Female Army Soldier becomes a Hollywood writer

Tickets for GI Film Festival:

https://gifilmfestival.com/tickets/

Guest Blogger: Barbara Autin

The G.I. Film Festival (GIFF), the premiere festival showcasing films focused on the military experience, is gearing up for another successful run. This year, over fifty films will be screened from May 24-28 in Washington DC. 

The tales span from World War Two era stories to the current stories of soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The G.I. Film Festival was started in 2006 in order to change the prevalent, one-dimensional depictions of service members in the media. The success of the films has resulted in the festival’s unofficial nickname as the “Sundance for the Troops.” With most Americans lacking first hand knowledge of military service, the G.I. Film Festival is a great platform for military members to communicate our stories about our service to the civilian community. 

In doing this, the GIFF has created a reputation of screening some of the best military films produced today, as well as creating a thriving community of veterans and filmmakers.

A perception still exists that the military and the entertainment industry are worlds apart, and the G.I. Film Festival is helping to change that by connecting the two groups. Veterans who are interested in getting involved in the entertainment industry now have the opportunity to get to know other veterans who’ve already gained experience in film making by attending events throughout the festival. 

Taking time for military service can put you behind your peers in the entertainment industry, but it doesn’t have to be a deal breaker if you’re willing to work hard and make the right connections.

The projects screened at GIFF are all real stories, and film students, veterans- in fact, anyone who enjoys military stories should attend if they’re in the DC area. GIFF truly is the premiere platform for military stories to be brought to a mainstream audience. 

Not only can you meet filmmakers and veterans, but you can gain a lot of insight in what veterans go through, and get connected to additional veteran oriented organizations through GIFF, like the Veterans in Film and Television, which help hardworking veterans get connected with opportunities in the film industry.

Hope to see you there!

Guest Blogger: Barbara Autin

Barbara Autin served as an engineer in the Army for eight years before pursuing her dream of writing. Her first short movie, Drawing Tinkerbell, will premiere on the LACMA website in April. She was a military consultant on Mary Jane Wells' play "Heroine" and is currently working on two military themed scripts.

GI Film Festival Tickets:

https://gifilmfestival.com/tickets/

Military Times article:

http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/gi-film-festival-2017-schedule-of-events

Blog Posted by:

Fulton Film Company

Fresno, California

https://fultonfilmcompany.com/

El GI Film Festival es de gran importancia para veteranos

Tickets for GI Film Festival:

https://gifilmfestival.com/tickets/

Durante muchos años hemos visto cómo la prensa y los medios retrataron una imagen negativa de los veteranos. Nuestras historias de veteranos han sido contadas y reportadas por individuos que no tienen ni idea de lo que es ser militar, o lo que es la vida como un veterano. 

La persona mejor calificada para contar una historia de veteranos es un compañero veterano. Ese es el propósito del GI Film Festival. 

El GI Film Festival es de gran importancia para veteranos cineastas, y aquellos que quieren contar nuestra historia. Alienta y ayuda a que nuestros veteranos a que cuenten sus historias y presenten sus proyectos al público. También permite que el contenido adecuado sea compartido y que la historia sea compartida con la mayor precisión.

Siendo un veterano puertorriqueño del Ejército de los Estados Unidos, creo que sería una gran plataforma para compartir la historia de nuestros veteranos boricuas. Tenemos una gran historia en el ejército estadounidense, y en todos los grandes conflictos. 

Nuestros veteranos de la isla han estado entre los mejores de los mejores, pero nunca se ven ni escuchan sus historias. Tenemos una rica historia aquí en la isla, y creo que el GIFF, es una gran oportunidad para que algunas de estas historias sean contadas. 

Como veterano puertorriqueño encuentro que nuestras experiencias, nuestros logros, nuestras historias no reciben suficiente atención. A veces se siente como si tal vez nuestras historias y experiencias no son tan importantes, pero tal vez si podemos compartir esas historias, el público podría comenzar a entender mejor, o mirarnos con una mejor perspectiva. 

Es tan importante para nosotros estar dispuestos a contar nuestra historia como también lo es que alguien la de a conocer, a través de este evento creo que podemos hacer ambas cosas.

Me parece muy importante que nuestros veteranos cuenten sus historias y los exhortó a hacerlo. También exhortó a todos los cineastas, escritores, productores y todos los medios de comunicación a que vengan a escuchar nuestras historias, y lo que tenemos para ofrecer. El GI Film Festival podría ser el lugar perfecto y la oportunidad perfecta para esto.

Guest Blogger: Ivan Lebron

U.S. Army Veterano

GI Film Festival Tickets:

https://gifilmfestival.com/tickets/

Military Times article:

http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/gi-film-festival-2017-schedule-of-events

Veteranos Del Cine Y Entretenimiento:

https://www.facebook.com/VETERANOSDELCINEYENTRETENIMIENTO/

Blog by:

Fulton Film Company

Fresno, California

Soldier's daughter, filmmaker who supports the GI Film Festival

https://gifilmfestival.com/tickets/

THE G.I. FILM FESTIVAL 2017 - BLOG POST

Guest Blogger: Ana Quinata
           Contact: quin@anaquinata.com
            Follow: Twitter/IG: @anaquinata

            Since the first days of cinema, commercial productions and even some newsreel documentaries have often found success as entertainment but as true to life tales they have had a tendency to fall short or miss the mark entirely in their depiction of the service member experience. 

This was in large part due to the delicate constitutions of the viewing populace. Essentially, studios wouldn't make money and the government wouldn't entice recruits if they always told it the way it really was. South Pacific ring a bell for anyone? For those seeking an unapologetic level of honesty, there is a solution.

