A documentary uncovering one of the Vietnam War’s most overlooked stories is coming to theaters. Soul Patrol, which won the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary at Sundance, follows the first all-Black special operations team to operate behind enemy lines.
Director J.M. Harper sat down with the surviving members of this elite unit, who reunite in a hotel room 50 years after the war. Using raw Super 8 footage, photographs, and audio recordings from their personal archives, the film reconstructs their mission with an intimacy rarely seen in war documentaries.
The setting becomes surreal as the men grapple with memory, brotherhood, and unresolved trauma. At the core is a painful contradiction: fighting for freedom abroad while facing inequality at home.
Harper adapted the film from Ed Emanuel’s memoir. The project was produced by Sam Bisbee, Harper, Danielle Massie, Peter Bittenbender, and Nasir Jones.
Critics are calling it essential. The Hollywood Reporter praised it as “jolting and heartbreaking,” while Variety noted its contribution to understanding both the Vietnam War and Black history.
Soul Patrol opens November 6 at IFC Center in New York, then expands November 13 to LA and nationwide through Kino Lorber. For indie filmmakers tackling buried history, this is a master class in reconstruction and access.
A queer Puerto Rican filmmaker and his mother built miniature sets, stepped in front of green screens, and used motion capture to bring their dead family members back to life.
Nineteen documentary filmmakers from 14 countries are getting some serious financial backing from Sundance Institute’s Documentary Fund. The organization just announced over $1 million in unrestricted grants for nonfiction projects at every stage of production.
Sundance Institute just dropped over $1 million across 19 documentary projects from 14 countries. The grants support filmmakers at every stage, from early development through final edits.
