Make a Movie Like Spike

Running time: 80 mins

Two young marines hold onto their dreams even in darkness.

Luis (Stargate Universe?s Jamil Walker Smith) and Ronald (American Gangster?s Malcolm Goodwin) are best friends with dreams that extend far beyond the confines of their small Los Angeles neighborhood. Ronald is a soon-to-be father and Luis is an aspiring filmmaker who?s documenting their last 36 hours at home before they?re both deployed to fight in Afghanistan.

Their story captures both hilarious and heartwarming moments at home, but when the men turn the lens back on themselves in their darkest moment in the Afghan war zone, we find that their dreams and hopes for the future mean something entirely different within the frame of the battlefield. Director and star Jamil Walker Smith?s powerful film begs us not to look just at statistics and numbers of troops deployed and casualties, but to explore the human aspects of war and the effect it can have on the people, friends and loved ones.

? Katherine Geiger

Preceded by the short film: 3 Hours; Director: Regan Hall; 14 min.; United Kingdom; When militants indiscriminately murder his young brother, Akram is out for revenge. Brotherhood, tragedy, revenge. The true story of one day in Baghdad.