Hell and Back Again
| Hell and Back Again | |
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| Directed by | Danfung Dennis |
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| Music by | J. Ralph |
| Cinematography | Danfung Dennis |
| Edited by | Fiona Otway |
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88 minutes |
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| Box office | $40,634 |
Hell and Back Again is a 2011 American-British-Afghan documentary film produced, shot, and directed by Danfung Dennis, about a sergeant in the United States Marines Corps who returns from the Afghanistan conflict with a badly broken leg and post-traumatic stress disorder.
On January 24, 2012, the film was announced as one of the five nominees for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Director Dennis worked as a war photographer in Afghanistan beginning in 2006, however, he became increasingly frustrated with photojournalism. He switched to films and new media to try to "shake people from their indifference to [the Afghanistan] war" and to present a "brutally honest experience of war". Dennis already had begun filming for some time when he was given the opportunity in July 2009 to spend four weeks with the U.S. Marines Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. The unit took part in Operation Khanjar, the then-largest air operation since the Vietnam War. On the first day with the Marines, he met Nathan Harris when, despite the high temperatures, Harris gave him his last bottle of water. At first, the film was only focused on the situation in Afghanistan and was going to be titled Battle for Hearts and Minds. Parts of the former film material were used for the segment "Obama's War" in the documentary series Frontline.
Dennis decided seven months later that Harris would be the person around whom the documentary would revolve. At the Marines' homecoming, Harris did not get off the bus, at which point Dennis learned Harris had been wounded. He made contact with Harris after this and invited Dennis to his home. Dennis spent a total of a year with Harris and his wife.
In six months, approximately 100 hours of footage was shot. Dennis and editor Fiona Otway worked closely in the formulation of the visual style. They discussed their views about the war, where it became clear that popular images of war were at odds with Dennis' experiences.
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Wikipedia