I’m thrilled to share that David Brodie’s short doc, The Volunteer, premieres at the 27th Annual Kansas City FilmFest on March 26, 2023. David is an award winning filmmaker and KC native, so this is an extra special location for the team.
Principal photography started back in April of 2018. This is the first film that I used my (then) newly acquired GL Optics Contax Zeiss Prime lens set. I still love that set of full frame vintage glass.
We continued filming intermittently for the next few years. David initially planned for a feature-film and we gathered tons of amazing footage for solid one. In the end, David decided the film would be more successful as a thirty-five minute short. This edit utilizes a larger proportion of the footage that our Alabama Unit DP, Sean Kirby, captured.
Sadly, our main subject of the film never saw the final film. Bruce passed away on January 11, 2021. On a rainy Los Angeles winter day soon after, David sent me the current feature cut of the film. I could hardly contain my emotions watching this moving film. We spent a good deal of time with Bruce during filming and his passing hit us all hard.
THE VOLUNTEER (35 MIN. / USA) Bruce Nakashima, a Japanese-American combat veteran, searches for LV, the friend who saved his life in the Vietnam War, when other soldiers mistook Bruce for a member of the Viet Cong. As he struggles to overcome the guilt, trauma, and anger about the past, Bruce tries to find a sense of belonging in his country.
I hope you have a chance to watch our film. David also spoke with Carmela of “We Are Moving Stories recently. Stay tuned for more updates. In the meantime, here’s a gallery of my favorite frame grabs from the film.
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