Third Annual GI Film Festival San Diego

Award-Winning Films, West Coast Premieres, and a Family Movie Night are on the Schedule: October 18-22

Now in its third year, the GI Film Festival San Diego will once again bring the untold stories of the United States military to life through film. The much anticipated five-day military film festival features eight West Coast premieres, along with several screenings, filmmaker appearances, and panel discussions from Wednesday, Oct. 18 through Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017 at various San Diego County venues. 
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The GI Film Festival San Diego is one of only a few film festivals in the entire United States to exclusively feature stories for, by, and about military service members and veterans. All access passes for the 2017 GI Film Festival San Diego are now available at GIFilmFestivalSD.org. Individual screening tickets will go on sale later this summer. All festival events will be open to the public with special discounted opportunities for active duty personnel and veterans.
 
The GI Film Festival San Diego’s opening night screening on Wednesday, Oct. 18 features the
West Coast Premiere of “The 2 Sides Project,” a post-Vietnam War focused documentary. The
film follows the unforgettable journey of six U.S. sons and daughters as they discover a country
and  people with whom they share a common history. In December 2015, American and Vietnamese sons and daughters—who had all lost fathers fighting on opposite sides during the war—held the first-ever formal meetings. The film captures the entire story, not just the transformative encounters, but the profoundly moving experiences these Americans had while visiting the sites where their fathers died, and the powerful encounters they had with the country itself. 
 
For the first time, the GI Film Festival San Diego will conduct screenings in North County San Diego at the Regal Carlsbad 12 on Thursday, Oct. 19. Additional screenings, filmmaker appearances, panel discussions, and related events will be held at AMC Mission Valley 20 on Saturday, Oct. 21 and Sunday, Oct. 22.

Family Movie Night returns to the USS Midway Museum
 
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Director Anthony Istrico is scheduled to attend opening night, as well as some of the people featured in the film.

The popular Family Movie Night will return to the USS Midway Museum on Friday, Oct. 20 as a
way to celebrate military families and provide a fun evening out after a busy week. This is the only family-related event for the festival this year. Festival organizers will announce the selected film title in the coming weeks and will work with partner organizations to provide complimentary tickets to local military families.
 
The military film festival will also feature the long-awaited Local Film Showcase on Sunday, Oct. 22. The Local Film Showcase highlights San Diego’s long and important military history. Official selections for the Local Film Showcase will be announced in the coming weeks. An Awards Celebration honoring the festival’s best from the Local Film Showcase will be held on Saturday, Oct. 21 at KPBS on the campus of San Diego State University.

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GI Film Festival San Diego is one of the few military film festivals in the U.S. Originating in Washington D.C. in 2007, festival organizers found it only fitting to bring the military-themed film festival to San Diego’s shores. Not only does San Diego host seven major bases between the Navy, Marines, and the Coast Guard, but the city was ranked the eighth best city for military veterans to live. Films selected for this year’s GI Film Festival San Diego feature diverse stories with themes ranging from women in the military, resiliency and recovery, transitioning, and the LGBTQ+ community. Selections also highlight military experiences from within the Hispanic, African American, and Asian cultures.
 
The San Diego festival features some of the best, award-winning films of the GI Film Festival held last May in Washington D.C. and Virginia. Wars covered in the films span from World War II to the present day conflicts. All major film genres will be presented including dramas, documentaries, and personal narratives in both short and feature length formats.
 
The 2017 GI Film Festival San Diego is organized by KPBS in partnership with the GI Film Group and Film Consortium San Diego. Official sponsors of the 2017 GI Film Festival San Diego include Kaminskiy Design and Remodeling, City National Bank, National City Mile of Cars, Altus Schools, Bob Baker Subaru, and GEICO Military with additional support from Scatena Daniels Communications. Alaska Airlines is the official travel sponsor.
 
About GI Film Group
The GI Film Group is a full-service media company dedicated to preserving the stories of military veterans. GIFG is the production entity behind the award-winning GI Film Festival (GIFF), a 501c(3), also known as “Sundance for the Troops,” which is held each May in Washington, D.C. The festival is the first in the nation to exclusively celebrate the successes and sacrifices of the service member through the medium of film.
 
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About Film Consortium San Diego
The Film Consortium San Diego LLC 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, Summer at the Drive-in and various screening and networking events.

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