Where Soldiers Come From
| Where Soldiers Come From | |
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| Directed by | Heather Courtney |
| Produced by | Heather Courtney Megan Gilbride David Hartstein |
| Written by | Heather Courtney |
| Music by | This Will Destroy You |
| Cinematography | Heather Courtney Justin Hennard |
| Edited by | Kyle Henry Heather Courtney Tom Haneke |
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Release date
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Running time
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93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Where Soldiers Come From is a 2011 American documentary film directed by Heather Courtney. The film is an intimate look at a group of young American men who join the Michigan Army National Guard, their families, and the town they come from. Director Heather Courtney follows these young men closely, as they transition from small town teenagers to Army guardsmen during the war in Afghanistan. Their story continues to follow the 23-year-old veterans dealing with the less visible wounds of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and PTSD. It premiered at South by Southwest festival, where it won the best documentary editing award. In 2012 the film won a News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story (Long Form), as well as the Truer Than Fiction Independent Spirit Award.
Motivated by a variety of reasons from college tuition support to sense of purpose, best friends Dominic and Cole join the Army National Guard after graduating from their rural high school. After persuading several of their friends to join them, the young men are sent to Afghanistan as part of the 107th Engineer Battalion, 168th Engineer Brigade, where they are tasked with searching for roadside bombs in order to keep roads safe for other troops. By the time their deployment ends, they are no longer the carefree group of friends they were before enlisting; repeated bombs blasts around their convoys have led to TBI symptoms, and they have become increasingly disillusioned about their mission.
Coming home is no relief as they are now confronted with the silent war wounds of PTSD and TBI. The soldiers struggle with reintegration with society and some miss the simplicity in life they had while in Afghanistan. The latter half of the documentary focuses on their struggles on the home front and how each of them and their families try to return to normal life.
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