We regret to inform you is a film only 11 minutes long but has the potential of making an impact for decades, if not generations. The rest of the film illuminates the longing that underlies that question. It is a love story and a deeply moving exploration of the healing power of compassion. A very powerful, yet quiet, film, regret to inform develops a yetunseen perspective. On january 1, 1968, barbara sonneborns husband, jeff gurvitz, left to fight in vietnam. In this film made over ten years, filmmaker barbara sonneborn goes on a pilgrimage to the vietnamese countryside where her husband was killed. Apr 26, 2016 a short film inspired by the literary form of the lyric essay that explores the pivotal moments of grief and the grey area between the living and the dead through subjective points of view. The film continued on to the competitions international level at the terminus film festival where it received a nomination for best cinematography. Regret to inform 1999 rotten tomatoes movie trailers.
Regret to inform is a beautifully filmed oscarnominated documentary which allows viewers to follow director barbara sonneborn as she travels to vietnam to the site of her husbands wartime death. It has expanded my understanding of sorrow and suffering, of love and joy. Regret to inform perspective is everything in the oscarnominated docu regret to inform. It took her 20 years to work up the courage to listen to it. A short film inspired by the literary form of the lyric essay that explores the pivotal moments of grief and the grey area between the living and the dead through subjective points of view. Regret to inform is a marvelous film in that, moving past the horrors of war, both physical and emotional, sonneborns story and all of those her film captures reveal that the mutual loss between all involved ultimately leads to a shared understanding. She and translator and fellow war widow xuan ngoc nguyen explore the meaning of war and loss on a human level. The volume of requests we receive makes individual feedback impossible, but please know that you were given careful consideration. We regret to inform you took the awards of best cinematography luke momo, best director emmi shockley, best actor kyle kelly and won a jury award winner at the campus movie festival. Eight weeks later, on february 29, 1968, he crawled out of a foxhole during a mortar attack to rescue his.
It was also nominated at the oscars for best documentary. Regret to inform s social and historical message has made the film and the director very soughtafter at a number of festivals worldwide. After airing on pbs pov, regret to inform won a peabody award in 2000 the film was made over a span of ten years. Regret to inform is a documentary film that won seven awards, including a 1999 independent spirit award, and two 1999 sundance film festival awards. Regret to inform weaves together stories of widows from both sides of the. Regret to informs social and historical message has made the film and the director very soughtafter at a number of festivals worldwide. Listen by lauren stinson we regret to inform you 2015, is an 11 minute documentary short that confronts the societal idea that having a physical disability limits your academic capabilities, and overall productiveness by showing it is untrue. Regret to inform directed by barbara sonneborn, 1998 a common complaint about filmic representations of the vietnam war, particularly those produced in hollywood, is that the films tend to focus too narrowly on the personal relationships of the characters involved, ignoring not only the political context of the war but also the viewpoint of its vietnamese participants. We never talked about the possibility that he would have to kill.
Regret to inform in this academy award nominee, filmmaker barbara sonneborn is compelled to make a brave pilgrimage to the remote vietnamese countryside where her husband died. It is a love story, and a deeply moving exploration of the healing power of compassion. The film weaves interviews with vietnamese and american. It affected me enough that i regret to inform you that this video should be clearly labeled as to its content, and correctly placed in the propaganda category. Regret to inform superbly portrays the lasting devastation of the vietnam war as seen through the eyes of women, both american and vietnamese, who lost their husbands. The director is currently writing and thinking about projects that will take the ideas of this film further. Chapter from a peoples history of the united states by. A documentary that premiered in competition at the 1999 sundance film festival, regret to inform analyzes the vietnam war from the point of view of the women who lost the men they loved. In this film made over ten years, filmmaker barbara sonneborn goes on a. But in 1973, he was a high school english teacher living in a doublewide trailer, writing stories at lunch and fielding rejection letter after rejection letter from publishers. With regret and best wishes, the art class andasol avenue elementary school. Regret to inform was also nominated for an academy award. Barbara sonneborn wrote, directed, produced, and narrated the feature, which chronicles her trip to vietnam to visit the place where her.
