The locally produced documentary film American Sons, drawn from combat zone footage recorded by San Antonio Marine Cpl. Jorge “JV” Villarreal, has been granted $150,000 in finishing funds from Bexar County.
The five-member Bexar County Commissioners Court voted Nov. 28 to direct funding to the ongoing project of filmmakers Laura Varela and Andrew Gonzales, which is slated to appear on PBS television in late 2024.
As noted to the court by Keith Wilson, executive director of the Bexar County Department of Military and Veterans Services, American Sons follows Villarreal’s platoon mates as they return from service following Villareal’s 2010 death in the Helmand province of Afghanistan at age 22.
Wilson has been a vocal advocate for the documentary project, Gonzales said, in part because of its mission to build awareness for veterans’ issues and connect traumatized combat veterans with the help they need to adjust to post-service life.
“What we realized was it’s not just the story of JV … this is the story of every combat veteran, it’s the story of every family member of a combat veteran,” Wilson said in his address to the commissioners.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores initiated funding support, in part because Villarreal was a Bexar County resident. Precinct 3 Commissioner Grant Moody noted that he, too, is a Marine combat veteran who served near Villarreal’s battalion. Moody cautioned that he hoped the film avoids portraying the stereotypical “jarhead mentality” sometimes projected onto Marines.
After some debate over using taxpayer money to fund a film project, commissioners voted unanimously to support American Sons.
The $150,000 will allow Varela and Gonzales to complete a version of American Sons for the film festival circuit. They are aiming for a potential world premiere at the South By Southwest film festival in March.
Preparing the documentary for its PBS broadcast on Veterans Day in November 2024 will require further funding to reach an ultimate budget of $600,000, Varela said. During its four-year licensing for public television, viewership is anticipated to reach an audience of 20 million.
Such attention to the film will spur the education phase of the multi-tiered production process, Gonzales said, an “impact campaign” to deliver the film’s healing message to veteran-centric communities.
“That will be the educational part, understanding how to implement this story into society to then help veterans achieve the next phase of their life and career,” he said.
He said the film’s producers will seek partnerships with veterans’ aid organizations, with a focus on the growing issue of veteran suicide.
“What we’re working towards is helping to contribute to transition services” for returning veterans, Gonzales said, “by showing the raw happenings of a certain group of combat veterans.” The goal is “for the general population to see the unseen, and truly understand some of the challenges that these veterans are going through.”
