SFFS Presents: Full Battle Rattle October 17, 2008

The San Francisco Film Society will present a premiere of the engrossing new fly-on-the-wall documentary Full Battle Rattle, with directors Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss on hand for a post-screening Q&A, at 7:30 pm on Friday, October 17 at the Premiere Theatre Letterman Digital Arts Center.

Deep in the Mojave Desert lies the Fort Irwin National Training Center, where soldiers about to go to the Middle East receive a unique type of preparation. In the space of 1,000 square miles are 13 simulated Iraqi villages and about 1,600 “role players,” soldiers and civilians acting out a variety of real-world situations in loosely scripted yet malleable scenarios. Full Battle Rattle (USA 2008) focuses on one of these villages called Medina Wasl and the group of paid actors and soldiers who bring it to life. Among them is a diverse group of Iraqi Americans—including one undergoing deportation hearings—who hope to prevent needless deaths of Iraqi citizens and American soldiers through their participation. Hearing them and the soldiers discuss their increasing involvement and investment with their characters illustrates the effectiveness of the process. Directors Gerber and Moss, who embedded themselves in Fort Irwin for a full training rotation in order to make the film, show the many layers and ironies of the simulation, uncover the places where what is real and what is fake become incredibly blurred and hint at the pivotal role they hope it will play in ameliorating tensions overseas. With precision, finesse and humor, they illuminate this fascinating and surprising war game taking place within our borders. Photographed by Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss. 85 min. Distributed by Mile End Films.

Directors Gerber and Moss will participate in the Film Society’s new Meet the Maker series, featuring specifically focused presentations by guest filmmakers, 1 pm, October 18 at the San Francisco Film Centre Screening Room. Their discussion will focus on issues of access, point of view and structure as it relates to Full Battle Rattle as well as how their knowledge about both feature and documentary filmmaking informed their cinematic choices. Enrollment for Meet the Maker is limited.

Full Battle Rattle tickets: $10 for year-round SFFS members; $12.50 general; $11 seniors, students and persons with disabilities. Meet the Maker tickets: $10 for year-round SFFS members; $15 general. Buy tickets online at www.sffs.org or by calling 925.866.9559.
For more information, www.sffs.org.

Official Website: http://www.sffs.org/