The untold story of Micronesian citizens fighting America’s wars at staggeringly high rates per capita. Told through the intimate personal odyssey of the Nenas, a family strives for their piece of the “American Dream”, and deals with the consequences of military service against the backdrop of a pristine Pacific island on the brink of economic collapse.
Director & Cinematographer: Nathan Fitch. Editor: Bryan Chang. 2017, 85 min., HD color, Micronesia/USA. Observational documentary. In MIcronesian & English with English and Japanese subtitles. Official site: http://www.islandsoldiermovie.com/
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyXnzYd7wyA
Screening Date/Time:
Tokyo: Sun, July 29, 19:30~ Skype Q&A with Director Nathan Fitch!
Okayama: Friday, August 3, 19:00~ Skype Q&A with Director Nathan Fitch! / Saturday, August 4, 14:00~
NATHAN FITCH Director, Cinematographer & Producer
Nathan is a filmmaker and visual journalist based in Brooklyn. He currently works in the video department of The New Yorker. His work has been featured in The New York Times, TIME magazine, and The National Film Board of Canada. Nathan holds an MFA in documentary storytelling from Hunter college, where he was the recipient of the Welfare and Scholarship fund, and the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism. Nathan served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Micronesia doing Historic Preservation work, and still has a great fondness for breadfruit. More of his work can be see at Nathan-Fitch.com
BRYAN CHANG Editor & Producer
Bryan Chang is a documentary film director, cinematographer, and editor whose films have been featured by The New York Times, The Atlantic, and MoMA, screened at Sundance Film Festival, and distributed theatrically. He is director of the feature-length documentary BRASSLANDS, lead editor of the award-winning NARCO CULTURA. He edited on the Emmy-nominated documentary series A YEAR IN SPACE, and his work on two TIME Magazine documentary shorts AMNESIA AND A CAMERA and BREACH OF FAITH won first place awards from Pictures of the Year International and the PDN Photo Annual. He is an owner of Meerkat Media, a cooperatively-run production company specializing in independent documentary for clients such as HBO, MTV Networks, and TIME Magazine.
FIVEL ROTHBERG Producer
Fivel received his MFA in Integrated Media Arts at Hunter College, City University of New York. He was the Associate Producer of Kelly Anderson’s film MY BROOKLYN, which examined the policies, like re-zoning, and institutional mechanisms, such as classism and racism, that drive gentrification. His documentary about being a young father, HOUSE DEVIL, STREET ANGEL has been used in classrooms and workshops to provoke discussion about the intersection of masculinity, fatherhood and abuse. Fivel runs a small production company that serves grassroots social justice nonprofits. More of Fivel’s work can be seen at Fivelrothberg.com