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The Ground Truth
Hailed as "powerful" and "quietly unflinching," The Ground Truth stunned filmgoers at the 2006 Sundance and Nantucket Film Festivals. The subjects of Patricia Foulkrod's searing documentary feature are patriotic young Americans - ordinary men and women who heeded the call for military service in Iraq. The terrible conflict in Iraq, depicted with ferocious honesty in the film, is a prelude for the even more challenging battles fought by the soldiers returning home - with personal demons, an uncomprehending public, and an indifferent government. As these battles take shape, each soldier becomes a new kind of hero, bearing witness and giving support to other veterans, and learning to fearlessly wield the most powerful weapon of all - the truth.
Hear Stories About the Film
Patricia Foulkrod, Director, The Ground Truth
"I wanted us to sit with the broken hearts and troubled minds of these young veterans, so we can take responsibility for their suffering, that is being experienced in our name..."What the Critics Say...
Richard Corliss, Time Magazine
"The best film I've seen to emerge out of the 9/11 attacks." More
David Ansen, Newsweek
"'The Ground Truth' is a powerful, polemical, probing examination of the devastation the war has taken on returning soldiers." More
David Denby, The New Yorker
"'The Ground Truth' is an emotionally potent work." More
Claudia Puig, USA Today
"Unflinching, disturbing, and fascinating." More
Stephen Holden, The New York Times
"'The Ground Truth' stands out as an especially pointed indictment of the American military's treatment of its own people on and off the battlefield." More
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"This thoughtful, sensitive film, perhaps the most emotionally wrenching of all the Iraq documentaries." "...The resulting candor leads to stories and situations that will surely cause tears." More
Jessica Reaves, Chicago Tribune
"Compelling and intensely provocative." More
James Verniere, Boston Herald
"Director Patricia Foulkrod has assembled a powerful, impossible-to-ignore chorus of veterans and their loved ones." More
Sometimes the greatest act of courage is to tell the truth.
- The Ground Truth AIM Page
- The Ground Truth website
- Buy the DVD
- Veteran's Centers
- AMVETS
- Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
- National Association of Black Veterans
- National Coalition of Homeless Veterans
- National Center for PTSD
- National Veterans Foundation
- US VETS
- Veterans of Foreign Wars
- Vietnam Veterans of America
- Iraq Veterans Against the War
- Wounded Warrior Project
- Vets 4 Vets
- The Soldiers Project
- Veterans for America
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On his first weekend back after serving in Iraq, Mike Deerfield (Jonathan Tucker) goes missing and is reported AWOL. When Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones), a former military MP and his wife Joan (Susan Sarandon) get the phone call with the disturbing news, Hank sets out to search for their son. Local police detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) reluctantly helps him in his search and soon finds herself in a fight with the military brass. When the truth about Mike's time in Iraq finally begins to emerge, Hank's entire world is challenged and he's forced to reevaluate long-held beliefs to solve the mystery behind his son's disappearance.
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Cinematical
HBO Documentary Films
Reel Works
International Documentary Association
StoryCorps
Media that Matters Film Festival
Independent Lens
Docs that Inspire
Doc it Out
Indiewire







Kelly Dougherty, Medic/MP, U.S. Army National Guard
Sean Huze, Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps
Aidan Delgado, Reserve Specialist, Army
Perry O'Brien, Medic
Demond Mullins, U.S. Army National Guard
Denver Jones, U.S. Army Reserve Specialist
Paulette Simmons, From The Ground Truth Message Board
"Yes I have had a couple of people I love go to war in Iraq.One happened to be my fiance, and the other my best friend.When my fiance told me that he got his orders I didnt know what to think.I was really scared at first then, when he left the feelings just got worse.Every single day I would wake up and wonder if he was alive or dead..." More from The Ground Truth Message Board