DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION / USA / 72 MINUTES

SCREENING TIMES
Friday Jan 20 - 9:15 PM - Holiday Village Cinema III
Saturday Jan 21 - 9:15 AM - Holiday Village Cinema III
Saturday Jan 21 - 4:30 PM - Broadway Centre Cinemas VI, SLC
Wednesday Jan 25 - 11:30 AM - Prospector Square Theatre
Friday Jan 27 - 3:30 PM - Holiday Village Cinema II

PRESS SCREENING
Sunday Jan 22 - 12:00 PM - Yarrow 2


PRESS CONTACT
Nancy Willen
Acme PR
Office: 310-396-0443
Cell: 310-963-3433 (Sundance)
nancywillen@earthlink.net

Sales Contact: John Sloss Erin Heidenreich Cinetic Media Sundance: 435-645-9999 office@cineticmedia.com



THE GROUND TRUTH: AFTER THE KILLING ENDS
The military has long realized that war is fought on many fronts; the battle at home-getting the media to represent the war as a battle between clearly identifiable sides and include a transparent understanding of its mission-is as essential to victory as actions on the battlefield. Thus, Patricia Foulkrod's resonant examination of the war in Iraq is both a timely and welcome contrast that offsets the omnipresent flag-waving portraits of heroism and glory that have so dominated recent war reportage. Even more critically, the Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends doesn't simply inquire into policies about Iraq, but also scrutinizes the effects of modern warfare, especially on its combatants. The film follows the process of deception that is as intrinsic to the military as guns and MREs (meals ready to eat)-from recruitment to basic training, from battlefield orders to postwar support for wounds, both physical and emotional. And although after Vietnam post-traumatic stress disorder was widely recognized as a consequence of war, especially one where combatants and missions are cloudy, the military has steadfastly refused to acknowledge it or admit that it's happening again. The Ground Truth is an honest and powerful representation of what killing does to soldiers and the bravery it requires to come home and tell the truth.
-Geoffrey Gilmore-

CREDITS
Director, Producer: Patricia Foulkrod
Executive Producers: Faiz Kayyem, Louise Wannier, Andrew Mysko, Jodie Evans
Cinematographer: Reuben Aaronson
Editor: Rob Hall
Composer: Dave Hodge
Musical Contributors: Tom Waits, The Roots, Patti Griffin
Sound: Sam Lehman
Music Supervisors: Kevin Dowling and Robbie Adams


FILMMAKER BIO
Patricia Foulkrod began her career in film and television as an assistant in news and public affairs at WNET/13 in New York. She honed her producing skills on industrial films for such companies as Boeing Airplane Company, Mercedes Benz, Air France and Disney.

After moving to Los Angeles in the early 1980s, she produced the acclaimed 70 mm documentary THE LIVING SEAS, produced and directed THEY'RE DOING MY TIME, an hour-long PBS documentary focusing on children whose mothers are in prison, and later executive-produced a CBS Movie of the Week version of THEY'RE DOING TIME, which starred Angela Bassett. Foulkrod also co-produced the six-hour documentary series, THE NATIVE AMERICANS for Turner Broadcasting.

Foulkrod's credits include over 10 feature films including, The LINGUNI INCIDENT starring Rosanna Arquette and David Bowie and AMERICAN RHAPSODY starring Scarlet Johansson.

During California's contentious recall race in 2005, Foulkrod served as the Southern California Grassroots Director for Arianna Huffington's campaign for Governor. Additionally, she created Peace on the Beach, an event involving thousands of people forming a Picasso aerial image for peace. She has organized additional aerial images with John Quigley for Greenpeace, and for homeless war veterans, as part of the Discovery Channel's NOW.

