Director

Director's Statement

Story

"Inspired by true events, Retrograde Victory portrays a different side of the Vietnam War. Not the usual side that follows a platoon of soldiers, but a side which follows one of the several hundred thousands of young men whose spouses, friends, or loved ones were killed soon after they were drafted to the Vietnam War. No matter one's position in this world, the places they travel, the things they buy, nothing creates more joy than the people they care about. The goal of my first film is not only to show simply another side of the Vietnam War, or even just another tale of comedy and tragedy, but to show the worth of people."

• Matty J. Walker

Cinematography

"I want Retograde Victory to look raw and gritty. I want it to have the feel of a movie shot between during the mid-20th century, and I think I've captured that so far. Essentially all major films of the era were shot on slow speed 35mm tungsten balanced Eastman Kodak film that required a special '85 filter' when used in daylight. Additionally, the Eastman Kodak film stocks of the mid-century were notoriously grainy, the opposite of Kodak's 35mm film stocks of today, which are so finely grained they can be mistaken for being shot on a digital sensor. However, with the advancement of motion picture film,  Kodak's latest 16mm VISION3 film stocks now resemble mid-century 35mm color films but with more dynamic range and accurate color. Not only am I shooting Retrograde Victory on tungsten balanced 16mm Kodak film, but I am also replicating lighting techniques of the 1960s, which were dominantly tungsten lamps and colored gels as opposed to the modern standard of color-changing LEDs and HMI lamps. Moreover, since every thing in every frame is shot on set, even footage playing on a tube TV, all effects were achieved practically."

• Matty J. Walker