Operation Homecoming

USA 2006 / 81min.
Director Richard E. Robbins

An explosive amalgam of animation, literature and politics,
Operation Homecoming is a spellbinding documentary exploring the firsthand accounts of American soldiers through their own words.

The film is built upon a National Endowment for the Arts project to gather the writing of soldiers and their families who have participated in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Through the interviews and dramatic readings, the film presents a profound window into the human side of America’s current conflicts. At the same time it provides depth and context to these experiences through a broader look at the universal themes of war literature.

The writing in Operation Homecoming covers the full spectrum — poetry, fiction, memoir, letters, journals and essays. The stories are sad, funny, violent and uplifting. Yet each one displays an honesty and intensity that is rarely seen in explorations of the war.

At the core of the writing in Operation Homecoming is a deep desire by an extraordinary group of men and women who have served in war to come to terms with their experiences. At the same time, it comes with the genuine hope that people will listen to their stories and in so doing, gain a greater understanding of their experiences.

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