Regret is a conscious negative emotional reaction to an undesirable situation regret is related to perceived opportunity. I regret to inform you i am sorry that i must inform you now. We had talked about the possibility of jeff dying, barbara remembers, in the narration of regret to inform. Indepth stories about some of the women in regret to inform are located at the widows of war living memorial. Welcome to the premiere episode of we regret to inform you. We regret to inform you that little women is not a feminist novel. Little women, louisa may alcotts novel about jo marc, soon to be a greta gerwig movie starring saoirse ronan, is having its 150th anniversary. Regret to inform is a documentary directed by barbara sonneborn. Regret to inform directed by barbara sonneborn, 2000. Its intensity varies over time after the decision, in regard to action versus inaction, and in regard to selfcontrol at a particular age. In the florida panhandle lies the provincial town of marianna, florida, where one native.
Were sorry to say that little women is not a feminist novel. After airing on pbs pov, regret to inform won a peabody award in 2000. It was nominated for an academy award for best documentary feature. She explores the meaning of war and loss on a human level and weaves interviews with vietnamese and american widows into a vivid testament to the chilling legacy of war. Directed and written by barbara sonneborn featuring xuan. Sun fountain productions, the nonprofit organization that produced and distributes the regret to. Regret to inform is a powerful mediation on loss and the devastation of all war on a personal level. We regret to inform you that no suitable match has been found to accompany you to the school dance. On it, she heard his voice saying he felt like a bystander to his own lifewatching myself do. Regret to inform is a beautifully filmed oscarnominated documentary which allows viewers to follow director barbara sonneborn as she travels to vietnam to the site of her husbands wartime death on january 1, 1968, barbara sonneborns husband, jeff gurvitz, left to fight in vietnam. The selfrecrimination which comes with regret is thought to spur corrective action and adaptation. Available at quadflix, new york citys ultimate indie store.
Regret to inform a moving film extremely enjoyable as a vietnam veteran depicts the effects on those at home perfectly tony green. Heidi janz awardwinning playwright, accomplished academic, and selfdescribed crip has a curious problem. Regret to inform opens with vietnamese women singing oh husband, where are you. The video jacket claims it is deeply affecting, and it is quite correct. In addition to the interviews, sonneborn includes family snapshots, military memos, and archival war footage of a conflict described by one refugee as all gray, like the smoke of the.
It even has a cameo appearance of a black cat named awkward, which. The film weaves interviews with vietnamese and american widows into. It is a love story, and a deeply moving testament to the healing power of compassion. It was nominated for an academy award in 1998, won the independent spirit award in 1999, and won for best director, best cinematographer and feature documentary at. Making this film has been jeffs gift to me, sums up sonneborn.
Regret to inform nr, 1 hr 12 min documentary, special interest. Regret to inform is a 1998 american documentary film directed by barbara sonneborn. After viewing the documentary film regret to inform, students examine the impact of the vietnam war on the lives of war widows from all sides of the conflict. Indepth stories about some of the women in regret to inform are located at. In a checkbox society that functions by dividing us into neatlydefined categories, where does someone with a strong mind and a weak body fit in.
Naata is copresenting the films public television broadcast on pov in early 2000 regret to inform will be rebroadcast in 2005 as part of the true lives series, a copresentation of american public television and american documentary, inc. Eight weeks later, on february 29, 1968, he crawled out of a foxhole during a mortar attack to rescue his radio operator and was killed. We regret to inform you an impactful film edmonton sun. Instead of again chronicling american losses in vietnam, barbara sonneborn, herself a war widow, expands. Jun 22, 2016 listen by lauren stinson we regret to inform you 2015, is an 11 minute documentary short that confronts the societal idea that having a physical disability limits your academic capabilities, and overall productiveness by showing it is untrue. The documentary features filmmaker barbara sonneborn as she goes to the vietnamese countryside where her husband was killed. Presents the stories of grieving american widows and the accounts of wives of north vietnamese and viet cong soldiers.
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