Film credits

Producer/Director

On patrol in the outskirts of Fallujah - Feb 2009Violeta Ivanova is an independent filmmaker and founder of Sofia Productions, which is based in Boston, Massachusetts. She holds a Ph.D. from MIT where she now teaches video production and post-production and consults on the application of computer graphics and digital media to science and engineering education. Violeta’s film credits include directing and editing the science documentaries Hot Science, Cool Flicks for the University of Texas at Austin, editing and videography for the American Trustees K-12 educational program in civics, and producing and directing several independent films. In 2008 she was awarded a grant from the Council for the Arts at MIT for her media project about the institute’s ROTC program. Violeta began production of Operation Ultimate Goal in the summer of 2008. For this documentary, she has traveled to Marine Corps bases around the US and also embedded with the Marines in al Anbar, Iraq.

Editor

Daniel Eslinger is a Boston-based freelance editor and professional multimedia specialist with MIT Academic Media Production Services. Dan has worked on the production and post-production of dozens of video programs, including editing the MIT ZigZag video podcast news magazine and sound mixing the documentary film Giant Leaps which commemorated the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. Dan was educated at the University of New Hampshire and also holds a certificate in digital filmmaking with concentration in post-production from the Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University. Dan joins the documentary film crew in the summer of 2009 as lead editor and post-production coordinator.

Production assistance

Katie Stanchak assists the director and conducts archival media research for this film.
Stacey Barnes was location manager and sound recordist in Camp Pendelton, California.
Cherie Potts and Pat Steffens from Wordworks transcribe the interviews for this film.

Archival imagery

Photos of the 2008 Iraqi children’s soccer league courtesy of Brian von Kraus|USMC.
Combat camera videography of the 2004 Battle of Fallujah by Jan Bander|USMC.

NOTE: this page gives credit for creative material appearing on this website and does not include the film’s full credits.