2022 Officially Selected Films
Features
Breaker Morant
Breaker Morant // 107min // Drama // 1980 // Australia
Director: Bruce Beresford
During the Boer War, three Australian lieutenants are on trial for shooting Boer prisoners. Though they acted under orders, they are being used as scapegoats by the General Staff, who hope to distance themselves from the irregular practices of the war.
Paradise Road
Paradise Road // 122 min // Drama // 1997 // Australia
Director: Bruce Beresford
Set in World War II in Sumatra Indonesia, a group of European women imprisoned by the Japanese seek solace from the horror of their imprisonment by forming a vocal orchestra.
Causeway
Causeway // 92min // Drama // 2022 // USA
Director: Lila Neugebauer
Writers: Ottessa Moshfegh, Luke Goebel, Elizabeth Sanders
Causeway features Jennifer Lawrence as a military engineer who has returned to the United States from Afghanistan with a debilitating brain injury after an IED explosion. Emmy and Tony Award-nominee Brian Tyree Henry stars alongside Lawrence.
Where is Anne Frank?
Where is Anne Frank? // 100min // Animated Feature // 2021 // Israel
Director: Ari Folman
Where is Anne Frank begins with a miracle: Kitty, the imaginary friend to whom Anne Frank wrote in her famous diary, comes to life in present-day Amsterdam. Unaware that 75 years have gone by, Kitty is convinced that if she is alive, then Anne must be alive too. The film tells the story of Kitty’s quest across contemporary Europe to find her beloved friend.
The Skin of Others
The Skin of Others // 91min // Documentary // 2022 // Australia
Writer/Director: Tom Murray
A story of modern Australia, told through the extraordinary life of Aboriginal WWI soldier Douglas Grant (c.1885-1951). A famous man in his day, Grant is a Forrest Gump figure … if Gump had been black, an intellectual, a journalist, a soldier, and a bagpipe player with a fine Scottish accent.
Transfusion
Transfusion // 106min // Drama // 2022 // Australia
Writer/Director: Matt Nable
The story of a father (Sam Worthington) and his young son (Edward Friday Carmody) attempting to reconnect after a devastating loss. The son, mired in guilt for a choice he never made, and a father suffering from PTSD and without identity after retiring from the Special Air Service regiment (SAS) of the Australian Army.
The Ace and the Scout
The Ace and the Scout // 90min // Drama // 2022 // Canada
Director: Aaron Huggett
Inspired by the heroics of Ace pilot Billy Bishop and his 72 dogfight victories, two young men from small town Ontario join the late war effort, landing on the front lines of Northern France in August 1918.
Not My Enemy
Not My Enemy // 78min // Documentary // 2022 // USA
Director: Kehinde Ishangi
Looking backward to move forward, Kehinde Ishangi, an African American choreographer, searches to uncover the truth about her absent father’s choices and reveals the real enemy of the Vietnam War.
The Healing
The Healing // 54min // Documentary // 2022 // Australia
Writer/Director: Nick Barkla
An inspiring documentary about transformation and getting a second chance in life. It explores a life-saving equine welfare program that brings traumatised ex-racehorses and traumatised military veterans together to help heal each other.
War Trap
War Trap // 117min // Drama // 2021 // France
Writer/Director: David Aboucaya
During the Second World War, following an ambush carried out in a fort by German troops, Eugène, an Allied soldier, finds himself trapped underground. Now fighting for his survival, his destiny will play out alongside that of another survivor.
Ladies in Black
Ladies in Black // 109 min // Drama // 2018 // Australia
Director: Bruce Beresford
Set in Sydney in the summer of 1959, Ladies in Black is a coming-of-age story set against a backdrop of Australia’s cultural awakening, the increasing liberation of women, and the breaking down of class structures.
Short Films
Greater Love
Greater Love // 5min // Documentary // 2022 // Australia
Director: Scott Heldorf & Selina Anne Miles
Writer: Adrian Humphries
As veterans, how do we pass the torch of remembrance to our children? A glimpse at the struggle to convey the meaning, gravitas and oftentimes futility of war to our children.
Inspired by Wilfred Owen’s poem “Greater Love”.
Breaking Point
Breaking Point // 18min // Short Drama // 2022 // Canada
Writer/Director: Ben Crossman
Producer: Danny Crossman
In war, not all wounds are visible. A tired young combat engineer tries to manage his growing stress and anxiety during one last clearance task.
The Search
The Search // 23min // Short Documentary // 2022 // USA
Writer/Director: Thomas Brouns
Producers: Dereka Bennett, Thomas Brouns
Three days after her high school graduation, Jasmine Lovett joins the Air Force. Initially, she thrives; but soon, she finds herself battling depression.
