RESTREPO:  A Preview Screening

Michael Renov, a professor and associate dean for academic affairs at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, led a Q&A discussion with the directors immediately following the screening. Hetherington and Junger explained that they wanted to tell a story about the war in Afghanistan from the point of view of "grunt" soldiers. Instead of trying to make a film about the broader issues of the war, the directors chose to follow one platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley in hopes of creating a more visceral experience that would inspire others to delve further into the situation abroad.

The directors also spoke on the methods used to make the film, which included:

• being embedded five times over the course of a year with the same platoon to build rapport with the soldiers.
• coping with feelings of fear in dangerous situations.
• letting the soldiers, instead of the filmmakers, narrate the story through post-deployment interviews interspersed with footage from the Korengal Valley.

When asked by an audience member if they had any advice for the people back home dealing with the return of the soliders, Junger explained the need for more understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder and for people not to be so quick to pathologize a soldier's desire to return to war. He explained that a soldier's longing to return to combat is healthy, and can be attributed to wanting the close-knit brotherhood and meaning to life the military provides.

About Restrepo
Restrepo is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, "Restrepo", named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley: there are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 90-minute deployment. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you.

Director's Statement
The war in Afghanistan has become highly politicized, but soldiers rarely take pare in that discussion. Our intention was to capture the experience of combat, boredom, and fear through the eyes of the soldiers themselves. Their lives were our lives: we did not sit down with their families, we did not interview Afghans, we did not explore geopolitical debates. Soldiers are living and fighting and dying at ramove outposts in Afghanistan in conditions that few Americans back home can imagine. Their experiences are important to understand, regardless of one's political beliefs. Beliefs are a way to avoid looking at reality. This is reality.

About the Director/Producer

TIM HETHERINGTON - Producer / Director / Camera

Tim Hetherington is an acclaimed photographer and filmmaker who has reported on conflict for over ten years. He was the only photographer to live behind rebel lines during the recent Liberian civil war - work that culminated in the film Liberia: an Uncivil War and the book Long Story Bit by Bit: Liberia Untold (Umbrage 2009). For a full bio please click here.

SEBASTIAN JUNGER - Producer / Director / Camera

New York-based writer and journlist Sebastian Junger is the bestselling author of The Perfect Storm, Fire and A Death in Belmont. He first reported from Afghanistan in 1996 and, four years later, was one of the last Westerners to accompany legendary guerrilla fighter Ahmed Shah Massoud (while reporting for National Geographic) during his war against the Taliban. For a full bio please click here.

This screening is free of charge and open to the public. Please bring a photo ID or print-out of your reservation confirmation, which will automatically be sent to your email account upon successfully making an RSVP through the website noted above. Doors open at 6:30pm.

The USC School of Cinematic Arts is located at 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90077. Parking passes may be purchased for $8.00 at USC Entrance Gate #5, located at the intersection of W. Jefferson Blvd. and McClintock Ave. We recommend parking in outdoor Lot M or V, or Parking Structure D, at the far end of 34th Street. Please note that Parking Structure D cannot accommodate tall vehicles such as SUVs. Free street parking is also available along Jefferson Blvd.