Premiere of Bridging War & Hope
I gave a few introductory remarks before the premiere screening of Bridging War & Hope
Last night about 250 people gathered at Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park, Minnesota to watch the premiere of Bridging War & Hope. Beth El was a logical place to host the premiere for during the ADT’s Afghan deployment the congregation collected and sent over 60 care packages to the unit. Though none of the the Soldiers were members Beth El eagerly adopted them as their own.
It was a moving event for me. It was just over a year ago that I met with the CHS Foundation. CHS Foundation generously underwrote the entire production. During that meeting I was asked how I would plan on covering the story of the Minnesota National Guard in Zabul, and as I flash forward to tonight’s television premiere of the program I’m proud to say that the plan I presented is reflected in what you’ll see.
This pretty much wraps things up for this blog. It’s been a fantastic experience for me to be able to bring you all along as I prepared for the trip, traveled to Afghanistan, made sense of what I saw and finished the documentary. With that, here’s a link to Bridging War & Hope.
I’ve been booked for a few speaking engagements, if you like what you see and would like to host a screening for your group or organization drop me a line either on this blog, or at lheikkila (at) tpt.org.
Thanks for reading, and watching…
Luke
Great job with this documentary Luke! Thanks for sharing the story of the great work our soldiers are doing in helping the Afghan people!
truly my pleasure, thank you for your support and attention…hope you and yours are doing well.
Yes, doing well and thankful my soldier is home now. Will share your documentary on my blog too!
Dear Luke: I was sorry to miss the Beth El premiere but it was too far away for me at night. This evening I was very happy with the way you gave a good sense of being there too. I hope it is used extensively. I noted that the Afghans you photographed came from a number of different families, a mixed population which is not surprising since so many of them are descended from the re-settled semi pastoralists from the late 1940′s and early ’50s when the two high dams were being built and the whole area was being developed for agriculture on a much larger scale. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there would be a return visit and, hopefully, some happy changes for you and the 135th to see. If my “Afghan” son Philip ever manages to visit I would like very much for him to meet you. He is currently teaching about the Afghan Constitution and civics to people who are going over there to train the Afghan Army and police about their own political and civil rights nearly every two weeks and going abroad again to teach Polish replacements for ISAF.. Best wishes. Leila P
Dear Luke, Thanks for including all of us in your journey toward Bridging War and Hope. I feel honored to have read your blog throughout the project. I really enjoyed seeing the documentary on Saturday evening. I was proud of you and your family, proud of the soldiers, and felt welcomed by the people of Beth El congregation. Best wishes as you continue your work with the documentary and talking with folks around the region. I do have hope for the future.
Judy Graham