Hell and Back Again 2011
Previous FilmsWhat does it mean to lead men in war? What does it mean to come home – injured physically and psychologically – and build a life anew? HELL AND BACK AGAIN is a cinematically revolutionary film that asks and answers these questions with a power and intimacy no previous film about the conflict in Afghanistan has been able to achieve.
In this groundbreaking work of cinema, two overlapping narratives are brilliantly intercut — the life of a Marine at war on the front, and the life of the same Marine in recovery at home — creating both a dreamlike quality and a strikingly realistic depiction of how Marines experience this war.
The story follows the US Marines Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, as they launch a major assault on a Taliban stronghold in Southern Afghanistan. Within hours of being dropped deep behind enemy lines, Sergeant Nathan Harris’s unit is attacked from all sides. Cut off and surrounded, the Marines fight a ghostlike enemy and experience immense hostility from displaced villagers. Frustration grows on both sides, as any common ground, or success, seems elusive.
The parallel story begins with Sergeant Harris’s return home to his wife in the US, after he is severely injured. He’s in terrible physical pain, and becomes addicted to his pain medication. But his psychological pain may be worse, as he attempts to reconcile the immense gulf between his experiences at war, and the terrifying normalcy of life at home. These two stories intertwine to communicate both the extraordinary drama of war and the no less shocking experience of returning home, as a whole generation of Marines struggles to find an identity in a country that prefers to be indifferent.
The Filmmakers
Danfung Dennis, Director
Since 2006, Danfung Dennis has covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. His still photographs have been published in Newsweek, TIME, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Le Figaro Magazine, Financial Times Magazine, Mother Jones, Der Spiegel, and The Wall Street Journal. PBS’s Frontline opened its 2009 fall feature program, OBAMA’S WAR using Danfung Dennis’s footage. The immersive nature of the footage prompted a flurry of comment and inquiry from the Pentagon, the White House, veterans groups, viewers and the program was nominated for a 2010 Emmy Award.
In 2010, Danfung Dennis won the Bayeux-Calvados Award For War Correspondents, was named one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine and one of the 30 New and Emerging Photographers by PDN Magazine.
Danfung Dennis directed and filmed his first feature-length documentary on the war in Afghanistan, HELL AND BACK AGAIN and is the founder of an immersive video startup Condition ONE. His background is in Applied Economics and Business Management. Before working as a photojournalist and filmmaker, he consulted small and medium-sized enterprises in Uganda and South Africa.
Mike Lerner, Producer
Oscar-nominated producer, Mike Lerner has been producing arts, travel and popular culture documentaries for twenty five years. He has produced films in most countries around the world from the Middle East to South America and from Central Asia to the Far East.
He has produced films for BBC, Channel Four, Five, ITV, Discovery, HBO, PBS, Arte and Travel Channel; the subjects include Picasso, Turkmenbashi, The Sistine Chapel, Hawkwind and Afghanistan. He has won numerous awards including, Academy Nomination for Best Documentary Feature, 4 Sundance Awards (Grand Jury, Best Director, Audience, Cinematography), Grierson Award for Best Documentary, Prix Italia, nominated for 2 Royal Television Society Award and 2 IDA Awards, Cinema Eye Award, Independent Spirit Award, Gotham Independent Film Award, Winner of Alfred Dupont Award, Winner Best Documentary Moscow Film Festival, Winner Harrell Award for Best Documentary Camden International Film Festival.
Martin Herring, Producer
Martin Herring is known as a Director, Actor, Executive Producer and Producer. Some of his works include Jungle Sisters, Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer and Afghan Star.