The first teaser trailer debuted today for the new documentary feature film You Are Not A Soldier – a powerful, ground-zero account of survival, fatherhood, life, and death – which will have its world premiere at the upcoming Hot Docs Festival’s “Systems Down” section.
You Are Not A Soldier is directed by Maria Carolina Telles and co-directed by Aleksei Abib. Abib is also the writer.
Director Maria Carolina Telles’ father was a dedicated soldier who was drawn to the complexities of war. In an attempt to understand what drove her father’s desires, Telles dives into the story of award-winning war photographer André Liohn. Like Telles’ father, Liohn is a man who struggles with his own internal grief, often choosing to immerse himself in some of the world’s most notorious conflict zones. Highly decorated for his work, including the prestigious Robert Capa Gold Medal, his life takes a drastic turning point shortly after the death of his colleagues Marie Colvin, James Foley, Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros. Having witnessed immeasurable suffering and fear, he begins to question his motives for placing himself in such danger and examines the disturbing but fine line between the life and death he has witnessed and to what end he will go to reveal those truths.
“You Are Not A Soldier is an ode to survival and love. It is my anti-war sigh,” says director Maria Carolina Telles. “The film is also a way of talking about overcoming grief.”
Aleksei Abib, co-director and screenwriter, adds: “This is a story of a father and daughter’s relationship. A resurrecting secret in the desert of life.”
“You Are Not A Soldier was created to have a global reach from the beginning. The debate about the future of journalism is one of the great themes of the 21st century. We live in a moment of humanity with more than 80 million displaced people with wars, starvation, and growing pandemic numbers. André’s world is cruel, but the film also brings us a poetic and hopeful vision through images of his intimacy with his children and with the female lens of director Carol Telles. We are extremely proud of our filmmakers and excited to share this powerful documentary with the world,” says Sabrina Nudeliman Wagon, CEO of Elo Company, a distribution and production company based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Watch first teaser trailer for You Are Not A Soldier