Click above to view the new movie trailer.
Dear Friends and Supporters,
On this Memorial Day weekend, it will be two years since the Kickstarter campaign that started our journey making this documentary about the HMT Rohna attack. We raised $26,400 for the film project and in addition to the Kickstarter campaign, we raised an additional $16,000 last year, bringing our total to $42,000. Although these donations by our generous supporters have had a great impact on the film, our expenses to produce the documentary are climbing as we get further into the production. We’ve hired a professional narrator, sound designer, budget consultant and entertainment lawyer, along with other production professionals. We’ve also had other expenses including travel, interviews, National Archive research, music and film licensing, just to name a few.
We are now about 50% complete with the documentary and I can tell you without any hesitation that the film has exceeded our expectations. We are producing this film at a high production value and are hoping to continue working at this level. At this very moment we’re editing the survivor interviews that co-producer, Michael Walsh filmed back in 2008, and I must tell you that the never-before-seen footage of Rohna survivors telling their stories is remarkable and riveting.
Our biggest challenge is that we don’t have the funds to hire a staff of professionals that are needed to move things forward at a faster pace. A few of us are doing the work of an entire film crew. The concern I have is how long it will take if we don’t raise more funds to get us into the second phase of the documentary. The good news is that we are really excited about the progress and are committed to completing this film one way or another and I want to assure you that we’ve been working on this film full-time since we started two years ago. I also want to reiterate that we realize that we couldn’t have gotten this far without the generous contributions from our supporters that we sincerely appreciate.
Once again this Memorial Day weekend we will be raising funds for the documentary from our Website, Facebook page and CID page. We totally understand if you can’t contribute at this time, but we would appreciate it if you would spread the word, share on social media and help us to reach new supporters who want to see this film get completed.
With your continued support and our hard work, we can finally get the recognition due to all the soldiers who were on the HMT Rohna. Our goal is to finally get this story into its rightful place in US history and finish the job of the survivors who always wanted every Gold Star family to know the truth about what happened to their loved ones.
Michael and I along with the Rohna team thank you for your ongoing support. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me: jack@ultravisionfilms.com
With gratitude,
Jack Ballo
Director / Producer
RohnaClassified.com
The Rohna Classified documentary film is fiscally sponsored by the Center for Independent Documentary (CID), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Tax ID #: 04-2738458.
If you would like to contribute today instead of waiting until Memorial Day weekend, click on the link below.
Click below to visit rohna:classified website.
I cannot wait until this comes out ! I had family on that ship that did not make it.
My Grandfather Henry M Heberle passed away in 2001. Before he died he would share his memories of this event with me. Thank you for making this known.
My Uncle was a survivor on this ship. So glad this is now being made known.
My uncle, “Carey, William G., Pfc.,18166240, CE,” died on the ROHNA. Bill, married to Ann Carey, was a manager of a movie theater in Joplin, MO. He was born in AR and grew up in Paris, Arkansas. He attended UA Fayetteville. He had polio as a child, endured 4 operations, overcame the disease, and went on to letter in many sports. His parents, and 2 brothers, who also served in the war but survived it, and my mother, Elizabeth “Libby” Carey Hutchison, all passed without ever knowing the truth. I remember reading the telegram that had come to his father saying he was KIA. My mother said that they were told he was on a troop carrier crossing the Atlantic when a German U boat torpedoed their carrier. Needless to say, I am very excited to know more about this movie!
My dad was on this ship and went down with it RIP Roy Hooper his only child he never seen me –want a copy of this asap will pay Everlee Hooper Cornett P.O. Box 97 Genoa, AR 71840
Can’t wait for this Production to be completed. My Father, Robert Struebing, from the 497 Engineers in Illinois was suppose to be on the Rohna, but was moved to the Egra in the same convoy because the Rohna was at capacity. He has been to several of the Rohna reunions. Has since deceased. My dad was in CBI. (China, Burma, India)