Southwestern College will present a free screening of Sebastian Junger’s critically acclaimed documentary “Restrepo” on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m., in the Richardson Performing Arts Center.  The public is invited to attend.

“Restrepo” is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, Restrepo, named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley and there are no interviews with generals or diplomats. According to the “Restrepo” website, the only goal of the documentary was to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 90-minute deployment.

Co-directed with photojournalist Tim Hetherington, “Restrepo” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary and received the 2010 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. 

“‘Restrepo’ is an unforgettable and terrifying story—an adrenaline drip of blazing action that assaults your senses and locks your eyes to the screen,” says Steve O’Brien, CBS Radio.  “This is war as only the bravest experience it; enormously affecting.”

Junger will present the Docking Lecture on Thursday, March 5, at 11 a.m., in the Richardson Performing Arts Center in the Christy Administration building on the campus of Southwestern College. 

As part of its Pillars Project, the college focuses each year on one of the virtues celebrated in its alma mater and represented by the Christy pillars of Knowledge, Hope, Courage, and Freedom. The 2014-15 focus on courage inspired the choice of Sebastian Junger to give this year’s Docking Lecture.