About this project

WHAT'S THE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT?
During the Vietnam War, thirty-nine Tlingit men from the tiny village of Hoonah, Alaska saw combat. Thirty-eight came back alive, making Hoonah the American town with the highest per capita enlistment rate as well as the highest survival rate. The same skills that enabled them to survive the 9-month Alaskan winters made the Tlingit soldiers expert snipers and infiltrators in Vietnam.

Most of the men in Hoonah make their living as fishermen. While the men were on their tour of duty, a law was passed that prohibited fishermen from catching more fish than they had the year before -- so when the men returned home, they were robbed of their livelihoods. The law left many native men jobless while their old jobs were taken over by white men.

This feature-length documentary traces the tension between the soldiers' tremendous pride in service and the racism they encountered at home.

No one has produced a piece about the Tlingit experience and the Vietnam War. I feel privileged that most of the soldiers living in this close-knit and private community have entrusted me with producing this work. Many of these vets are contending with serious health issues (several are living with cancer) so capturing their stories this summer is of utmost importance. We owe it to them to give their histories a voice.

WHAT'S MY PLAN?
The most important thing right now is to get honest stories from the veterans. My plan is to go to Hoonah, Alaska for a month this August. I will have a small crew - just one or two people. I will interview about ten men and their loved ones and bring this untold American story to life.

WHAT'S UP WITH THE FIFTEEN GRAND?
1. Expenses for myself, a technical assistant and an additional assistant (hired locally in Hoonah) for the one-month shoot.
2. Crew airfare from NY to AK
3. Renting of equipment - camera, lights, sound, P2 cards and other misc. equipment.
4. Several external hard drives and possibly a computer for downloading purposes if I can't borrow one from a buddy.

HOONAH'S HEROS HAS FISCAL SPONSORSHIP - YES!!
I was recently accepted into Women Make Movies fiscal sponsorship program. If you are pledging a large amount and would like a tax write off, please contact me before donating directly to Kickstarter.

This is a labor of love. Big thanks for the video and music collaboration from Editor Extraordinaire Rosalie Wong, Super Shooter Martin Goeller and Comfortable Silence/Colin Mutchler, Pitx - Black Rainbow and Echoed - L.O.R.D 2010 (remastered version) for the seamless music.

Thank you so much for supporting Hoonah's Heros (and, yes, you can spell heroes either way :)

Project location: Hoonah, AK

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Project By

samantha farinella

Brooklyn, NY

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Samantha Farinella is a New York City-based queer feminist filmmaker and founder of One Angry Woman Productions. She has produced and directed six documentaries and four narrative shorts that have been featured in over 70 national and international film festivals including the London Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Outfest: L.A. Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, The Galway Film Festival, and The Guggenheim Museum.

Her most recent feature documentary LEFT LANE has eight awards to date, including honors in New Zealand, Paris, New York, Detroit and Kansas City among other places.

She also has extensive television production experience, producing award-winning behind the scenes and promo spots for numerous series including Degrassi: The Next Generation and South of Nowhere.

Farinella was brought to Madrid as Director of Photography for a documentary covering the response to the terrorist attacks in both NYC and Madrid. In November 2001 she was commissioned to photograph political graffiti art throughout Chile with a grant from Yale University.

Samantha has insatiable wanderlust, is an avid fan of the New York Yankees and enjoys a well made cocktail.

1. samanthafarinella.com