Fight Like Soliders Die Like Children


 

Wow. I’m super stoked to finally be able to post this. Without question, this was my favourite project of 2012.  I love working on films and to be involved in such a powerful piece of filmmaking was an honour and a privilege.

Fight Like Soldiers is a documentary feature film from director Patrick Reed and  White Pine Pictures based on the second book by Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire, the former head of the doomed UN peace keeping mission in Rwanda during the genocide. The film details Dallaire’s crusade into abolishing the use of children in warfare around the world.

Working through The Studio Upstairs, I and my esteemed colleague Hector Herrera were tasked with creating material for sections of the film that were simply impossible to shoot. Based on passages from Dallaire’s book, we had to tell the story of an unnamed child’s journey through abduction, indoctrination, murder and ultimately death.

To accomplish this task, we created a series of  animated vignettes that appear over the course of the film.  Narrated by an actual former child soldier, the pieces employ a mixture of design styles and lean heavily towards the allegorical.

Let me just say — this movie is an emotional gut punch. For all those who watched and were moved by the Kony campaign earlier this year, I highly suggest you seek this film out. It carries just as much emotional weight but provides incredible insight into the players, the politics and the scale of these atrocities. It’s currently on the festival circuit but keep an eye out for a wider release in the new year.

I’d also like to give a shout out to Kevin Christopher at KC Fonts. He’s got a great collection of fonts that you should totally check out!