            Currently in its eleventh year, the pioneering G.I. Film Festival remains an important platform for the military veteran community to share their stories in several categories including music videos, student films, features, and screenplays to name a few, allowing differing levels of filmmakers and avenues of expression to be showcased. Participants are also afforded the fantastic opportunity to network with working professionals in the television and film industry - the importance of which cannot be understated. 

When pursuing a career after the active duty military life has come to its conclusion, the exceptional news coverage the film festival garners is not limited to local newspapers around the D.C. area but reaches every corner of the nation through articles printed in the Washington Post and stories featured on national television providing widespread exposure to the projects selected.

GI Film Festival 2017

GIFF2017 - #GIFF2017

Buy Tickets: https://gifilmfestival.com/tickets/

May 24 - May 28, 2017

Washington D.C., USA

            Whether those projects be narrative shorts or feature-length documentaries, every experience shared on screen at the GI Film Festival is a real story that can only be told by those men and women of the armed forces that have lived through them. Stories that speak to viewers on spiritual levels; that reach depths within us that we thought perhaps we'd buried. 

In being open with their experiences - the good, the bad, and the in-between - participants promote understanding and encourages others to do the same. It is their expression that the event was founded on and on which it continues to thrive because their authenticity can be felt by those who watch in the screening rooms.

            Now, who can be in those screening rooms? Anyone, really. Not only those aforementioned entertainment industry professionals looking for talent but film students, family members, anyone in the general public who enjoys military stories and of course, fellow veterans. 

The event also includes opportunities for attendees and participants to socialize with one another and on the international level with respective counterparts from American allied countries.

     

GI Film Festival 2017

GIFF2017 - #GIFF2017

Buy Tickets: https://gifilmfestival.com/tickets/

May 24 - May 28, 2017

Washington D.C., USA

       As a daughter of two former United States soldiers myself, I appreciate the steadfast efforts the GI Film Festival team has put forth with each passing year for this event to continue as another means of connectivity among veterans. 

As a filmmaker with much of my work focused on military conflicts in the last century, this provides proof that these stories matter as they should which is in turn encouragement to keep pushing forward to share them as best I can so that one day I might be able to honor those who have sacrificed so that I might be in this position to do just that.

Guest Blogger: Ana Quinata
           Contact: quin@anaquinata.com
            Follow: Twitter/IG: @anaquinata

GI Film Festival 2017

GIFF2017 - #GIFF2017

Buy Tickets: https://gifilmfestival.com/tickets/

May 24 - May 28, 2017 

Washington D.C., USA

Blog posted by:

Fulton Film Company

Fresno, California

https://fultonfilmcompany.com/

Hollywood actor appreciates his freedom

Written by, Actor: Mr. J Blakemore

https://www.facebook.com/J.Blakemore.Actor

Festival dates: May 24 - May 28, 2017

https://gifilmfestival.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gifilm/

OPEN to the Public.

I’d like to say a few words about freedom. I know it will be coming up because we are talking about G.I’s and whenever you talk about the military, freedom becomes the central focus. My entire family served… dad was career Air Force, my brother was in the Gulf when it was called Desert Shield (yeah. I’m that old) my sister was in the army for a stint, my other sister married a guy stationed in a town called Knob Noster… so I know what the fighting part of freedom is about. 

That’s the part we can identify from across the room without looking too hard. That’s the picture of freedom we all know.

I’d like to talk about the freedom that the GI Film Festival gives, though. It’s a freedom for GI’s; not coming from them. It’s the freedom to tell their stories and be heard. It’s the freedom to create and produce. It’s the ephemeral freedom they endangered their lives to make sure the rest of us get on a daily basis. 

It’s the joined effort of military and civilian artists to convey those stories and help everyone understand each other better because we not only get to see their stories, we often get to help bring them to life. This brand of freedom- the freedom to truly tell your own story in your own way- is the rarest of freedoms to too many GIs. There’s no overstating the worth of this freedom. There’s no overselling how important this kind of freedom is.

https://gifilmfestival.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gifilm/

More than simply being a freedom, though, it benefits everyone involved. It doesn’t matter if you’re participating in building the production or if you are just an audience member. That’s the beauty of it. We all get rewarded by this happening. It opens doors for vets to join in the creative community and go so far as to establish lifelong careers. 

It benefits the audience because they get to understand the people who chose to protect them by seeing their stories in their own words and images. It benefits film students in spades because they get to watch these films and often work hand in hand with these people; learning together as they create. The connections that come from working on these projects will last a lifetime.

The GI Film Festival is, at its best, a glimpse into the future; a look at film professionals being born by telling their own stories. There is very little I can name that’s cooler than that.

Festival dates: May 24 - May 28, 2017

https://gifilmfestival.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gifilm/

OPEN to the Public.

I had the opportunity to work with some vets on a short I was in several years ago. It ended up playing at festivals around the country (the GI Film Festival among them if I remember correctly). Working with men and women who put the same discipline into film making as they did the military was an incredible treat. 

https://gifilmfestival.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gifilm/

Presently, I have been dedicating my creative time to writing novels and getting a decent agent to market them, but I can safely say I hope to work together with any of these people again. It was a wonderful time and reminded me how much fun you could have while being amazingly disciplined professionals. 

I am sold for life on the idea of vets working in film after the experience I had with each and every person on that set. I hope they will find your support as well.

https://gifilmfestival.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gifilm/

Blog posted by:

Fulton Film Company

Fresno, California

Guest writer: J Blakemore