synopsis
Hunting in Wartime profiles Tlingit veterans from Hoonah, Alaska who saw combat during the Vietnam War. The veterans talk about surviving trauma, relating to Vietnamese communities, readjusting to civilian life, and serving a government that systematically oppresses native people. Their stories give an important human face to the combat soldier and show the lasting affects of war on individuals, families and communities.
There are many films out today that profile veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hunting In Wartime has the long-range perspective of how a soldier’s life was affected long after the war ended, giving us a glimpse into what present-day soldiers may confront in the future. The film portrays a stark reality of the human cost of war.
screenings/Awards
National PBS and PBS World Channel
WINNER BIG SKY AWARD/Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
WINNER Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking - Inwood Film Festival
WINNER JAMES ARONSON AWARD for Social Justice Journalism Ceremony
WINNER SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) Voice Award, Feature Documentary
National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) Film Festival
Santa Fe Independent Film Festival (NM)
National Archives (Washington, DC)
Cambodian International Film Festival
FilmFest52 (CT)
New Haven International Film Festival
Anchorage International Film Festival (AK)
Hanoi Cinematheque (Socialist Republic of Vietnam)
Red Nation Film Festival (Los Angeles, CA)
Old Castle Theater, Bennington VT
American Indian Film Festival (San Francisco, CA)
Red Dirt Film Festival (OK)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Madison, WI)
University of Hawaii - West Oahu
University of Alaska Southeast (AK)
University of Montana
Haines Borough Public Library (AK)
Sitka Public Library (AK)
Alaska Native Heritage Center (Anchorage, AK)
Homer Theater (Homer, AK)
Gold Town Movie Theater (Juneau AK)
Hoonah Indian Association Community Center (Hoonah, AK)
Fred Bennett
press/Updates
Updates:
Hunting in Wartime is screening at the Wisconsin Historical Society on Sunday April 21 at 2pm
Hunting in Wartime’s contract with PBS was extended until 2023! Check your local listings.
Hunting in Wartime is NOW AVAILABLE on Kanopy!
You can access Hunting in Wartime on Kanopy through your local public library or school. If Hunting in Wartime is not in your library or school please ask your librarian to add it!
Ozzie Sheakley, Erin Greenwell, Donald See and Samantha Farinella
Press:
Sea Alaska Heritage Institute Post Screening Q+A with Veterans
Armed Forces Benefit Association (AFBA)
Alaska Public Media radio interview
Alaska Public Radio (KTOO in Juneau)
For any press inquiries please email: huntinginwartime@gmail.com
shop/support
We are still raising funds for touring to rural communities as well as securing broadcasting fees.
Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated!
BUY THE DVD! Available at New Day Films.
Fiscal Sponsors:
Women Make Movies
The Hoonah Indian Association (in Alaska)
Major Funding for Hunting in Wartime was provided by:
Hunting in Wartime was the proud recipient of the Rasmuson Foundation grant which was fiscally sponsored by The Hoonah Indian Association.
Hunting in Wartime is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Hunting in Wartime was recently awarded a grant from the Alaska Humanties Forum.
GUS MILLS
Thank you to our supporters for helping make the film a reality:
THOMAS FOERTSCH / JOANNA FIELDS / ATZ AND BONNIE KILCHER / HUNA HERITAGE FOUNDATION / VETERANS FOR PEACE, JUNEAU CHAPTER / SEALASKA CORPORATION / CATKIN KILCHER BURTON, COLONEL, USMC (RET.) / N. MATTHEW WELTON / JOANNA POZEN / SHANE BRENNAN / JENNY MACHIDA / GLENN V MUTCHLER / EVA BONIME / UMMNI KHAN / MICHAEL TORMEY / LANCE NEALY / COLIN MUTCHLER / PEGGY MCDONALD / MARIT NELSON / LILY DORMENT / KEN & MAGDA GORDON / CHRIS PETERSON / SHERRY MILLS / RAYMOND DOOLEY / MIKE PAN / MAGGIE WILLIAMS / KATE WEBER / KAREN MILLS / JEFFREY DAVIS / JASON KNIGHT / DONNA DINOVELLI / CLARK STUBBS / CHRISTIE GEORGE / CARLA SHEN / ALICIA REICH / SASHA M WOLFF / STEPHEN R THORNTON / JOSH EZRICK / MELINDA FISHMAN / SARAH LINDMAN / ADAM MUTCHLER / MELISSA FERRICK / MEERI PARK CUNNIFF / LAURIE MUTCHLER / KERITH LEMON / GABRIELLE HORCHLER / ELIZABETH M HODGMAN / DR. GARY L. OLSON / DENNIS G. TRAINOR JR. / CINDY DZIEMIAN / BEN EZRICK / DAVID ZEIGER / SHANNAN REEVE / SEAN M CONNOLLY / SARAH O'DONNELL / ROGER L. IVES / ELIZABETH L. VITALE / BONNIE DAMIAN / SARA MACHIDA / ROSALIE WONG / MARY CHEN / LAURA CARROLL / HOWIE & JAIME CASPE / ERIC WARNSDORFER / ELISA LONDON / MARK RAIMONDO / AMANDA PETERS / ALISON MCLAUGHLIN / STEPHANIE JACKS / EVA BERMUDEZ / VANESSA AGARD-JONES / CARLOS R CASTRO / CAITLIN KELLEY / ADRIANA TORRES / PATRICK LAMBERT / MONA LU/ KARINA SCHAFER / ROBIN DAFANO / RACHEL SHEINKIN / DEMONIO ANGELICO / AMANDA MIXON / TONY ZITO / TASSELI MCKAY / SARAH PORISS / KATHRYN HURTLEY / IAN VERCHERE / ERIN GREENWELL / EMILY MANDELBAUM / ELIZABETH GOLDBLATT / DWIGHT MUTCHLER / DAVID BRIGGS / DARYL PEAGLER / ALEXANDRA ARGYROPOULOS / KEVIN J DOYLE / JULIA PASTORE / ENRICO BENNINI / ERICA MUTCHLER / DAVE BOUFFARD / ABIGAIL ARONS / RAFFI ASDOURIAN / NEEVE NEEVEL / MELLISSA CROUCH / JOEY GARTNER / HOLLY WATSON / CHRISTINE MEJIA / CHRIS PETERSON / BEVERLY H DUNN / ALEXIS ROTH / NICOLE KLEIN / KERRIE WELSH / EMILY CAMPION / TIFFANY NIXON / LISA BEEBE / JULIE GEORGE / JEREMY SCHLOSS / ERIC DAMON WALTERS / BRETT A. PARKER / REBECCA COSTELLO /ASHLEY CARR / JODI BRUKER / JOANI N. HORCHLER / JEREMY BUHLER / JENNIFER EGERT / COURTNEY SNEGROFF / CORTNEY GOLUB AND ANNIE BOYER / COLLEEN JIMBOY / BEVERLY WALLEY / KESIME BERNARD / JASAUN L BUCKNER / HARMONEE WILLIAMS / TESSA WILLS / ALIX L OLSON / SETH M MADEJ / MELISSA GABLE / ICY STRAIT POINT
bios
Samantha Farinella (Producer/Director/DP)
Samantha Farinella is a veteran NYC filmmaker, now based in Honolulu, and the founder of One Angry Woman Productions.
Farinella's latest feature length project, Hunting in Wartime, premiered nationally on PBS and won the Big Sky Award at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism in Documentary and the Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking Award at the Inwood Film Festival in NYC. It has screened in over thirty venues including the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, The National Archives, the Cambodian International Film Festival, the American Indian Film Festival and the Hanoi Cinematheque.
Her first feature documentary, Left Lane, won eight awards including honors in New Zealand, Paris and New York. It received official selection in over fifty national and international festivals including: San Francisco's Frameline, Out in Africa (South Africa's Gay and Lesbian Film Festival), Galway Film Fleadh, Barcelona's Kosmopolis and opening night at Boston's LGBT Film Festival.
She also has extensive television production and advertising experience with media companies including Viacom, The History Channel, Animal Planet, PBS and Hogarth Worldwide. Farinella is an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii - West Oahu.
Farinella is an Assistant Professor in the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawaii - West Oahu.
Christie George (Producer)
Christie George is the former Director of New Media Ventures, a Democracy Alliance project focused on investing in early stage new media organizations. Previously, she was an independent management consultant working with think tanks, international development organizations and start-ups to integrate business components into their mission-driven activities.
She has extensive experience in media including six years with Women Make Movies, the world's largest distributor of films directed by and about women. At WMM, she played a key role in helping set strategic direction for the organization, managing sales and marketing efforts for the company's slate of independent films and launching new initiatives, including The Girls Project, a critically acclaimed series celebrating girls' lives around the world.
George received her MBA with distinction from the University of Oxford where she was a Skoll Scholar in Social Entrepreneurship. She also graduated with the Said Prize, awarded annually to the top student in the MBA class.
Sonya Gray (Producer)
Sonya M. Gray is of Tlingit descent, born and raised in the village of Hoonah, Alaska. She is a Raven of the Ta’akweinadi Clan (Sea Lion ). Her father, Dennis H. Gray, Sr. is the current leader of the Wooshkeetaan Clan (Shark) and her late mother, Liv C. Gray, has the honorable distinction of being Hoonah's only female Mayor to date.
Sonya has been involved with her culture and served her community in many capacities; as an educator, volunteer and advocate. Her involvement includes serving as Grand Secretary for the Alaska Native Sisterhood, the oldest non-profit organization, founded to fight for the civil rights of Alaska Natives.
She has also worked in the public school system with primary and secondary students as a reading/math instructor for challenged students, as well as providing after school tutoring services and coaching various athletic teams.
