Directed by Rachel Boynton (Big Men, Our Brand is Crisis), the documentary Civil War: (Or, Who Do We Think We Are), looks at how Americans tell the story of their Civil War and its legacy of slavery and racism. The documentary film will open in select theaters nationwide (including the IFC Center in NYC and Laemmle Santa Monica in LA) on Friday, September 17

Civil War: (Or, Who Do We Think We Are) travels across the United States – particularly to its classrooms – to explore the different ways the Civil War has been taught and interpreted, commemorated and celebrated. Filmed from the last year of Obama’s presidency through the present, it interweaves insightful scenes and candid interviews filmed North and South, painting a uniquely crafted, multi-faceted portrait of our national narrative. With subtlety and determination, Civil War portrays a nation in denial, haunted by an embittered past and the stories it refuses to tell.

This is Rachel Boynton’s third film in a series examining the systems that control how Americans live and relate to the rest of the world. Her first feature documentary, Our Brand is Crisis, explored democracy and democratic ideals: it followed a group of American political consultants as they traveled to South America to help Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada become President of Bolivia. It was the winner of the International Documentary Association’s Best Feature Documentary Award and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Rachel’s second film, Big Men, explored international capitalism and its principles: it focused on Americans operating in the oil industry in West Africa. Big Men was released theatrically in the US in 2014 and aired on the PBS series POV. The film was nominated for three News and Documentary Emmy Awards including Best Documentary. Civil War is Rachel’s first film to be shot exclusively in the United States.

Civil War: (Or, Who Do We Think We Are) was written and directed by Rachel Boynton and produced by Rachel Boynton and Erika Dilday. It was shot by Nelson Walker and edited by Steven Golliday, Mark Juergens and Rachel Boynton. Executive producers are Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremey Kleiner, Steven Shainberg, Sam Pollard, Robert S. Kravis, and Rick Rosenthall. Music is by Nathan Larson.

“In this time of reckoning in the country, Rachel Boynton’s journey into the heart of Civil War memory reveals just how contested, and personal, the meaning of this defining event in our history remains.” – Henry Louis Gates, Jr.