Mockumentary satirizing the knee-jerk patriotism in America following 9/11.

In a medium sized Pennsylvania city immediately following September 11th, a documentary movie crew sets out to capture the lives of a handful of self-proclaimed Patriots. THE WAR EFFORT follows the lives of these citizens as they forge head-first into the war on terror, each equipped with their own brand of misguided pro-American jingoism. And all with the firm belief that they're supporting their President, their nation, and their war.

But can they withstand the spotlight of the media and the lure of cash and prizes? Or will they bring down the wrath of the new Office of Homeland Security?

The War Effort was conceived, written, cast, and shot within weeks of September 11, 2001 as a reaction to the somewhat superficial outburst of patriotic symbolism in America as well as the sudden and undeserved support for President George W. Bush.

Early on, we decided to shoot the film as a fully improvised "mockumentary". No shot lists and no scripted dialogue. We felt that improvised performances would give the comedy a spontineity and realism which is difficult to achieve on a low budget (total production budget: $8,000) and with limited resources.

This is a film that rests entirely on the amazing improv talents of the cast. As the crew, we just told the actors where to go and what the scene was to be about, and then... we got out of their way.

During editing, we approached the story like a doc edit. We gathered the 100 hours of DV footage and essentially rewrote the entire movie in the edit room. What materialized is a three act comedy with several story threads running throughout -- all of which converge in the third act. Within that structure, the movie plays almost as a series improv sketches.