Almost Sunrise

Haunted by memories of war, two Iraq veterans walk together across America and discover an unlikely way to recovery.

Series
POV
Premiere Date
November 13, 2017
Length
90 minutes
Funding Initiative
Open Call
  • Nominated laurels-r Created with Sketch.
    2017 News and Documentary Emmy Awards-Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary
  • Award laurels-r Created with Sketch.
    2018 CINE Golden Eagle Awards-CINE Golden Eagle Award - Current Affairs or Investigations
  • Award laurels-r Created with Sketch.
    2016 Mountainfilm in Telluride-Moving Mountains Prize
    • Director

    Michael Collins

    Michael is an Emmy and Grierson nominated filmmaker and the founder of Thoughtful Robot, a film production company committed to telling stories that galvanize change. Michael’s recent film ALMOST SUNRISE is the first film about Òmoral injuryÓ and its connection to the veteran suicide crisis. The film premiered at Telluride Mountainfilm in 2016 and has… Show more had 600+ screenings across the country, winning six major awards, including the Voice Award, and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Current-Affairs Documentary. Michael’s first film GIVE UP TOMORROW premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2011 and won the Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize for Best New Director. GIVE UP TOMORROW was selected for the Britdoc Impact Award and was nominated for an Emmy¨ Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism. Show less

    Other ITVS Films
    Give Up Tomorrow
    Voices of Resilience
    Producer

    Marty Syjuco

    Originally from the Philippines, Marty is two-time Emmy¨ nominated filmmaker whose first film Give Up Tomorrow premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival where it won the Audience Award and Special Jury Prize. The film went on to win 18 awards and has been seen by over 50 million viewers worldwide. His second feature, Almost Sunrise won a CINE Golden Eagle… Show more Award, played theatrically at the IFC Center in NYC, and was nationally broadcast on PBS/POV for Veterans Day. His recent film, Call Her Ganda was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award and was recently broadcast on POV’s 32nd season. Marty is a proud ITVS, Bertha, Sundance, Tribeca, Fledgling, Wyncote, and Good Pitch Fellow, and was invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences last summer. Show less

    Other ITVS Films
    Give Up Tomorrow
    Third Act
    Voices of Resilience

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    The Film

    Almost Sunrise follows two young men on an epic journey of healing. Haunted by memories of combat, Iraq veterans Tom Voss and Anthony Anderson are driven to drink and depression. Fearful of succumbing to the raging epidemic of veteran suicide (22 per day), they seek a lifeline. Together they embark on a 2,700 mile walk across America as a way to confront the inner torment that threatens to tear their lives apart.

    With the imminent draw down of troops in Afghanistan, this timely documentary is the first to explore the groundbreaking field of “moral injury” – the burden of intense shame arising when a soldier’s actions in the line of duty violate his moral beliefs.

    Almost Sunrise captures an intimate portrait of two friends who struggle with the unseen wounds of war as they discover an unlikely treatment: the restorative power, not of pills, but of silence and meditation.

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