About the filmmakers

Brent and Craig Renaud are brothers and filmmakers who were raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. Since April 2004, the Renaud brothers have been following the men of the 39th Brigade of the Arkansas National Guard in Iraq as well as their families back home in Clarksville, Arkansas. For 10 years, the Renaud brothers have been working with celebrated documentary filmmaker Jon Alpert and his production company Downtown Community TV Center (DCTV) on award-winning projects in places like Afghanistan, Cambodia, Bolivia, China, Pakistan and Iraq.

About the Discovery Times Channel

Discovery Times Channel (www.discovery.com/times) combines the journalistic authority of The New York Times with the programming excellence of Discovery Communications to bring viewers provocative, engaging and relevant documentary series and specials about the events and ideas shaping our times. The network has won multiple industry honors for its breakthrough programming — including three Emmys, an Overseas Press Club Award, three National Headliner Awards, a BANFF Rockie Award, an International Documentary Association honor and two AWRT Gracie Awards. In addition, the network has had films premiere at various film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, SilverDocs Film Festival and the Tokyo Video Festival. Available to more than 37 million subscribers in the United States, Discovery Times Channel is a joint venture between The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) and Discovery Communications, Inc., the leading global real-world media and entertainment company.

About DCTV

Off to War is produced by Brent and Craig Renaud. Jon Alpert is executive producer for DCTV.




Off to War Community Project

The Off to War Community Project is a series of free community forums that invite individuals to experience the war in Iraq from an extremely intimate perspective - through the eyes and experiences of a National Guard unit from Arkansas. The centerpiece of the conversations is a sneak preview of Discovery Times Channel's upcoming documentary miniseries, Off to War. The series premieres on Saturday, October 15, 2005 at 10 PM (ET/PT).

Hosted by local organizations and moderated by well known thought-leaders, the forums will feature one or both of the young filmmaking brothers, Brent and Craig Renaud, natives of Arkansas. They spent two years following the men from 39th Brigade of the Arkansas National Guard on the frontlines while simultaneously capturing the lives of their loved ones back home. At each event, a panel of journalists, commentators and others who have been affected by the war will use the film as a touchstone for honest dialogue about the human costs of armed conflict in the 21st century.

The heart of the forums will be community members themselves, because even though Iraq is a constant feature in the news, people have few opportunities to talk about the war from a range of perspectives: What does a distant war mean to local communities? How do we learn about war, and what is our media's responsibility? How does technology - the use of digital cameras, cell phones and satellites - bring the war closer to Americans left at home?

The Off to War series offers an unprecedented opportunity to focus Americans on these and other philosophical, political and practical questions. The film captures the human dramas of the Guardsmen themselves as they are deployed, train, battle and finally return to their communities. The series also follows the families who remain in Arkansas and witnesses the impact on the lives and livelihoods for all involved.

The Off to War Community Project is a collaboration between Active Voice and Discovery Times Channel.

For more information, to organize a campus screening, or to download a discussion guide, contact info@activevoice.net. Or contact Grace Eng at Active Voice, 415.553.2841.

To learn more about Off to War on Discovery Times Channel, visit www.discovery.com/times.

Download The Off to War Discussion Guide
(pdf: 1.65mb)
Download The Off To War Resource Guide
(pdf: 985kb)

 
Praise
"Nothing on network TV or cable news comes close to showing the war's toll on the soldiers and their families back home like Off To War."

Aaron Barnhart
Kansas City Star

"...most intimate and memorable look at Americans in the Iraqi conflict."

The New York Times
"Brent and Craig Renaud's video verite item focuses on the transition from civilian to military life, following members of the Arkansas National Guard from their rural family enclaves through preparation for deployment to their early days in Iraq. Ranging from naive teens to pudgy middle-agers (including one father and son who serve together), these former turkey farmers and sales reps are hardly the stuff of recruitment posters. The long goodbyes given by wives, siblings, and others add a poignant note to this portrait of small-town folks caught up in a global war."

Village Voice