Due to COVID-19, BRP’s inaugural hike has been postponed to the Fall of 2020.
Bastards' Road Wins Audience Award for Documentary Feature at Slamdance
Shocked and sobbing: Slamdance documentaries are powerful and important
“I may not know much about documentaries, but I know good storytelling when I see it, and “Bastards’ Road” is an emotional masterpiece. The story comes together by centering on Jon’s physical trip and visits with his fellow Marines while constantly weaving in the rest of the pieces—Jon’s background in the military, his struggles with PTSD and suicide that led him to take the trip, information about veterans’ mental health struggles, and interviews with professionals and other 2/4 Marines and gold star families. The film is informative but highly personal, making statistics and concepts real by sharing the stories of individuals who are actually experiencing those realities. And while the entire film is 98 minutes of raw emotion, it also manages to balance that emotion, breaking up intense moments by interspersing breaks of gorgeous cinematography from Jon’s trip and comedic relief from Jon’s own charismatic personality.”
Podcast: Skillset Live Episode #152: Bastards' Road - Jon Hancock
Bastards’ Road wins “Best Documentary” award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Miller Meets World Podcast on Bastards' Road - Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Tony Miller | 1/22/2020
1-22-2020. I’m honored to share the story of another important documentary film premiering at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Bastards’ Road follows the healing journey of Marine Iraq War combat veteran Jon Hancock. Jon had the fortunate and unfortunate experience of fighting in the Battle of Ramadi in 2004. Ramadi was the center for insurgency in Iraq, Jon’s deployment troupe was called the Magnificent Bastards and 1 of every 4 members were either wounded or killed. The film follows Jon as he walks 6 thousand miles across the country to visit all of his battalion members or their family as a way to try and begin to adapt to post-combat civilian life. It is a detailed, graphic, personal and revealing look at the sometimes insurmountable challenge of returning to life after combat. Over 60 thousand veterans committed suicide from 2008 to 2017, and Jon attempted suicide, but fortunately, he was unsuccessful.
Santa Barbara International Film Festival - Bastards' Road Movie Review
“I’m no expert on documentaries about the unfortunately ever-irrelevant subject of veterans — their stories, homecomings, and internal pride and torments. But I have born witness to the best veteran doc in my experience, as of yesterday’s world premiere of Bastards’ Road. The screening, with gruffy articulate veterans advocate Jonathan Hancock in-house for a Q&A, may also qualify as this festival’s most tear-inducing film/event. We cried for the specifics of the film and it’s tough emotionality, we cried for this soldier’s face, and for the ceaseless specter of war.”
