2010 Best Feature Documentary Winner 

Chosin

In the winter of 1950, 15,000 U.S. troops were surrounded and trapped by 120,000 Chinese soldiers in the frozen mountains of North Korea.  Refusing surrender, the men fought 78 miles to freedom while saving the lives of 98,000 civilian refugees.  Chosin is the first documentary on the Chosin Reservoir Campaign.  The survivors take us on an emotional and heart-pounding journey through one of the most savage battles in American history. These accounts, combined with footage never before seen by most Americans, create a visceral, emotionally-charged experience unlike that provided by any other war documentary.  The upcoming major motion picture 17 Days of Winter is based on these real-life heroes.

Directed Brian Iglesias

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2010 Best Narrative Feature Winner

Minus One

When three Army Reservists are called to fight in the Middle East, they must face the possibility of never returning home.  Minus One is a moving story about three American soldiers from the 951st Army Reserve Unit, as they spend their last few days in the U.S. preparing to deploy.

Directed by Jon Osbek and Marc Wiskemann  

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2010 Best Narrative Short Winner

Head In The Sand

Henry is a seven-year old with a sweet tooth for combat-themed comic books, where he is always the hero, and no one dies.  The film takes us from Henry’s vivid childhood imagination to Henry as a young soldier on a C-130 full of American soldiers flying to the combat zones of northeastern Afghanistan.  An encounter with a fellow soldier on the plane reading war comics propels Henry back to the days of childhood and the memories of his days locked deep in his own reveries of the glory and heroism of war.  Henry’s childhood preconceptions are immediately shattered on the battlefield.

Directed by David Baldwin 

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2010 Best Documentary Short

Prayers for Peace

An artist confronts the memory of his younger brother who was killed by an IED in Fallujah.  Handcrafting the film using pastels on a slate chalkboard and footage from his brother’s laptop, Prayers for Peace is a touching introspective journey through the heart and soul of a tragic loss.

Directed Dustin Grella

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2010 Best Student Film

Ghost Soldier

Two American soldiers are captured and become POWs in Fallujah.  Both soldiers must fight to survive as they stage their escapes when nearby air strikes throw the prison into a state of panic.

Directed Allan Tsao

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2010 Founder's Choice Award

BRATS: Our Journey Home

Their passports say “United States,” but they’re really citizens of the world.  U.S. military BRATS share intimate memories about their unique childhoods – growing up on military bases around the world, then struggling to fit into an America lifestyle with which they have little in common.   This is the first cinematic glimpse into a global subculture whose journey to adulthood is a high-octane mixture of incredible excitement and enormous pain.  BRATS is about military children, who grow up in a world that is both idealistic and authoritarian, privileged and perilous, supportive and stifling.  Narrated by and featuring the music of Air Force brat Kris Kristofferson.

Directed Donna Musil

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2010 Military Channel Award

The Surge

The Surge: the Untold Story is the only documentary of its kind offering a look into the real story of the troop surge in Iraq, as told by top U.S. military commanders.  These never-before-seen interviews move beyond Washington politics to tell the ground truth of a failing mission transformed into one of the most successful military operations in a generation of war fighting.  This documentary honors the sacrifice, courage and ingenuity of military members confronting nearly impossible circumstances.

Directed by Jason Meath

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