After two fantastic screenings on opposite coasts in recent weeks (San Diego, CA and Lincoln Center in NYC),  Not Yet Begun to Fight showed at The Emerson in Bozeman, Montana- where much of the film was shot.  More than 600 people packed the theater to enjoy the film on the big screen.  Filmmakers Shasta Grenier, Sabrina Lee, Justin Lubke and Wyatt Nelson joined Colonel Hastings (from the film) for a fantastic Q&A after.  And huge thanks to Michael Keaton for a heartfelt introduction, and to Claire Baker for moderating!

“Not Yet Begun to Fight” will screen at the 2012 San Diego Film Festival which takes place September 26-30^th. Dates and showtimes are yet to be announced. Producer/Director Sabrina Lee says, “The San Diego Film Festival is the perfect place for our California Premiere as a critical part of the film was shot at Balboa Naval Hospital. Sharing the film with the San Diego community will no doubt be a rewarding experience for the subjects in the film as well as the audience.” Both directors will be present at the screening and will hold a Q&A with the audience immediately following. Also present will be a few of the main subjects from the film who were injured in Iraq and Afghanistan that, after being released from the hospital, now call San Diego their home.

The San Diego Film Festival will be held at the Reading Theater in the Gaslamp Quarter and the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla. The mission of the San Diego Film Festival, produced by the not-for-profit San Diego Film Foundation, is to support the best in independent filmmaking while enhancing the diverse cultural landscape and economic vitality of San Diego. Film categories include narrative features, shorts and documentaries. For more information, visit http://www.sdfilmfest.com

NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT has been invited to screen at the beautiful NW Film Center (Whitsell Auditoruim, inside the Portland Art Museum) on Thursday, June 21st at 7PM.  Director Shasta Grenier will be in the house, as will Sergeant Erin Schaefer (ret.) from the film – seeing it for the first time!

NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT enjoyed four packed screenings (the 4th one added by popular demand) at the Mountainfilm in Telluride Festival over Memorial Day weekend.  Blake Smith and Eric Hastings (President, Warriors and Quiet Waters), both from the film, attended the weekend event along with Director Shasta Grenier.  The film received standing ovations and was awarded a Moving Mountains prize by Mountainfilm in Telluride – $3,000 to Warriors and Quiet Waters for the important work they do.  Thank you, Mountainfilm in Telluride for the opportunity to share the film!

What a fantastic week at the Florida Film Festival!   We had great attendance at both screenings, met wonderful people, received lots of good press (click on the press page to read/hear about it) and the film took home the 2012 AUDIENCE AWARD!  Huge thank you to all who turned out for the screenings, and gave the film your vote.  We are so honored the film is resonating with people.  And we look forward to sharing it across the country.  Next stop – Colorado – for Mountainfilm in Telluride!

Hope to see you there, or at a future screening…

-Shasta and Sabrina

We are headed south again… NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT was one of ten films selected to screen in the Documentary Feature Competition at the Florida Film Festival (which takes place in the Orlando area mid-April).  Screenings at The Enzian Theatre on Sunday, April 15th at 3PM and the Regal Winter Park Village on Wednesday, April 18th at 6:30PM.  Visit www.floridafilmfestival.com for tickets, more information, and to read about the rest of the award-winning line-up at the festival.

It is official!  NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT will premiere at the Atlanta Film Festival on Saturday, March 24th at 7PM at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema.  Producer/Director Sabrina Lee will be in the house for a Q&A after the screening.   Tickets available at www.atlantafilmfestival.com .  And check out the rest of the festival lineup… it is fantastic!

Click here to link to Not Yet Begun to Fight’s Facebook page!

We are heading into the final stretch with NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT… the film is almost complete!  The last post-production details including sound mix, color correction, and refining the score and graphics are just around the corner – a mere 16 months from when we began shooting.

Creating this film has been an amazing and beautiful process, as has been getting to know Blake, Mark, Erik, Erin, and Elliott – five remarkably courageous, intense and charismatic young men (three Marines, a Soldier, and a Navy SEAL). You can get a brief introduction to these warriors in the trailer and still photos.  We are so grateful to these veterans for sharing their stories and themselves.  Also, many thanks to Warriors and Quiet Waters for allowing us to tag along on the fishing expeditions.

Please check back often to learn about upcoming screenings (we expect to release the film to the festival circuit at some point in the Spring), read press on the film and related news, and to watch the new trailer (coming soon).  And we’d love to hear your thoughts and comments!

- Sabrina and Shasta

Sabrina has been exercising her creative vision and passion for story-telling for more than a decade. Previously a professional modern dancer and choreographer, in 2005 she turned her artistic eye toward documentary filmmaking after spotting a hand-painted sign in a cow pasture reading “Hip-Hop Show Tonight.” She was then inspired to make WHERE YOU FROM, the award-winning feature-length documentary about rural rap, which had a successful festival run and was acquired by IndiePix films in 2009. NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT, a provocative documentary about wounded warriors, was also produced and co-directed by Sabrina and will be released in the Spring of 2012. She completed her BA at Duke University, where she studied film (without her father’s consent) and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She lives in Montana with her husband and two children, breathing plenty of fresh air and encountering the occasional wild animal.