The GI Film Festival returns to Washington, D.C. — the city where it all started in 2017, before moving to San Diego — from Nov. 4-5, for a convening packed with programming and film screenings all with the goal of uplifting veterans and sharing their stories.
This year, the festival has selected 13 fan-favorite films shown over the past decade for “Best of the Fest,” each illustrating the experiences of dedicated veterans and their families, featuring everything from heartwarming narrative-driven short films to feature-length documentaries that reveal forgotten accounts of past conflicts.
Nancy Worlie, chief content officer at KPBS (San Diego), the public media station presenting the event, said marking their milestone 10th anniversary in D.C. was an easy decision for festival organizers.
“Returning to the nation’s capital, where the festival first began, is such a wonderful way to celebrate authentic military storytelling, especially in a place with such strong ties to the military community,” Worlie said. “We know how much the D.C. community adores the festival and continues to support the festival even from across the country. Providing them the opportunity to be a part of this milestone anniversary with us is so meaningful.”
The documentary kicking off this year’s festival is Daniel Bernardi’s “Triumph Over Prejudice: The Montford Point Marines,” exploring the uncharted terrains of the Black experience in the early 20th century Marine Corps, chronicling stories often hidden from public view and rarely showcased in American history.
The film, both produced and directed by Bernardi, received the 2025 Best Untold Story Award.
“Their journey to the front lines of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War is more than a testament to their bravery,” Bernardi said of the men featured in the documentary. “It’s a reflection of their indomitable spirit and unyielding resolve.”
Producers and Veterans Committed to Telling the Real Deal
With films such as “Triumph Over Prejudice,” the “Best of the Fest” will present films at the NCTA-The Internet and Television Association’ throughout the conference.
For the festival organizers, the event is about more than entertainment but empowerment — featuring films and discussions on topics such as PTSD, females in the military, injury and death in battle, and the emotional and physical challenges faced by families after veterans return home.
Tickets are free and can be reserved at GIFilmFestival.org, and each film will be followed by a special conversations with audiences, filmmakers, cast members, and subject matter experts.
Bernardi’s decision to develop a film and several short documentaries came several years ago after he was contacted by Trevor R. Getz, an award-winning historian and professor at San Francisco State University who was working on a book after the Montford Marines.
“My stepfather was a Marine who served with them in Vietnam, so I knew the history behind Montford,” Bernardi said. “But once I met the guys, five men — all very different and all in their 90s — I was sold. I grew committed to them and to telling their story.”
While the Tuskegee Airmen and Harlem Hellfighters are a bit more well known to the general public, Bernardi felt the stories from Montford Point and the Marines — the last branch of the services to integrate — also deserved recognition.
“Not only did they face extreme conditions from their drill instructors and other Marines after being deployed, but prejudice even existed within their own ranks — Northerners vs. Southerners, educated vs. non-educated, and light-skinned vs. dark-skinned,” Bernardi explained. “Whites treated them like they were garbage simply because of the color of their skin. Still, they served with distinction in WWII, Korea and Vietnam, gained the respect of their fellow Marines, and displayed a level of kindness and strength rarely seen among today’s so-called leaders.”
Retired Master Gunnery Sgt. Carroll Braxton — a 100-year-old featured in the film, born and raised in Manassas, Virginia — said staying alive was always first in his mind and that meant forgetting the differences that separated Americans back home.
“Bullets weren’t black or white and to stay safe, we had to learn how to rely on and trust one another,” Braxton said in the film. “As a Marine, we were taught to never leave a man behind — dead or alive. And we didn’t. But the death smell — that was the worst.”
In addition to fighting against the unjust treatment African Americans have historically faced in the United States, Braxton said joining the Marines was a decision that came as he looked to the future.
“I had an uncle who fought in WWI, and I knew that Blacks had been on the front line since Crispus Attucks and the American Revolution,” he said. “I thought it was my duty to serve and I believed that maybe my example to willingly serve and fight for my country would improve things for future generations. For a while I believed we had finally progressed as a nation. But lately, I can’t help but think things are getting worse.”