The Producers

Michael Collins, Director

Michael is an Emmy® nominated filmmaker and the founder of Thoughtful Robot. In 2005 he directed Caught in an Injustice, a one-hour documentary broadcast on Spanish national television that received Special Mention at the 15th International TV3 Actual Awards. In 2011, his film Give Up Tomorrow premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won the Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize for Best New Director. The film went on to screen in over 75 festivals in 40+ countries, winning 18 major awards. Most recently, the film was selected for the Puma Impact Award and was nominated for an Emmy® Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism.

Marty Syjuco, Producer

Originally from the Philippines, Marty moved to New York City in 2000 and worked in film distribution at Focus Features, booking the theatrical releases of independent, commercial and Academy Award-winning films. In 2004 he took a leap of faith to pursue his passion: documentary filmmaking. In 2005, he produced the one-hour film Atrapado en la injusticia broadcast on Spanish national television. He developed it into the feature-length documentary, Give Up Tomorrow. The film was an ITVS co-production and commissioned by BBC Storyville, with support from the Sundance Documentary Film Program, CAAM, Tribeca Film Institute, The Fledgling Fund, Bertha Foundation and BRITDOC, among others.

Making The Film

A few years ago, as part of a video project I’d volunteered for, I had the opportunity to interview veterans and hear about their lives and struggles. One particular day, my interview subject casually mentioned, “Twenty-two veterans kill themselves every day.” It stopped me dead in my tracks. I thought I had misheard. I didn’t. That was a pivotal moment for me in this journey to make this film. I realized right then and there that there was a crisis in this country, taking place right in front of our eyes, one to which many of us, including myself, were blind. In some deep silent corner of that realization, I felt utterly compelled to do something, to act, to serve, to help these people who had sacrificed so much.