From Oscar®-Nominated and Emmy®-Winning Director Matthew Heineman Comes a Gripping Documentary Capturing the Final Months of America’s War in Afghanistan
In Theaters Nov. 11;
On National Geographic Channel Dec. 8;
Streaming on Disney+ Dec. 9 and Hulu Dec.11
‘A jaw-dropping look at the final nine months of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan’
- Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter
‘Remarkable … sharper and more artfully framed than most Hollywood features’
- Peter DeBruge, Variety
‘A triumph of access and unbelievable bravery’
- Katie Walsh, The Wrap
WATCH TRAILER HERE
DOWNLOAD TRAILER HERE
DOWNLOAD KEY ART HERE
Today, National Geographic Documentary Films released the official trailer and key art for RETROGRADE and announced the theatrical, broadcast and streaming release dates ― exposing the film to as wide an audience as possible with this robust distribution plan.
The feature documentary is an Our Time Projects production from Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning director Matthew Heineman (“Cartel Land,” “City of Ghosts,” “The First Wave”). The film is produced by Caitlin McNally and Heineman; executive produced by Carolyn Bernstein, Baktash Ahadi, David Fialkow and Joedan Okun; edited by Pablo Garza, Heineman and Grace Zahrah; with cinematography by Tim Grucza, Heineman and Olivier Sarbil; and music by H. Scott Salinas.
RETROGRADE captures the final nine months of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan from multiple perspectives: one of the last U.S. special operations forces units deployed there, a young Afghan general and his corps fighting to defend their homeland against all odds, the civilians desperately attempting to flee as the country collapses, and the Taliban take over. From rarely seen operational control rooms to the frontlines of battle and the chaotic Kabul airport during the final U.S. withdrawal, Heineman’s latest film offers a cinematic and historic window onto the end of America’s longest war and the costs endured for those most intimately involved.
“Like so many of my films, this started as one story and ended up as something very different,” said Heineman. “Ultimately, we hope to provide an deeply intimate and character-driven record of this turning point in American and Afghan history while also offering an emotional reminder of the human costs of war.”
Picturehouse will release the film in theaters in select cities starting Nov. 11, in New York and Washington D.C., and on Nov. 18 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Colorado Springs.
It will premiere on National Geographic Channel on Thursday, Dec. 8, at 9 p.m. ET/PT and will then be available to stream on Disney+ on Dec. 9 U.S. only (with a broader international rollout to come), and Hulu on Dec. 11.
“RETROGRADE is an unflinching and masterful document of the complications and consequences of war. We are thrilled to give this important film an unprecedented release plan ― in theaters, on National Geographic Channel and streaming on both Disney+ and Hulu ― in order to reach the widest audience possible,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president of Scripted and Documentary Films for National Geographic.
RETROGRADE premiered at the 2022 Telluride Film Festival, has been selected for the 2022 DOC NYC Shortlist and is nominated for Best Political Documentary at the 2022 Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards.
National Geographic Documentary Films previously released the Academy Award®, BAFTA and seven-time Emmy Award-winning film “Free Solo” and the Academy Award-nominated film “The Cave.” In 2022, they released Sundance award-winners “Fire of Love” and “The Territory,” as well as the short film “The Flagmakers.” Other critically acclaimed films under the banner include BAFTA nominees “The Rescue” and “Becoming Cousteau,” three-time Emmy Award winner “The First Wave,” and Emmy winners “LA 92” and “Jane.”
About National Geographic Documentary Films
National Geographic Documentary Films is committed to bringing the world premium, feature documentaries that cover timely, provocative and globally relevant stories from the very best documentary filmmakers in the world. National Geographic Documentary Films is a division of National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between Disney and the National Geographic Society. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 133 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers … and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of its proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit films.nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Picturehouse
Picturehouse is a Los Angeles-based film marketing and distribution company led by CEO Bob Berney and COO Jeanne R. Berney. The company acquires, markets and distributes global content across all platforms. Originally formed in 2005 as a joint venture between Time Warner's HBO Films and New Line Cinema, the Picturehouse brand has a long history of storied excellence. For more information visit picturehouse.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
About Our Time Projects
Our Time Projects is a NYC based production company founded by Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman. Heineman’s most recent film THE FIRST WAVE was shortlisted for an Academy Award and won three Emmy Awards, including Best Documentary. Heineman's previous films include CARTEL LAND, which was nominated for an Academy Award and won three Emmy Awards and a DGA Award; CITY OF GHOSTS, for which he won a DGA Award; and two seasons of the Emmy-winning docuseries THE TRADE. He also directed HBO’s Emmy Award-winning TIGER and THE BOY FROM MEDELLIN. In 2019, Heineman received a nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First Time Feature Film Director from the Directors Guild of America for his narrative debut, A PRIVATE WAR—making Heineman and Martin Scorsese the only filmmakers ever nominated for both narrative and documentary DGA Awards.
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Contacts
Media
Felicia Wong, fwong@clucollective.com
Marcus Cammack, marcus.cammack@natgeo.com
Kristin Montalbano, kristin.montalbano@natgeo.com
