Henry Burch is a seven-year old with a sweet tooth for combat-themed comic books. Henry’s imagination takes him (and us) into the world of his comics, where he is always the hero and no one dies.
Fast-forward fifteen years to the present, and 22-year old Specialist Henry Burch is an infantry soldier on a C-130 transport headed to the mountains of Northeastern Afghanistan.
Henry soon finds that the war he is fighting has nothing in common with the imagined heroics of his childhood.
I decided for my MFA thesis project to make a film that I believed veterans of our current conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan would appreciate.
In speaking with soldiers who have deployed to these combat theatres, I have learned that war is a terrible, heartbreaking endeavor for both sides of any conflict, and that for our soldiers specifically, the war seems to consist of long stretches of boredom punctuated with moments of terror and chaos.
I wonder what these soldiers thought war would be before that first bullet went whizzing by, or that first mortar landed inside the perimeter of their bases.
These were the themes I was trying to explore in this film.
This is the story of a soldier who finds out that war is a heartbreaking experience.
Dave Baldwin Jr. Graduated with an MFA in Film Production from the University of Southern California in December 2008. He holds a degree in History from The University of Virginia and is very happy to be living in Los Angeles.
When not devoting his mind, body and spirit to writing the best scripts he possibly can, Baldwin Jr. steadicams for low-budget music videos and zombie movies and can be found riding the merry-go-‘round in Griffith Park with his bride and two small children.
Sean-Michael Smith began his professional film training on set with two of Europe’s biggest directors, Dogma 95 founders Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg. He later contributed creative talent as Dialogue Coach on the Cannes Palm d’Or winner DANCER IN THE DARK.
Just prior to entering the MFA program in Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California, Smith was invited to join IATSE Local 728, to begin his training to learn the physical craft of cinematography and lighting.
Smith is in the process of putting the finishing touches on his own USC thesis film “THUNDER CHANCE”. At school he has been a top finalist in both the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award and the Heineken Music Video competition.
Smith has produced several short films in the last two years. “COONS” has been recognized at the DGA Student Filmmaker Awards, screened at Clermont-Ferrand, and received the Outstanding Cinematography Award at First Look 2.0 this year; “TENDER AS HELLFIRE” will be screening at the Vail Film Festival among other to events, and “OUR NECK OF THE WOODS” recently was selected for competition in the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Javier Solis began his career in advertising with an internship with Tocquigny, a firm based in Austin, Texas. His client list has included Dell, AMD, Keepsake, Harcourt and Hewlett-Packard, to name a few. Throughout this time period, Javier was also working as a large-scale commercial installation artist for various other clients within Texas. However, Javier’s passion was in film. In 2004, a commercial production company hired him as an editor/director in Los Angeles. He added to his client list such names as Re/max Realtors, State Farm Insurance and Subway. Soon after his move to Los Angeles, he was accepted into the MFA program at the University of Southern California. Javier periodically accepts large-scale commercial art commissions between semesters for clients in Austin, Texas.
Recently, Javier has been involved with numerous thesis films. His range of credits is varied from special thanks, 1st assistant director to producer. He is currently involved in pre-production with two independent documentaries and a short feature as a producer. Javier has a B. A. in Art Communication and Design from Texas State University and an M.F.A. in Cinema Production from the University of Southern California.
Michael Montgomery began his production career after he won the Omaha Hot Shops Film Festival in music videos as a sophomore at the University of Nebraska. Upon graduation, he started his Lincoln-based commercial company, Twilight Productions, and had quickly secured clients such as Harley Davidson and the Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co. Following through with his goals of working in feature film in Los Angeles, he moved here once accepted into the USC family of graduate filmmakers, and has since produced various thesis projects. Michael was this year’s recipient of the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker Award.
Having studied at London's prestigious Dulwich College; Edward went on to achieve a B.A. in English literature and Film theory at Brunel University. Having known from a very early age he wanted to dedicate himself to film, he spent the next six years working in the British media industry.
In 2005 Edward headed west for the University of Southern California where he received an MFA in Film Production in 2008. Edward's short film: "Growing Old Disgracefully" won Best Romantic Comedy at the International Student Film Festival of Hollywood.
Edward has been the recipient of an A.M.P.A.S internship grant; which allowed him to undertake an internship at Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Edward’s thesis film at USC, “Kwame”, won the Pan-African Film Festival and will screen at the Newport Beach Film Festival as it continues to make its rounds on this years’s festival circuit.
Jay Visit is an award winning cinematographer who shoots narratives, music videos and commercial projects.
His recent credits include Our Neck of the Woods, an official selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse starring Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel.
Jay holds a Masters in Film Production from The University of Southern California and currently resides in Los Angeles.
Sara Akhteh was born in Tehran where her father was an anchorman and Head of the New Sector for Iranian Television; her mother worked in the same field as a Segment Writer and Editor. Sara recently received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Southern California with an emphasis in Production.
Sara Akhteh has received numerous awards as recognition for her films, including the Panavision New Filmmaker Award and the Fotokem Grant. Most recently her Thesis Film, "The Ambassador's Wife", received honors from the ASC in recognition of Best Student Cinematography.
Sara has numerous credits in Sound Work, including Foley Recordist and Editor for Jeremy Kagan's "Golda's Balcony", Starring Valerie Harper.
Copyright 2009
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