Utah Documentary Association Work-in-Progress Screening
Join us for our February 13, 2025 Work-in-Progress screening of Outstretched Hands, directed by Jared Jones.
Outstretched Hands (Working Title) is a story about two seemingly very different groups coming together and developing a strong connection. Despite cultural, religious and other differences, a group of American soldiers and this remote village in Afghanistan formed a kinship that transcended the apparent divide.
What we found: we had more in common than not. This is a story about different cultures who – more than anything else – wanted to get to know and understand one another, and in doing so, forged a bond that should not be forgotten. More than that: it should be celebrated. Come join us in getting a rare glimpse of a misunderstood people in a faraway land, and understanding “the other.”
This film is not yet rated and deals with some mature themes, such as: facing the unknown, life in combat, dealing with PTSD, looking for and finding a purpose, human rights, and perhaps most importantly… friendship and faith in each other. But that was 20 years ago, and we worry about the everyday people of Afghanistan, especially due to declining rights of women there.
Filmmaker Bio:
CW5 Jared Jones is a retired Warrant Officer, having served in the Utah National Guard for over 25 years. He is a former AH-64 Apache helicopter pilot and has deployed to Afghanistan three times. Each deployment was of course very different – the first one was truly unique. In 2004-5, his Aviation Task Force found a village in the remote mountains of Afghanistan and formed deep relationships with the people there.
Jared is a graduate of the University of Utah's Film/Media program, but on this first deployment was a new pilot in the middle of film school. He brought his Canon GL-1 camera with him and returned with over 50 hours of some truly incredible footage.