There is no doubt that World War II was experienced differently by each individual combatant. A few of them were able to translate that experience into an artistic medium. Seen through the eyes of these warrior-artists, the war appears as many things at once, but always raw and visceral.

SAVING FELA will make the experience of WWII vivid not only through historic footage, but also by featuring the astounding artwork created by three GIs during the war. Each set of work represents a different medium: original photographs by Tony Vaccaro, original sketches by Ugo Giannini, and the original documentary film footage by Sam Fuller of the camp from which Fela was liberated.

Tony Vaccaro

Tony Vaccaro is widely regarded as having generated the greatest single collection of WWII photographs by any one person. He achieved this not by being a member of the Signal Corps, but by being a young private in the 83rd Infantry Division, carrying a gun in one hand and a camera in the other. Through the lens of his Argus C-3, Tony captured the experience of the war from Normandy to Berlin, and during the German occupation after the war, like no other photographer. In the aftermath of the war, Tony stayed on in Germany as a photographer for "Stars and Stripes" until 1949, covering the crucial, historic period in which the country emerged from chaos to reconstruction.

Upon returning home from the war, Tony became a highly influential photographer for Look, Life, and Flair magazines, capturing candid and revealing portraits of numerous cultural icons that shaped the second half of the twentieth century.

Tony has received numerous distinctions, including the French Legion d'honneur. His monumental work continues to be exhibited around the world. He was also recently featured in BBC’s six-part series, "Genius of Photography"

SAVING FELA will incorporate many of Tony’s powerful wartime images, including some that have never been published or seen before.

Tony’s work includes the photograph below, taken March 1, 1945. In no-man’s-land. Private Ivan Parrott of Deckerville, Michigan, during the Battle for the Rhine.

Ugo Giannini

1919-1993

Ugo Giannini was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1919, and studied at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts. He cut short his art studies to join the army as the US entered the Second World War.  After training in America and in England, he landed on Omaha Beach as part of the first devastated wave of 29th Infantry Division soldiers on D-Day.  In the hours, days and weeks that followed the Invasion, Giannini captured scenes from "Bloody Omaha" and the towns and villages of Normandy. These strikingly realistic and compelling drawings in pen and pencil are a testament to the enduring scars of war.  Like many veterans, Giannini bore his painful memories silently; it was not until after his death that this series of illustrations was found.

Giannini came back to the US after serving in Europe until the end of the war, but returned to France in 1949 to study with Fernand Léger, developing his own style and voice through study of Surrealism, Expressionism and Cubism. Back in the US in 1950, Giannini worked from a studio in East Orange, NJ further creating and defining his unique and original Modern work. He married Maxine Yellin, a classical pianist, in 1955, and began teaching at Caldwell College.  He focused on creating and teaching, steadily producing an impressive array of works in a wide range of media, all the while building a quiet life with his wife and two children.

With retirement approaching, Giannini felt a need to return to Normandy and once again see the beaches and farmlands which had held so much horror.  Falling ill in Paris, he was unable to traverse the Normandy countryside once again, but the deep wounds of war and years of silent pain came rushing forth in his work. His abstract and symbolic paintings provide a glimpse into Giannini’s horrific and life-changing experience. 

At his death in 1993, Giannini’s wife Maxine and their children discovered not just his war-time drawings, but an impressive collection of works from throughout his career. Each had been carefully created and tucked away, waiting to be uncovered.

Ugo’s work includes "Omaha Beach," below, sketched on the morning of D-Day.

Sam Fuller

1912-1997

As critic John Gallagher wrote "During his happily overactive lifetime, Sam Fuller lived the lives of many men - journalist during the Golden Age of New York newspapers, World War Two G. I. Joe, and Hollywood director."

As a reporter in the 20s and 30s Fuller chronicled the lives of hookers and gangsters, everyday people and society's unfortunates.

During World War II, Fuller joined the U.S. Army infantry. He was assigned to the 16th Infantry Regiment (United States), 1st Infantry Division, and saw heavy fighting. He was involved in landings in Africa, Sicily, and Normandy. He also saw action in Belgium and Czechoslovakia.

For his service, he was awarded the Bronze Star, the Silver Star, and the Purple Heart. He used his wartime experiences as material in his films, especially in the 1980 film The Big Red One (a nickname of the 1st Infantry Division).

Sam Fuller shot the footage of the liberation of the Falkenau concentration camp in Czechoslovakia.

As a filmmaker, he did the undoable - he wrote, produced and directed some of the most personal and unique movies ever made within the studio system - Pickup on South Street, Run of the Arrow, Forty Guns, to name a few. Sam Fuller created a truly independent American cinema with such landmark works as The Steel Helmet, Park Row, Underworld USA, Shock Corridor, and The Naked Kiss, paving the way for countless filmmakers to follow, giving us one of the richest bodies of work in the annals of motion pictures.

Although Fuller's films were not considered great cinema in their times, they gained critical respect in the late 1960s. Fuller welcomed the new-found esteem, appearing in films of other directors and associating himself with younger filmmakers.

The French New Wave claimed Fuller as a major stylistic influence. His visual style and rhythm were seen as distinctly American, and praised for their energetic simplicity. Martin Scorsese praised Fuller's ability to capture action through camera movement. Recently, Quentin Tarantino and Jim Jarmusch credited Fuller as influential upon their works.

Mr. Fuller’s work includes this image of Falkenau, captured when the camp was liberated by the 1st Infantry Division.

  © 2007-8 Dog Green Productions