Today we honor the men and women who have served our country – our brave veterans. America’s history is built on the dedication and service of our military personnel who have put themselves in harms way, far from home and loved ones. They all deserve our thoughts, prayers and thanks for their dedication and sacrifice. On behalf of the Donut Dollies Documentary, we wish to extend our gratitude to our Veterans and the Red Cross Donut Dollies who served them.
The Donut Dollies Documentary will be taking part in a special virtual, online showcase of four veteran-related films. The showcase is titled “Walk With Us: Stories of War and Connection” and will take place November 9th – 16th at https://watch.showandtell.film/watch/walkwithus. The Donut Dollies Documentary will be taking part in a special virtual, online showcase of four veteran-related films. The showcase is titled “Walk With Us: Stories of War and Connection” and will take place November 9th – 16th at https://watch.showandtell.film/watch/walkwithus
This showcase will feature 10-minutes of scenes from the “Donut Dollies Documentary”, as well as “Dog Walk Home” – a story of three veteran families who take in highly-trained service dogs who help them with the struggles of PTSD; “Walk With Frank” – a story of a Vietnam veteran who was injured in-country and challenged by the ensuing personal struggles, who found art to be the way to make his path in life; and “Jimmy In Saigon” – the story of a man who lost his Vietnam veteran brother who died mysteriously in Saigon after his service and the search for the truth.
We’re honored to be part of this showcase, which will bring attention to each of these films, as well as providing much needed fundraising to be put towards completion funds. In addition to the 10-minutes of scenes from each film, there will be an introductory video and for our film, you’ll hear from the members of our team who are proud to be part of our labor of love project by bringing the Donut Dollie’s story to light.
Following the showcase on Tuesday, November 16th at 5 PM (Pacific), there will be a Zoom Q&A with all of the films’ directors moderated by Vietnam veteran, award-winning author and friend, Doug Bradley. Follow the link for more details on each film. We hope you’ll join us for this showcase
We’re excited to announce that Norm Anderson, the director of the Donut Dollies Documentary will be interviewed live on WWLP channel 22’s Mass Appeal show (Springfield, MA) this Thursday, Oct. 28th, sometime between 11 AM – noon. Mass Appeal is hosted by Patrick Berry and Alanna Flood, and focuses on stories from the Western Massachusetts area. There may also be a special guest joining Norm, so watch for that.
The Donut Dollies Documentary began as a son’s loving tribute to his mother and the women who chose to join the Red Cross program Supplemental Recreation Activities Overseas (SRAO). The mission of these women was to bring a sense of home, caring and friendship to the brave soldiers on the front lines of the Vietnam War. They were lovingly referred to as Donut Dollies. Norm will talk about this labor of love project and share what it meant to bring this little known story to the screen in honor of the women who served in a combat zone.
If you are in the Western Mass area, please tune in to WWLP channel 22 or log onto www.wwlp.com/watch-live for possible viewing outside of the local area (Eastern time zone).
Later that evening the Donut Dollies Documentary will be screening as part of the Red Rose International Film Festival’s “Unforgetable Series” in Lancaster, PA (Thursday, October 28th @ 7 PM – see previous post for ticket details). We’re honored to be nominated for Best Documentary and People’s Choice awards by the RRIFF.
As you can see, Thursday will be a busy day. Excitement is building and we’re glad we can share it with you.
Gratefully,
Norm, Jess and Jim
We’re excited to announce that The Donut Dollies Documentary will be making a return screening in Lancaster, PA on Thursday, October 28th @ 7 PM as part of the Red Rose International Film Festival’s “Unforgetable Series”. We’re extremely honored to have been nominated for Best Documentary and People’s Choice awards, and thank Ryan and his team for bringing our film to their audience for a second time.
Our film will be shown to an in-person audience at the Zoetropolis Cinema Still House (112 N Water St, Lancaster, PA 17603). And for those who wish to attend, tickets are COMPLIMENTARY at https://zoetropolis.com/purchase/127119 and reservations are requested (please review ZCSH’s Covid requirements).
A member of the Donut Dollies Documentary team will be in attendance. We also hope that a local Donut Dollie can attend.
We thank everyone for their support in 2021 and hope to bring home an award from the Red Rose International Film Festival, as a nice capper to our film festival run.
Gratefully,
Norm, Jess and Jim
We’re happy to announce that the Donut Dollies Documentary has been chosen to be shown as part of the 2021 virtual Gold Coast International Film Festival. Donut Dollies, veterans and friends from the New York and New Jersey areas will be able to watch our film from October 10 – 17, 2021. Tickets for this virtual screening are available at – bit.ly/DDDocGoldCoastTickets
We hope you’ll enjoy seeing the Donut Dollies Documentary in the comfort of your own home!
Gratefully,
Norm, Jess and Jim
A Graveside Service for Mary Blanchard Bowe will be held at 10:45 AM on Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery – Shelter 5, 1520 Harry Wurzbach, San Antonio, Texas 78209.
If you wish to share your condolences with Mary’s family and friends, please visit www.schertzfuneralhome.com/obituary/mary-bowe
We were heartbroken to learn of the passing of Mary Blanchard Bowe on September 12, 2021. Mary starred in our documentary along with her lifelong friend Dorset Anderson, and the entire crew got to know and love her during the course of filming the project. We filmed with Mary in Vietnam and all around the US over the span of more than a decade. We also had the opportunity to screen the finished film with her at festivals in Santa Monica and San Diego, CA, where she got to experience applause, appreciation and love from audiences who were moved and amazed by her story, her bravery, and her love for the soldiers she went to Vietnam to support.
We are particularly proud that Mary was able to share the stage and spotlight at the GI Film Festival as we won best documentary feature. She said it made her feel like a movie star. She was and is. She was also our very first cinematographer, as she documented her time in Vietnam with priceless 8mm film clips, which she generously let us use in the documentary. Seeing glimpses of 22 year old Mary and Dorset in Vietnam in their powder blue dresses was one of the initial things that inspired me to make a documentary about the Donut Dollies.
Her generosity in life, and on camera, touched us all in so many ways. We truly couldn’t have made our film without her, and we will be eternally grateful for all that she did and all that she was.
Our hearts goes out to Mary’s family during this difficult time. We’ll post additional info here as it becomes available.
Norm Anderson
Director
The Donut Dollies Documentary
Summer may be coming to a close, but there are 2 opportunities to see our award winning documentary, The Donut Dollies in September. Our film has been nominated for Best Documentary at the Victory International Film Festival and will screen on Saturday , September 11th at 1 PM at the Victory Theatre, 600 Main St, Evansville, IN 47708. You can purchase tickets in advance at https://filmfreeway.com/VictoryIFF/tickets For those who can attend, please don’t forget to vote.
The second opportunity to see our film is at FLIXX FEST on Friday, September 17th at 10:15 AM at the Avery Theater, 430 Main St, Etna, CA 9602. You can purchase tickets in advance at https://events.eventgroove.com/event/2021-Jefferson-State-Flixx-Fest-53262
We hope you can come see the Donut Dollies Documentary on the big screen and look forward to seeing an audience filled with veterans and hopefully some Donut Dollies.
Gratefully,
Norm, Jess and Jim