FEATURED BIOS
(SOLDIERS WHO WILL BE ATTENDING SUNDANCE)

Specialist, US Army, Robert Acosta
When Acosta turned 18, he joined the army to get out of Santa Ana and see the world. He said of his decision, "if it weren't for the army, I'd probably be locked up right now." On July 13, 2003, he was gravely injured when a grenade was thrown into his Humvee. As he tried to throw the grenade out, it exploded. Acosta's left leg was shattered, and he lost his right hand. After returning home to Santa Ana, Acosta began to wonder what his military experience and time in Iraq was worth. He started questioning the hard-sell recruitment tactics that made had made so many promises and delivered on none. He moved in with his girlfriend Sandy Restrepo and decided the best way to educate young people and find peace with his own decisions, was to engage in counter recruitment activities. Acosta and Restrepo now work actively as military counter recruiters in Orange County, California area high schools; in the hope they can help students make informed decisions about their futures.

Medic and Military Policeman, CO National Guard, Kelly Dougherty
Dougherty served 8 years in the Colorado Army National Guard. She was deployed in the Balkans from 1999-2000 and in Kuwait and Iraq From February 2003 to February 2004. She came home from Iraq completely disillusioned by the human cost of war for both veterans and Iraqis, and became an outspoken opponent of the conflict. Dougherty became the co-founder and Southwestern coordinator of Iraq Vets Against the War and has spoken extensively in the US and abroad. She graduated from the University of Colorado in 2004 with a BS in Biology and is looking forward to attending ultrasound school in 2006. She currently resides in Colorado Springs.

1st LT. Platoon Leader, U.S. Nat. Guard, Paul Rieckhoff
Paul Rieckhoff, 30, enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves on September 15, 1998 and then served in the U.S. Army Reserves, as a Specialist with the 812th Military Police Company. Later, while working Wall Street, he transferred to the New York Army National Guard, graduating from Officer Candidate School in June 2001, where he was named a Distinguished Military Graduate. Rieckhoff left his position at J.P. Morgan on September 8, 2001 with plans to complete additional military training. September 11th changed his plans. He would soon served as a Platoon Leader in Iraq and returned to the US, nearly a year later, in February 2003. Determined to help the American public wake up and understand the war, and the conditions soldiers face in Iraq and at home, Paul created IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America - formerly Operation Truth), which now has hundreds of soldiers in the war zone and at home, coming together to create change. Still serving in the New York Army National Guard, Rieckhoff's first book, an account of his experiences titled Chasing Ghosts, is scheduled for publication by Penguin in 2006.

Corporal, USMC, Sean Huze
Huze, originally from Baton Rouge, LA, was a working actor in Los Angeles until September 11, 2001. On September 12th, 2001 Sean walked into the Marine Corps recruiter's office in Hollywood, CA and enlisted into the USMC. Serving with in the field with the 2nd LAR, he saw action from Nasirya to Tikrit. The unit pushed the furthest North of any Marine Corps unit during major hostilities. Huze received an honorable discharge in 2005 related to an injury he sustained in Nasirya. He was awarded a Certificate of Commendation citing his "courage and self sacrifice throughout sustained combat operations" while in Iraq. He has also been awarded the Combat Action Ribbon, Meritorious Promotion for Corporal, The Presidential Unit Citation, The Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, The National Defense Service Medal, and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. Huze is the author of the critically acclaimed play Sandstorm: Stories From the Front, which had two successful runs in LA and is currently in production in Washington, D.C. and Weasel, which made its debut at the Kennedy Center's Page 2 Stage Festival. He recently completed his third play The Dragon Slayer, which tackles Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and has recently been optioned by HK Pictures with principal photography scheduled to begin in April 2006.

US Army Reserve Specialist, Denver Jones
A native of rural North Carolina, Jones had been in the Army Reserves for over fifteen years. He re-enlisted after 9/11 and was deployed to Iraq. For the first time in his many years in the military, he became greatly disillusioned with the management of a conflict and also felt his capabilities undervalued. Jones was severely injured in a Humvee accident that shattered his spine and damaged his bladder. Aside from his physical injuries and as a result of his wartime experience, Jones also battles PTSD. He once enjoyed employment as a Federal Express mechanic, making $65,000 a year, now he is completely disabled, feels abandoned by his government and isolated from his community.