Good News and Bad News for THE FIGHT TO FIGHT
It is exciting to report some good news for THE FIGHT TO FIGHT documentary film. Surprisingly, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) gave our in-progress, feature-length documentary a Filmmaker Fund Award and grant for $10,000 in partnership with the Véraison Fund.
The aim of the award is to support local filmmakers, so I knew we were qualified to enter the competition. However, my hopes were not high because the SBIFF is a huge, news-making event that attracts top filmmaking talent from Los Angeles (and the world).
Also, because we are relatively close to LA, there is a large filmmaking community in Santa Barbara and more than 100 local filmmakers applied for the award. Amazingly, when the four winners were announced at a press breakfast, we were one of them. The The Véraison Fund’s founder, an experienced winemaker, said he aimed to add “a little extra support” at the moment a film project shifts its energy from “growth toward ripening,” and for us, it does exactly that!
The SBIFF Filmmaker Fund award is another major milestone for THE FIGHT TO FIGHT. SBIFF’s stamp of approval is a major validation of our effort to make a documentary film that tells the story of the courageous women who became the first to integrate the U.S. Army infantry and armor units.
Troubling News from the DoD
However, in times like these, good news is often tempered by bad news, especially from the Department of Defense (DoD) in the new administration. The most recent troubling steps from the DoD include the firing of Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan, and several other high-level DoD positions.
Thanks to these and other steps taken by the new Secretary of Defense (SECDEF), I am starting to hear about growing concern from women serving in the military who are unsure of what their futures hold.
One veteran who graduated in the first class at West Point that admitted women says she finds it hard to accept that her “presence at West Point from 1976-1980 was just a social experiment that did not significantly and positively benefit the country.”
She also says it is a bitter spill to swallow that there are now “conversations about what role women should play in the military after we’ve proven so often that any role should be open if a soldier meets the standard.”
THE FIGHT TO FIGHT Is Not Over
I am truly thankful for the recent support given by the Pritzker Military Foundation and the SBIFF, as well as all the hard work put in by the entire documentary film team.
We are now entering a crucial period in our timeline. There is a great deal of work that needs be done in a relatively short timeframe. We are on schedule and plan to hit a series of important targets during the next phases of field work, location shooting, and fundraising.
Clearly, we won’t be able to succeed without you, our growing community of friends and supporters. Your messages and donations are truly appreciated and keep us going, both figuratively and literally.
One veteran who recently joined our online community said it best when she summed her feelings (and our core beliefs) about making THE FIGHT TO FIGHT: “This story needs to be told.” Yes, it does. Now more than ever.
Joy Bronson served as a Naval Aviator from 1986 to 1993 and is the Director/Producer of THE FIGHT TO FIGHT documentary feature film.
The Fight to Fight documentary feature film is at a pivotal stage and needs your support to reach completion. Donations are critical and greatly appreciated, however it is also helpful to sign up to receive our blog and pass on our website link to friends, family and colleagues who are veterans or who care about equality for women. Click here to donate and here to sign up for our blog.
THE FIGHT TO FIGHT Wins a Filmmaker Fund Award from the Santa Barbara Film Festival
Joy Bronson, second from left (Director/Producer of THE FIGHT TO FIGHT documentary film) accepts a Filmmaker Fund Award from Véraison Fund’s founder, Gardner Grout, third from left, at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) on February 15, 2025. The award is another major milestone for our documentary. SBIFF’s stamp of approval is a major validation of our effort to make a documentary film that tells the story of the courageous women who became the first to integrate U.S. Army infantry and armor units.
Photo Courtesy of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.