is equally so a movie about life. Along with being educational, the film allows the audience to open up to certain emotions they might have. It has been amazing to see the healing effect the film has had thus far.
We had a few showings for the film around Remembrance Day 2010. It was shown to Marc’s unit: The Royal Canadian Dragoons at CFB Petawawa, it was shown in Ottawa to some pretty high ranking military officials, and on Novemeber 11th it was shown in Marc’s town of Mississauga. We have also shown it in a few highschools. For Remembrance Day 2011, it may end up being shown on TV on CPAC. We also plan to get it distributed into highschools and have it for sale on the website sometime in Fall 2011.
As a fan of films and a maker of one (so far), I look forward to sharing it, and I look forward to seeing the kind of effect it can have.
Brendon Culliton (Editor / Director)
