GI Film Festival San Diego Announces 2021 Award Nominations

The organizers of the GI Film Festival San Diego announce the award nominees for this year’s virtual film festival, which include documentaries and narratives that focus on the untold military experience, notable actors and actresses, and films that are created by or starring military or veterans. This year, the film “Amazing Grace,” by first-time filmmaker Nina Brissey from Los Angeles leads with four nominations, including the category of “Best Narrative Short.”

An evening of laughs to celebrate filmmakers from around the world
The virtual awards celebration on Saturday, May 22 is hosted by Thom Tran, a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian, musician, radio broadcaster, and U.S. military veteran and advocate. Tran started his career as a standup comic after a combat injury ended his career as a soldier. In 2010, he created “The GIs of Comedy Tour,” a comedy troupe of troops, that has toured all over the U.S. and to nearly two dozen different countries performing to audiences both military and civilian, bringing the healing power of laughter to those who need it the most.

Registration is required to attend the virtual GI Film Festival San Diego awards celebration. Admission to the Awards Celebration is open to the public. Virtual tickets are $40 and $35 for military, veterans, and students. All Access passes, which are available for $125, includes access to the Awards Celebration. To learn more and to purchase tickets, visit GIFilmFestivalSD.org.

“Every year, we’re proud to honor and give filmmakers at any level the opportunity to share their talent with our festival-goers,” says Jodi Cilley, founder and president, Film Consortium San Diego. “We’ve seen a tremendous amount of talent come through the GI Film Festival San Diego, and are excited to share an evening together celebrating our love for filmmaking, even though we’re still miles apart.”

The following titles are nominated for award recognition in the following categories:

Local Film Showcase - Best Film Made By or Starring Military or Veterans

• “From Russia with...Mehh”
• “Hun Pilots”
• “The 11th Order”

Local Film Showcase - Best Short

• “Hun Pilots”
• “THE FARM”
• “Tiger Oak + Echo”

Best Film Starring Military or Veterans

• “A WAR ON FRIENDLY GROUNDS”
• “Fort Irwin”
• “Saved Rounds”

Best Film Made By Military or Veterans

• “Guide On”
• “The Invisible Project”
• “The Long River Home”

Best Actor

• Robert Craighead, “Amazing Grace”
• Sean Patrick Higgins, “Early Light”
• Cristian Valle, “Fort Irwin”

Best Actress

• Nina Brissey, “Amazing Grace”
• Shantelle Lee Cuevas, “Guide On”
• Grace Illingworth, “My War”

Best Narrative Short

• “Amazing Grace”
• “Beauty for Ashes”
• “Saved Rounds”

Best First-Time Filmmaker

• Nina Brissey, “Amazing Grace”
• Jennifer Karady, “Soldiers’ Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan: The Artist’s Process”
• Christian Taylor, “The Girl Who Wore Freedom”

Best International Film

• “Beauty for Ashes”
• “Forgotten Heroes”
• “The Final Stand”

Best Documentary Short

• “Charlotte Mansfield: a Woman Photographer Goes to War”
• “Liberation Heroes: The Last Eyewitnesses in association with USC Shoah Foundation”
• “The Long River Home”

Best Documentary Feature

• “Sky Blossom: Diaries of the Next Greatest Generation”
• “The Girl Who Wore Freedom”
• “UNITED WE HEAL”

Best Student Film

• “A WAR ON FRIENDLY GROUNDS”
• “Fort Irwin”
• “Guide On”

San Diego is home to the largest military film festival, but viewers can watch from anywhere in the world
With San Diego’s multi-faceted military history and seven major bases between the Navy, Marines, and the Coast Guard, it’s only fitting that the region is home to the largest military film festival in the United States.

Presented May 18-23, 2021, the GI Film Festival San Diego’s virtual format provides the opportunity for attendees around the world to watch 38 films -- the highest ever to be included -- either live or on-demand. The film lineup represents an array of documentaries, narratives, feature-length, and shorts focusing on additional themes including the Black military experience, the lasting impacts of the Normandy liberation, post traumatic growth, caregiver experiences, and a pandemic story. A full film schedule can be found below. The box office is now open for all online showtimes and video on demand (VOD) rentals at GIFilmFestivalSD.org.

The festival schedule will feature nightly online showtimes followed by post-screening discussions with filmmakers, film subjects, and subject-matter experts. These showtimes and discussions will provide audiences the experience to watch together and participate in the discussion in real time in a virtual auditorium – all from the safety and comfort of their homes.

In addition to the virtual screenings, the films are available as a video on demand rental (VOD), beginning the day after its festival debut through May 26. This gives festival goers the flexibility to participate and enjoy the films whenever they choose within the rental window. Attendees will have the choice to either attend the online showtime for a synchronized watch and / or rent and watch on-demand. Each option requires a separate fee.

Since its inception in 2015, the GI Film Festival San Diego has presented more than 170 films from international, U.S., and San Diego County, and has attracted thousands of attendees from various backgrounds. To help bridge the military-civilian divide, each film selected tells a compelling and unique story. The GI Film Festival San Diego challenges notions about what it means to serve and goes beyond one-dimensional depictions of veterans, service members, their caregivers and families.

The festival has also hosted several celebrities whose films had been presented at GIFFSD events, including documentary filmmakers Ken Burns and Ric Burns; actor and activist George Takei; actor Matthew Marsden; actor/producer/director Jeffrey Wright; and actor/director Brenda Strong.

Every year, films selected for the festival are curated by members of the GI Film Festival San Diego advisory committee. The film festival has active support from several military-related organizations, such as Project Recover, Workshops for Warriors, Travis Manion Foundation, Elizabeth Hospice, Challenged Athletes Foundation, Blue Star Families San Diego, American History Theatre, San Diego Military Family Collaborative, Armed Services YMCA, Southern Caregiver Resource Center, Courage to Call, and Joan & Art Barron Veterans Center at San Diego State University. Members of the advisory committee come from various military backgrounds, including veterans of the US Marine Corps, US Air Force, US Navy, US Army, US Coast Guard, as well as Air Force Reserves, and several military spouses, all who volunteer their time, talent, and expertise to ensure the festival provides an authentic view of the military experience and engages its audience through post-screening discussions.

About GI Film Festival San Diego
The festival presents films and events for, by, and about military and veterans. The event is organized by KPBS and partners with the Film Consortium San Diego to present the Local Film Showcase. The festival is funded in part by a grant from the California Arts Council and is sponsored by National University and Scatena Daniels Communications. Additional support is provided by Task & Purpose and the San Diego International Airport Arts Program. The GI Film Festival San Diego is an active member of the San Diego Veterans Coalition and the San Diego Military Family Collaborative.

About KPBS
KPBS serves San Diego and Imperial counties with trusted news and programs that tell the stories of our time. KPBS delivers this content to more than one million audience members weekly via multiple outlets, including television, radio, and digital media. As a public service of San Diego State University, education is a core value – from our children’s programming to our local news coverage. KPBS provides stories that make us think, help us dream, and keep us connected. For more information, visit kpbs.org.

About Film Consortium San Diego
The Film Consortium San Diego is a social venture that stimulates film and television production in the region and increases networking, employment, education, funding and distribution opportunities in film, television and new media. The Film Consortium hosts and organizes the San Diego Film Awards, San Diego Film Week, and various screening and networking events.