Click photo for slideshow of the event.

A military and police escort took the cast and crew of Warrior Champions to a sold out screening and scholarship benefit in Little Rock, Arkansas during Veterans week. Hosted by General Wesley Clark the event included a VIP reception, a screening of the film, and a Q and A with the Filmmakers Brent and Craig Renaud, Producer Vincent Insalaco, and Warrior Champions Melissa Stockwell and Kortney Clemons. After the screening Kortney Clemons signed copies his book AMPED, about his life in war and sports.

Filmmakers Brent and Craig Renaud with VA secretary Shinseki and Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth

Warrior Champion Scott Winkler signs agreement with Secretary Shinseki and the VA

Secretary Shinseki and assistant secretary Tammy Duckworth screened Warrior Champions in Washington DC. on October 21, as a part of the signing ceremony that establishes a 10 million dollar partnership between the VA and the US Paralympics. It was especially exciting for us to see Tammy Duckworth again. In 2006, we profiled Tammy in the film Taking the Hill, when she ran for Congress in Illinois. Also present at the ceremony were Congressman Patrick Murphy, Congressman Steve Buyer and Congressman Eric Massa, among others.

Brent Renaud discusses the making of Warrior Champions on NPR.

CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

A ten minute sneak peak of Warrior Champions was shown, and two of the stars of the film, Kortney Clemons and Carlos Leon testified before Congress on August 5th. The purpose of the hearings was to lobby Congress for additional resources to support the development of Paralympic programs for returning injured military veterans, and to develop more community Paralympic programs around the country. The result was the unanimous approval of the full 10 million dollars requested.

With the premiere of Warrior Champions this fall we will continue to work with the US Paralympics to create education and awareness materials for distribution nationally through the Department of Defense, Department of Veteran Affairs, and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

We are excited to announce that the Abbasi Brothers, one of the coolest new bands we have heard in a while, will be producing a score for Warrior Champions. The BBC called the first Abassi Brothers album, Something Like Nostalgia, “Gorgeous”, to us the album sounded like a fully formed, beautiful film soundtrack. We are glad Warrior Champions will be one of the actual first film scores they take on. Wired Magazine says the Abbasi Brothers “specialize in soundtracking inner space with an eye toward finding the immanent transcendent in everyday life.” We cant wait to see what they bring to Warrior Champions. Stay Tuned.

If you haven’t already, check out the new book by Kortney Clemons, a great athlete, a national hero, and one of the stars of Warrior Champions . The book is called “Amped: A Soldier’s Race for Gold in the Shadow of War”.

Kortney was an army medic who lost his right leg to a roadside bomb in Baghdad. Upon returning home he suffered from depression and wondered what he was going to do with his life now. But then slowly, through sports he began to recover both mentally and physically. Kortney’s account of his recovery from catastrophic wounds earned in battle and his efforts to become the first Iraq veteran to win Paralympic gold is one of the most remarkable, inspiring, and compelling stories in the history of sports.

If you care about about veterans issues, the disabled, or just love a great sports story. Get this book and share it with friends and family.