Description

From the idyllic island of Kosrae to the perilous battle grounds of Afghanistan, ISLAND SOLDIER tells the stories of three Micronesian soldiers fighting for the U.S. — their conflicts, their victories, and their heartbreaks — to unmask the untold reality of a community coerced into fighting a foreign nation’s wars and then being summarily practically discarded.

Considered a “recruiters paradise” for the American military, Micronesians flock to the U.S. armed forces in mass numbers. Although the archipelago is an independent nation, due to a compact signed when the former U.S. territory gained its independence, nearly each person in its small population is intimately connected to the U.S. military. However, upon their discharge from the military, Micronesian veterans remain foreigners to the U.S., rendering many of the standard benefits that service affords inaccessible to them and their families. Moreover, with such a high proportion of youth leaving the islands, the local economy is but a skeleton of its potential. Who are these unsung warriors and what is the fate of a nation caught in the crosshairs of a super power’s battles?

—Emily San Nicolas

Expected attendees:
Director: Nathan Williams Fitch

Co-Presenter: Asian Pacific Fund 

Credits

Producers: Nathan Fitch, Fivel Rothberg, Bryan Chang
Writers: Nathan Fitch, Bryan Chang
Cinematographer: Nathan Fitch
Editor: Bryan Chang

Preceded By

1. 

   Lady Eva

   Dean Hamer / Shorts / Tonga / 2017 / Documentary / 11 mins

   On the island of Tonga, the last kingdom in the Pacific, modern ways clash with traditional values. LADY EVA tells the story of one brave transgender woman ostracized by her family for unabashedly choosing to represent her true self.

   Precedes: Island Soldier

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