A year of new initiatives
In January of this year, the shooting of the Mountain Men miniseries, which began in March 2022, ended. A project by Luciano La Valle, produced by the Il Trebbo Association and the Museum, with the support of the 10th Mountain Division Foundation and 10th Mountain Division Descendants. Thanks also to the Unione dei Comuni dell'Appennino Bolognese and to the Municipalities of Lizzano in Belvedere, Montese, Castel d'Aiano, Gaggio Montano, San Marcello Pistoiese and Prunetta's Pro Loco.
THE PROJECT
Seen through the eyes of a group of soldiers from Company G of the 85th Regiment of the US 10th Mountain Division, the story begins with the Division’s arrival in Italy in January 1945 until the end of the war.
Based entirely on real events and documented through the memories of still living veterans, this miniseries narrates the important battles that led to the breaking of the German front in the central sector of the Gothic Line, in the upper Apennines between the provinces of Bologna, Modena, and Pistoia, signalling the end of the Second World War in Italy.
MOUNTAIN MEN (The title)
The miniseries, dubbed in Italian and English, is structured around 4 Episodes with a duration of approximately 25 minutes each. Each episode is developed around a specific incident of the events that unfolded in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines between January and April 1945.
The project follows Company G of the 85th Mountain Infantry Regiment since its arrival in Italy until the end of the war.
The miniseries will be bookended by two documentaries:
• The first documentary will narrate the formation of the 10th Mountain Division, the first and only unit of “Alpini” of the United States Army, up to its arrival in Italy, providing the viewer with a historical panorama regarding the Division since its creation, which took place between the end of 1941 and mid-1942 and its training, which lasted over two years. The documentary serves as a preparatory piece to the introduction to the miniseries.
• The second documentary will pick up the Division’s story from the end of the war until its return to the United States.
Company G is remembered for being the unit of John D. Magrath, a young soldier of only 20 years who was killed in the attack on Hill 909. Magrath was the only soldier of the 10th Mountain Division to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor during World War II. The episode follows the company until the end of the war.
PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
The objective is of a historical and cultural nature, is mainly aimed at passing the story on to young people of the new generations so that it remains alive, fixing in images the memory of the past through the personal memories of veterans.
Soldier, who were then boys mainly 19/24 years old, who came to fight in our Italy, for our freedom, away from home and loved ones, in contact with people of completely different cultures and customs, in humid holes dug in the ground, cold as only the winters back then knew how to be, surrounded by rain and snow.
The risk of dying at any moment from enemy artillery or in combat, the excruciating experience of losing a companion changed and marked their life forever.
Memories and nightmares, which many veterans report, accompanied them for years, well beyond the return to their homeland.
The project is also a tribute to all those who fought and gave their lives for our freedom, especially the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division during the Second World War.
ABOUT THE MOVIE
Direction and story: Luciano La Valle
Production: Il Trebbo Cultural Group.
Executive producers and historical consultancy: Andrea and Giuliano Gandolfi
Historical reenactment groups: FUBAR - LA CROCE DI FERRO - OVERLORD ’44 LHG - ULTIMO FRONTE 1945
Military vehicles: Dodge, GMC, Willys
Master of Arms: Galliano SFX
Pyrotechnic effects: Benassi pyrotechnics
Shooting: between March 2022 and January 2023
Expected release: June 2023
Preview and conference: at the Jola di Montese Museum and the Municipalities participating in the project
IMPORTANT:
All people - actors, reenactors, director, production, technicians - give their performance without any compensation, in honor of the memory of those soldiers