She currently lives in Ottawa, Canada where she is attending Carleton University, pursuing an Anthropology B.A. Honours degree.
Erin Greenwell (Producer/editor)
Erin Greenwell directed her feature film "My Best Day" which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Other directing endeavors include "Oh Come On", a punk DIY performance video for The Julie Ruin and co-directing "The Golden Age of Hustlers" featuring Justin Vivian Bond's, remake of an iconic song written by legendary punk chanteuse Bambi Lake, about the 1970's gay hustler scene on Polk Street in San Francisco during the pre-HIV/AIDS era.
Erin is also an accomplished editor. Feature film work includes Yomeddine, a feature film narrative with its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 2018 and submitted by Egypt for consideration of Best International Film for the 91st Academy Awards.. Yomeddine is about a man who leaves his home in a lepercolony and embarks on a journey across Egypt to find out why he was abandoned as a child. Based on stories collected from the award winning documentary, “The Colony” directed by Abu Bakr Shawky.
She co-produced and edited, Hunting in War Time, profiling the extraordinary stories of Tlingit Vietnam War veterans from the village of Hoonah, Alaska. The film screened at festivals domestic and international and was winner of the Big Sky Award/Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. HIW is distributed through New Day films with a TV version broadcast nationally through PBS.
Erin is currently an Associate Professor, teaching Digital Video and Media Production at Marymount Manhattan College.
Marlene Johnson (Advisor)
Marlene Johnson is currently the board chair of the Huna Heritage Foundation. She will take on an advisory role as well as serve as one of the film's subjects.
Marlene Johnson is native Tlinkit T'akdeintaan (Sea Pigeon) and was born, raised and still resides in Hoonah, Alaska. She studied management, financial management, and personnel at the University of Oregon and Washington State University.
Currently, Ms. Johnson holds several positions in Alaska, including Commercial Fisheries Entry Commissioner. She also serves on the University of AK School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences advisory council, the Southeast Alaska Selective Service Board, and the Board of Trustees on the Sealaska Heritage Institute, among others.
Johnson has received many awards for her service to the community, such as the Alaska Democratic Party's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002, the Alaska Federation of Natives Citizen of the Year Award in 1995, and the Outstanding Women of America Award 1985-1991.
James Lindoff with Director Samantha Farinella
James Lindoff (Advisor)
James Lindoff is a key advisor to Hunting in Wartime. Lindoff is Native Tlingit Kaagwaantaan (Eagle-Wolf) from Klukwan and grew up in Haines, Juneau and Hoonah. Lindoff is a decorated Vietnam Veteran having served as Sergeant in the 101st Airborne Division from 1966-1968.
Lindoff went on both special operations and reconnaissance missions; he made 69 jumps, 8 of them over 15,000 feet. After being shot, Lindoff received the Purple Heart.
As the Commander of the Hoonah Veterans for the Southeast Alaskan Native Veterans Association, Lindoff has responsibilities for flag detail, funeral detail and leading the local veterans' marches in Hoonah.
Lindoff currently resides in Hoonah and has provided extensive support for the documentary, advising on everything from veterans affairs to Tlingit custom to current economic realities within Hoonah.
Lyle Kelly James and Kolene Elizabeth James (Song Composers)
Lyle Kelly James, is the son of Betsy and Owen James, and grandson of Jacob Pratt Jr. and Rose Gerber, and Kelly and Betty James. His Tlingit name is Xeetli.eesh, and comes from the Wolf House. Xeetli.eesh is Tlingit, Kaagwaantaan, Eagle/ Wolf Clan and a child of the Tlingit, Kiks.adi, Raven/Frog Clan, and grandchild of the T'akdeintaan Raven/Sea pigeon, L'uknax.adi Raven/ Coho, Lukaax.adi Raven/Sockeye, Filipino, Naanyaayi Eagle/Killer whale, Sik'nax.adi Eagle/Brown Bear, Tsaagweidi Eagle/ Split Killer whale, and the Hawaiian nation. He was raised in Hoonah and Kake, Alaska.
My English name is Kolene Elizabeth James, my Tlingit name is DaxKilatch ~ Keeper of Sacred Things or Sacred Knowledge. My name comes from the Head of the Nass River. My parents are Francis and Norma Jean Dunne. I am the child of the Tsimshian through my father's tribe. I am Haida and Tlingit Gaanax.adi ~ Raven Starfish from the Taantakwaan ~ people of Tongass and I am also (Tsimshian) Gitlaan Ggan haa da of Metlakatla on my mother's side (Metlakatla is the only reservation here in Alaska). I was raised in the village of Saxman (outside of Ketchikan city limits), the better half of my childhood and spending most of my summers in Metlakatla with my beloved grandmother Jessie Ridley. I am also the grandchild of the Teikweidi ~ Brown Bear People, Tsimshian People, and Irish.
We are very proud of our heritage! We are humbled to be blessed as parents of 3 children ~ Devon, Kordell, and Corinne.
