“The Maine National Guard is giving life-size from-the-waist-up pictures of soldiers to the families of deployed guard members. Guard officials and families say the cutouts, known as Flat Daddies or Flat Soldiers, connect families with a relative who is thousands of miles away. The Flat Daddies are toted everywhere from soccer practice to coffee shops to weddings.”
Using these two-dimensional surrogates as a connecting thread, the documentary tells the stories of four such families, from suburban Minnesota, the Bronx, Las Vegas and rural Maine, as they unfold over the course of a year. Each family represents a unique perspective on the war effort and the difficulties of deployment; together, they weave a nuanced narrative of how military families are coping in post-9/11 America as combat operations enter their tenth year.
Directors Nara Garber and Betsey Nagler will screen their work-in-progress documentary, Flat Daddies, on September 29 at 92YTribeca. Both will be present for a post-screening discussion with IFP‘s Rose Vincelli.
Upcoming Film at 92YTribeca: Leonard Cohen, Songs from the Road (Sep 16); Tom Zé: Astronauta libertado (Sep 22); Irrational Reactions: The Animated Worlds of John R. Dilworth (Sep 23) and the New York City Short Film Festival: Program A, B and C (Sep 24, 25)
