Joshua DeFour to be Presented the Santini Patriot Spirit Award at the Beaufort International Film Festival

Marine Corps Veteran Combat Videographer and Writer/Producer/Director Joshua DeFour will be presented the prestigious Santini Patriot Spirit Award at the 14th Annual Beaufort International Film Festival being held February 18 – 23, 2020 in Beaufort, SC. The award will be presented for his film “The 11th Order”, during the festival awards ceremony on Sunday, February 23.

The “Santini” is awarded to that filmmaker whose portrayal of the American active duty military, veterans, or their families in a feature film, documentary, or short reflects the highest standards of service and sacrifice for the good of others. The award is named after Marine Corps Colonel Donald “The Great Santini” Conroy, father of Academy Award nominated screenwriter and best-selling author Pat Conroy.

“The Santini” was originally created in 2011 and it was our intention at the time to present the award annually to that film that met the lofty criteria for the award. After presenting the inaugural award to Jonathan Flora for his documentary “Lt. Dan Band: For the Common Good it would be another five years before another “Santini” worthy film came along. The second award went to Justin Roberts for his documentary film, “No Greater Love”.  When we saw Joshua’s film The 11th Order for the first time, we knew instantly that this Short Film had all of the elements we were looking for in this rare award,” stated Ron Tucker, President of the Beaufort Film Society.

The 11th Order” is based on the true story of Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter and Corporal Jonathan Yale’s heroic last stand on April 22nd, 2008. In a span of six seconds, the two Marines acted decisively to stop a suicide truck bomb, sacrificing their lives to save their brothers in arms. The film revisits  that fateful morning, detailing the true events and real conversations that preceded their last stand at the gates of JSS Nasser as well as specific moments in their lives that are pivotal to understanding their moral fiber and integrity. The film features the extraordinary Six Seconds To Live speech by retired Marine General John F. Kelly, a moving eulogy that inspired the filmmakers to tell this story.

Joshua DeFour has been directing, shooting, and editing since his first years in college, eventually dropping out of a journalism bachelor’s program in December 2010 to join the U.S. Marine Corps as a combat videographer. He was then stationed on mainland Japan in support of the American Forces Network, deploying across the Pacific theater to produce video news stories on exercise operations in Guam and Tinian, as well as humanitarian relief projects in Bangladesh.

In Spring 2013 he was deployed to Afghanistan for a year to capture and document coalition efforts for Operation Enduring Freedom, with several of his stories syndicating nationally on The Pentagon Channel and PBS, as well as internationally on the American Forces Network. He was then selected as the U.S. Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association 2nd Place Broadcaster of the Year in 2015.

After leaving the Corps he was hired by Fathead, LLC to create video spots with Warner Bros. Pictures in support of the Harry Potter brand, and a Father’s Day veterans spot in conjunction with Operation: Homefront. He was then accepted into the University of Texas at Austin’s Film Production graduate program in August 2015, eventually completing his first festival-circuit short films, “MATCH: A Tinder Tale,” “Baby Girl,” “10 Minutes To Show,” and “Plunge.” His fifth film, “The 11th Order,” was completed in May 2019 and was a semifinalist for the 2019 Student Academy Awards.

The Santini Patriot Spirit Award is sponsored by Custom Audio-Video in Bluffton, SC

For more information about the 14th Annual Beaufort International Film Festival, visit beaufortfilmfestival.com. The festival is produced by the Beaufort Film Society.