LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM) will release the moving documentary A BOND UNBROKEN across digital, On-Demand and DVD starting February 13, 2018. See the official trailer HERE and photo gallery HERE.
In the deadly jungles of Vietnam over 40 years ago, the Navy SEALs forged an enduring bond of friendship with their Vietnamese combat interpreter. Through brutal fire-fights and night-time ambushes, Nguyen Hoang Minh fought as a member of the SEAL platoons in the Mekong Delta and helped keep them alive. Though wounded numerous times, he never backed down or gave up the fight, and the SEALs began to feel that Minh was “one of us.” When the Communists overran Vietnam, Minh could not get out, and the SEALs’ brave comrade was lost to them forever. Or so they thought. Until one Navy lieutenant’s relentless search found him and the SEALs brought him to America for a reunion. A BOND UNBROKEN captures that remarkable reunion decades in the making, and presents another side of the battle-tough, covert warrior SEALs. Their actions change Minh’s life and dramatically impacted his family and the Vietnamese-American community.
“A Bond Unbroken” is narrated by veteran broadcast journalist Bob Woodruff and features the song “The Great Unknown,” written and performed by three-time Grammy Award® winner Rob Thomas (“Smooth”), who in addition to his solo career is also the lead vocalist for Matchbox Twenty.
“The emotional threads in this story were just so compelling that I knew it needed to be told,” says director Mary Ann Koenig. “We wanted to demonstrate intrinsic parts of the SEAL credo that we had come to understand, those of honor and integrity and fidelity. Along the way it became clear that these SEALs have hearts of gold, and that was an element I didn’t anticipate. Their ongoing efforts to raise money to support their old colleague and his family in Vietnam and to bring him to America for a reunion, have made it a privilege to take the four-year journey and make the world aware of this story.”
Cinedigm has released close to 200 independent films and alternative content events over the last several years, including the Academy Award®-nominated documentary The Invisible War.
In the Film (Available for Press)
Captain Rick Woolard, Navy SEAL (ret.) is a graduate of Colgate University and the Naval War College. After SEAL Training in 1966, he served with Underwater Demolition Team 21, then made two combat deployments to Vietnam with SEAL Team TWO. He later commanded that team, SEAL Team SIX, and the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Other assignments included the Special Boat Service of the British Royal Marines, Naval Special Warfare Group TWO, US Forces Caribbean, the Office the Secretary of Defense, and the Special Operations Command’s Washington Office. He is credited for driving the initial development of SEAL Combat Swimmer, Sniper, and Winter Warfare capabilities. Among his military decorations are the Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medal (two awards), Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Combat Device (three awards), and Purple Heart (three awards). His SEAL experiences appear in several books and documentaries. He retired from active duty in 1996, enjoyed an interesting private sector career, and now is president of the Special Operations Fund, which helps widows and children of men killed while serving in the National Special Mission Units. As a Director of the National Navy SEAL Museum, he caused the country’s only SEAL Monument to be built.
Captain Robert “Pete” Peterson, Navy SEAL (ret.) was one of the first Navy SEALs to go to Vietnam with Special Operations Group and was one of the first Officers responsible for establishing SEAL combat tactics and understanding the importance of the SEALs having a combat interpreter as part of the unit. He led the 7th Platoon on approximately 100 combat missions and received the Silver Star, Purple Heart, Bronze Star with Combat V, and the Presidential Unit Citation.
Mary Ann Koenig (Director) is a writer and filmmaker, and has directed, written and produced the documentary, A Bond Unbroken, the story of Vietnam War–era Navy SEALs and a reunion with their combat interpreter 40 years later. She’s written for the Los Angeles Times and KOST Radio, and currently is a feature contributor for TCPalm Newsweekly (a regional USA Today publication.) She has co-authored, with former Navy SEAL and CIA operative James M. Hawes, a memoir entitled Cold War Navy SEAL: Che Guevara, CIA Black Ops, and the First SEAL in Africa, released by Skyhorse Publishing in 2018. She has a BA in History from London Metropolitan University and a Master’s in Modern European Studies from Columbia University. She’s fluent in Spanish, has lived and worked in Mexico, Spain, Israel and the U.K., and has volunteered at the Bronx VA Hospital for the past 10 years.
Rick Dobbis (Producer) has held senior management positions at a variety of music and entertainment companies including Senior Vice President at Arista Records, General Manager of RCA Records, President of the PolyGram Label Group, Head of Polygram EMEA, and President of Sony Music International. Throughout his career he has worked with such major artists as U2, the Rolling Stones, Andrea Bocelli, Zucchero, Pascal Obispo, Beyoncé, Ricky Martin, Bruce Springsteen, Shakira, Evanescence, and numerous others. He is currently Chairman of Rick Dobbis Organization, Global (R-DOG) and is a founding partner of myKaZootv which is developing music-centric digital entertainment platforms for kids and families. R-DOG has produced a number of short form documentary films on a variety of subjects including “Fire Bombers” the New York Television Festival History Channel Pipeline Winner in 2013.
About Cinedigm:
Cinedigm powers custom content solutions to the world's largest retail, media and technology companies. We provide premium feature films and series to digital platforms including iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon, cable and satellite providers including Comcast, Dish Network and DirecTV, and major retailers including Walmart and Target. Leveraging Cinedigm's unique capabilities, content and technology, the Company has emerged as a leader in the fast-growing over-the-top (OTT) channel business, with four channels under management that reach hundreds of millions of devices while also providing premium content and service expertise to the entire OTT ecosystem. www.cinedigm.com. [CIDM-G]
Additional images available upon request.