In 2009, photojournalist and filmmaker Danfung Dennis was embedded with US Marine Echo Company as they launched a major helicopter assault on a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan.
Within hours they are attacked from all sides, as Dennis captures the frontline action with visceral immediacy. Sergeant Nathan Harris sustains a life-threatening injury.
When Sergeant Harris returns home to North Carolina, the film evolves into the story of one man's personal apocalypse. With the love and support of his wife, Ashley, Harris struggles to re-adapt to civilian life.
In immense pain, he grows addicted to his medication. His agony deepens as he attempts to reconcile the gulf between his experience of war and the terrifying normalcy of life at home.
The two realities seamlessly intertwine to communicate both the extraordinary drama of battle and, for a generation of soldiers, the shocking experience of returning home, as the film lays bare the true cost of war.
Hell and Back Again won the Grand Jury Award and the Cinematography Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.
True Stories commissions and showcases the best international feature documentaries.
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Hell and Back Again Tue 15 Nov 2011
In 2009, photojournalist and filmmaker Danfung Dennis was embedded with US Marine Echo Company as they launched a major…
- Strong language with graphic scenes and the consequences of war, which some viewers may find disturbing
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