Damascene
Damascene // 15min // Short Drama // 2022 // Syrian Arab Republic / Germany
Director: Diana Fadah
During an airstrike, in a Civil War-ravaged, Syria, three teenage boys desperately seek refuge in an abandoned, rundown building.
Stem to Stone: A Wreath’s Journey
Stem to Stone: A Wreath’s Journey // 6min // Documentary Short // 2022 // USA
Director: Brian Burdett
Each December, volunteers lay 250,000 wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery, one on every veteran’s grave. The sight is breathtaking and iconic.
When the War is Over
When the War is Over // 14min // Short Student Documentary // 2022 // Australia
Director: Jamyka Blattman
A story of hope and resilience, focusing on three veterans’ personal stories showing how trauma can spread to their families and the changes required to support those afflicted.
Terzo Tempo
Terzo Tempo // 20min // Drama // 2022 // Italy
Writer/Director: Stefano Monti
When they were children, three friends made a blood pact: they would never turn against one another. They couldn’t imagine that, a few years later, the Second World War would make them break it.
Balance
Balance // 2min // Animated Short // 2022 // Iran
Director: Barzan
It’s a story about the soldiers who are sacrificing their lives and resist in order to the people of the city and future generations live in peace…
Freedom Swimmer
Freedom Swimmer // 15min // Animated Short // 2022 // UK
Writer/Director: Olivia Martin/McGuire
In order to understand the present, we need to shed light on the past. Freedom Swimmer documents one of the most extraordinary mass escapes of the 20th century and offers context for a city in uprise, today.
The Veteran Dramedy
The Veteran Dramedy // 30min // Comedy Drama // 2022 // Germany/Ukraine
Director: Rainer Ludwigs
After fighting in the Donbas, Bogdan, a young Ukrainian, visits his mother in Germany. Here, he finds unexpected opportunities: university, a new job, an old new love. He would love to stay. But he struggles with German bureaucracy and his trauma of war.
The Haka
The Haka // 15min // Short Drama // 2022 // New Zealand
Director: Isaac Lee
A Christmas truce between WW1 soldiers needs a compromise after disagreement arises on how best to pass the time.
The Sprayer
The Sprayer // 9min // Animated Short // 2022 // Iran
Director: Farnoosh Abedi
In the land occupied with the sprayers army, no one has the right to grow any kind of plants either in public or private. So many of the people and soldiers do not even know how dose a plant grows or look like.
The Soft Skinned
The Soft-Skinned // 20min // Student Short Drama // 2022 // Australia
Director: Nicky Tyndale-Biscoe
Corporal Kath Davison is suffering high-risk PTSD. She spends her days shooting roos and drinking in the caravan behind her parents’ Melbourne suburban home. One day, a young Afghan man turns up on her doorstep.
Barrier
Barrier // 9min | Short Drama // 2022 // Netherlands
Director: Niels Bourgonje
September 1944. Two Canadian soldiers find a boy washed up on the Dutch beach. Where did he come from and can he be trusted?
War Games
War Games // 8min // War Sci-Fi // 2022 // Belgium
Director: Donald Mertens
In World War II, a German soldier helps his superior, wounded by shrapnel, to get away from the battle of the Ardennes. By taking refuge in an abandoned factory, they enjoy a brief break.
Life and Death
Life and Death // 6min // Animated Short // 2022 // Ukraine
Director: Anonymous
The story about the life of a russian soldier, his path from childhood to his arrival in Ukraine during the war.
The Long River Home
The Long River Home // 20min // Documentary Short // 2022 // USA
Director: Seth Dahl
A film about overcoming the residual impacts of war through kayaking with a team. Aaron Howell and Russell Davies are combat veterans who were injured in war and now come together for another mission as they guide blind Navy veteran, Lonnie Bedwell, on his third trip through the Grand Canyon.
Ride Away
Ride Away // 6min // Drama // 2022 // USA
Director: Justin Koehler
Based on true events, a young man pens a heartfelt letter before leaving for the Vietnam War.
Music Videos
Recognition: Bill Thibeault – Music Video
Recognition: Bill Thibeault // 4min // Music Video // 2022 // USA
Director/Performer: Bill Thibeault
Recognition tells the story of the collision of the HMAS Melbourne and USS Frank E Evans in the South China Sea, on June 3, 1969.
Far Away Man – Music Video
Far Away Man: The Dalmatians // 4min // Music Video // 2022 // Australia
Director: Wil Allen
The timeless story of a human’s experience following trauma, the struggles they and their loved ones can experience, and the hope and freedom available at the end of a journey of process and vulnerability.
Better Off: Johnny Reveille – Music Video
Better Off: Johnny Reveille // 3:41min // Music Video // 2022 // Australia
Director: Casey Andrew
Performer: Johnny Reveille
An emotional song, about suicide amongst our veterans and serving soldiers, that finishes on a hopeful note.