Film Fest To Dedicate Entire Day To Veterans Movies

The inaugural Round Top Film Festival (RTFF) has unveiled its first programming announcement, featuring a series of screenings dedicated to honoring America’s veterans. Set for Sunday, November 10, this special veterans programming slate will take place just before Veterans Day in recognition of those who have served in the military. Sponsored by Cibolo Creek Ranch, the lineup includes the Texas premiere of Behind the Lines, short film The Promised Land, feature film MVP and the Academy Award-winning Apollo 13 – along with veteran-focused discussions, Q&A sessions and additional special events.

The RTFF veterans programming will kick off at the Concert Hall at Festival Hill, starting with a combined screening of The Promised Land and MVP at 10 a.m. Directors Rebecca Murga (The Promised Land) and Nate Boyer (MVP) will be present for a joint Q&A following the films.

The Promised Land (RTFF Documentary Short Competition Selection) documents first-person accounts of veteran homelessness in and around the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs property. The film’s director previously served as a Public Affairs Officer in the United States Army, during which time she was deployed to Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan; she was subsequently awarded a Bronze Star for her deployment as one of the first women attached to Navy SEALS and Special Forces.

MVP (Special Presentation), is a narrative feature that spotlights the struggle many veterans face after their military service comes to a conclusion and charts the intersection between veterans’ difficulties in adjusting to post-service life and the corresponding struggle faced by many former professional athletes after they retire. Inspired by true events, MVP charts the formation of non-profit Merging Vets & Players, which was founded in 2015 by FOX NFL personality Jay Glazer and the film’s director and former Green Beret Nate Boyer, who also spent time in the NFL for the Seattle Seahawks, to address the challenges that combat veterans and former professional athletes face in transition once their respective uniforms come off.

A special Intermission will feature additional noteworthy components, including a onesong performance from singer- songwriter Erick Baker and a flyover by a North American Aviation T-6 Texan fighter jet – a type of aircraft utilized to train pilots from both American and British air forces for a number of years, including during World War II.

In the afternoon, Round Top Film Festival will present a special screening of the seminal 1995 film Apollo 13 beginning at 2pm. A post-film Q&A will include co-screenwriter Bill Broyles – who is himself a decorated veteran who was drafted into the Marine Corps in 1969 and served in the Vietnam War – and Texas Monthly contributor Stephen Harrigan, who is a New York Times bestselling author, an accomplished screenwriter and a distinguished Texas historian. In addition to contributing to Texas Monthly since its early days, Harrigan’s editorial work has appeared in notable publications such as Esquire, National Geographic, Slate and The Wall Street Journal.

Directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Ed Harris, and Gary Sinise, Apollo 13 portrays the harrowing events that took place aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft in 1970 that was the fifth manned mission to the moon under the Apollo space program banner. Nominated for multiple Academy Awards, including a nomination for co-writers Bill Broyles and Al Reinert, the film garnered substantial critical and commercial success when released.

“The veteran-centric film slate at Round Top Film Festival is indicative of the festival’s core ethos of providing meaningful programming that speaks to a number of different aspects of society, and the sacrifices that the men and women of the armed forces have made and continue to make to protect the country’s citizens is tantamount among those,” stated RTFF programming director Mickey Duzdevich. He added, “I am eager for attendees to be able to take in these three distinct films and to listen to and be part of stirring conversation around veterans’ affairs and how efforts are being made to improve the lives of those who have given so much to this country that means so much to each of us. These three selections represent a slice of a multi-faceted and diverse lineup of films that will appeal to all different types of filmgoers; we look forward to sharing more on the lineup, attending filmmakers, and special events and panels in a few weeks.”

As part of the festival’s concluding Awards Brunch & Celebration, sponsored by Farrell and Rebecca Kubena, Round Top Film Festival will host a veterans conversation at the Round Top Rifle Hall for filmmakers and passholders at the Luminary level and above, starting at 10am. The Rifle Hall has a rich history as Fayette County’s oldest German social club, formed in 1873. Kicking off the Awards Brunch festivities will be a parachute jump from Jared Hall carrying the U.S. banner. Jared is a retired Police Officer and member of the Flights for Freedom Parachute Team, formed by former members of the US Army Golden Knights and other Veterans. The veterans conversation will include Bill Broyles, Rebecca Murga, Nate Boyer and RJ Casey, a prolific stunt actor (Dunkirk, Inception and Extraction 2), the co-founder of Four Branches Bourbon and a veteran who boasts 35 years of special operations, full spectrum personnel recovery, humanitarian assistance, and disaster response experience in the Army Special Forces, Air Force Special Warfare and several other government agencies. The wide-ranging conversation will cover a number of topics, including the veteran-themed films being presented at the fest. Brunch will be provided by Royers Round Top Café, a Texas country bistro serving gourmet comfort food and nationally recognized pies.

The Round Top Film Festival will close out its inaugural year with a 5:30pm screening of the Texas premiere of Behind the Lines, based on Andrew Carroll’s New York Times best seller Letters of a Nation, Behind the Lines, and War Letters and inspired by a subsequent stage play. A special Q&A following the premiere will include Director John B. Benitz and subject Andrew Carroll.

“John B. Benitz’s documentary Behind the Lines, tells the story of Carroll’s life mission to travel the world seeking out war letters. Over the past 25 years, he has preserved more than 200,000 correspondences from troops, veterans and their families, dating from the American Revolution to present day Ukraine. In Behind the Lines, we accompany Carroll on his continuing quest; one of fact finding but also tremendously emotional. This is captured evocatively when letters written by soldiers, some of whom having lost their lives only a day after having written them, are read by various actors such as Laura Dern and Gary Cole. The film is narrated by Annette Bening. – Adam Schartoff (Woodstock Film Festival) More broadly, in the coming weeks, RTFF will open up a pop-up box office location on Oct. 18 at 106 North Washington Street in Round Top. The temporary box office will be open from 10 am to 4 pm daily (closed Sundays), leading up to the festival. Single Day passes (with and without transportation) and full festival passes are also available via the Round Top Film Festival website. The festival takes place Nov. 7 - 10, 2024. For more info visit: www.roundtopfilmfest.org.