When popular NFL star defensive back Pat Tillman walked away from a multimillion-dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals in May 2002 to join the Army, he became an instant—though profoundly misunderstood—symbol of patriotic fervor. When his promising future ended in unimaginable tragedy, the Tillman family refused to accept the “official” story that he'd heroically put himself in the line of Taliban fire to save other soldiers during an ambush. They knew that the truth about their beloved son and brother’s life and death was far more complex than the caricature created by the government and propagated by the media. Amir Bar-Lev's (MY KID COULD PAINT THAT) film is a riveting account of how one soldier's death in Afghanistan was spun into a web of public lies and how the government tried to turn this death into war propaganda. Featuring candid and revelatory interviews with Tillman’s fellow soldiers and his family, Bar-Lev cuts through the layers of artifice shrouding the narrative of Tillman’s death and calls to task the entire chain of command who contributed—in ways big and small—to the web of lies.

Post-screening conversation with filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev moderated by Jeffrey Brown, PBS News Hour Senior Correspondent

Print Source:
THE TILLMAN STORY
The Weinstein Company
Spencer Peeples
Tel: 646.862.3818
www.weinsteinco.com