“SOLDIERS OF PAINT”
Join 4,000 participants in this movie as they restage D-Day, the notorious 6th of June invasion of Normandy. Think the opening scene from “Saving Private Ryan” but instead of bullets, it’s paintball. Instead of the French coast, it’s Oklahoma. And, every year, it’s any man’s game, which means the Germans could win! Staged on a 700-acre battlefield owned by the grandson of a veteran of Omaha Beach, this yearly battle of paint is fought as a tribute to all veterans. These paintball soldiers take “gung ho” to an all-time high, utilizing real tanks and airplanes for this epic fight.
FILM TRAILER
WHERE CAN YOU SEE THE FILM?
Now available on Vimeo worldwide! Plus 6 deleted scenes! The film was first released by distributor First Run Features in 2013. During that time it was available on Netflix, iTunes, DVD, and VOD. We are working on also adding the film to Amazon Prime. Stay tuned!
REVIEWS
“This movie nailed the Oklahoma D-Day experience. It immerses you in the game from beginning to end and I found myself experiencing the game vicariously through the people on the screen. Seeing all the emotions of the participants from heat exhaustion to the hardships, the wins and the losses helped make this production so much more than just another paintball game film. I am excited about the quality of this movie and its potential to show paintball in a positive light to the masses.”
—Tom Cunningham, The Catshack Reports
“I finished watching ‘Soldiers of Paint’ and I’ve never been so into a documentary film all of the way through. The film takes a historical and emotionally charged event and turns it into something that anyone can get involved in. This movie films the world’s largest paintball game and the creators of the event attempt to recreate ‘D-Day’ down to the exact detail. Here is the catch, even though it is a recreation, anyone can win. People travel from all around the world to be apart of this game and I’m certain I will be doing this very soon as well. Watching this documentary made me forget I was watching a movie. I really felt like I was there! I give ‘Soldiers of Paint’ a 3.5 out of 4 stars. Good job guys!”
—”The Made in the USA Guy”
“What is most impressive is how this movie turns a paintball event into a suspenseful war film. It’s an entertaining and intense experience. Since we don’t know how it is going to end, score watching is as exciting as at any sporting event. Overall, “Soldiers of Paint” is a fun documentary to experience. I didn’t know that D-Day could be respectfully transformed into a paintball event in Oklahoma, but it can.”
—Film Threat
“I am no fan of documentaries. What I am a fan of is exceptional storytelling, and that’s exactly what is delivered with ‘Soldiers of Paint’. It’s relevant. It’s fun. It explores a lifestyle I never imagined nor knew anything about. If more features came down the pike like this – that celebrated a uniquely American event in a uniquely American way – I’d be hard-pressed NOT to fall in love with documentaries because this one, in particular, was a delight.”
—Edward Lee, Amazon.com
“Doug and Mike, who have virtually no paintball experience, walked into an industry, and one of the more difficult and quirky sides of this industry at that that—figured it out, befriended players, gained their trust, and made a documentary film that captured the essence of Oklahoma D-Day and scenario paintball.”
—Jon Amodea, Editor-in-Chief, PaintballX3 Magazine
“The event itself is perfect fodder for a documentary, with plenty of colourful characters and lots of exciting visuals to work with. The paintball combat sequences are genuinely thrilling. The camera work and editing are really first class, and the filmmakers lucked out with such a closely contested fight. Scoring and essential rules are explained as needed and this really helps the audience (and the film) stay focused while being caught up in the action. The judges announcing the final scoring gives the film its dramatic pay off–this isn’t the real D-Day invasion, after all, and either team can win. Some years the Germans win and some years the Allies win …”
—Jon Ted Wynne, The King’s Players, Inc.
PRODUCTION TEAM
DOUG GRITZMACHER | Producer/Director/Director of Photography/Editor
Doug is founder and creative director of Z-Channel Films.
MICHAEL DECHANT JR. | Producer/Director
Mike is an award-winning producer, director, and editor. He has worked in all facets of the film and video business and specializes in leading successful delivery of projects of all lengths and formats from concept to completion. He has produced and directed short- and long-form documentaries, television, and web commercials, corporate and nonprofit videos, music videos, and interactive media.
KENDRA PASKER | Editor
Kendra is an East Coast ExPat living in Los Angeles, CA. She has cut for several networks, from A&E to National Geographic, as well as several award-winning narrative short films. “Soldiers of Paint” is her first feature documentary movie and she loved every second of it!
CAREY MURPHY | Associate Producer
Carey is a freelance documentary producer. She served as co-producer a feature documentary that documents exclusive behind-the-scenes battles of the recent Supreme Court nominations. She has traveled across the country as a field producer for the Smithsonian Channel to create a six-part series on unique American festivals. For National Geographic, she helped craft an inside look at the world’s largest motorcycle rally. Her work exploring the pre-Iraq War intelligence, lobbying crimes, and U.S. interrogation policies can be seen on PBS, “Bill Moyers on America”, and “CNN Presents”. Her independent documentary “Cheshire Transaction” earned her a Cine Golden Eagle Award from her peers.
BECKY BEAMER | Story Editor
Becky is a CINE and Gold Remi award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her passion for exploration and natural history developed into a career shooting and producing around the world. She’s worked on programs from pre-production through post-production in both short and long formats. Becky’s clients include National Geographic Television, Discovery, PBS, the Military Channel, and Natural History New Zealand.
NINA GILDEN SEAVEY | Story Consultant
Nina is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and non-fiction film educator whose work can be seen in theaters, in film festivals, on television, and in ancillary media across the globe. She provides strategic vision to all content, cross-platform programs and initiatives, marketing, commercial development, fundraising and outreach for nonfiction film-related producers, exhibitors, and distributors. Nina is founder and director of George Washington University’s documentary program, as well as founding director of
SilverDocs Film Festival.
DEVON LEGER | Music Supervisor
Devon has been working in roots music for nearly a decade as a publicist, music supervisor, freelance writer, and event/festival producer. After getting an MA in ethnomusicology from the University of Washington, he became the lead booker for the annual Northwest Folklife Festival (the largest community festival in the US). While there he worked to connect a new generation of roots musicians with this veteran event. Now he works on his arts promotion agency, Hearth Music, planning concerts, promoting albums, and blogging. He plays the fiddle in his spare time.
BARRY UHL | Music Composer
Barry scores music for broadcast, video games and films. Barry scored work for Game Samba as well as Hank Crank Films where he wrote scores and arrangements for broadcast productions by TLC and National Geographic. He composes for orchestras, jazz groups, choirs, electronic, and a wide array of other music groups and styles with the goal of exploring the deeper side of music composition. Barry has expanded his musical exploration by orchestrating for the Seattle Rock Orchestra. He is working on orchestrating pieces for Allen Stone and other National Artists. When not scoring, Barry builds and repairs instruments and is an avid late 1960’s Psychedelic Pop record collector.
MATTHEW S. NAGY | Motion Graphic Designer
Matt is a an award-winning motion graphic designer and video producer. He is a senior video production specialist at the American College of Cardiology where he is a producer, editor, and designer. Other clients have included the World Resources Institute, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Reserve, and Nature’s Best Photography. For his work with the US Postal Service he developed and produced several projects, including the USPS Year in Review, a movie-like trailer for the Flats Sequencing System, a promotional spot for the Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box, and the “I” in Shipping internal messaging campaign.