Beyond the Call
Encyclopedia
Beyond the Call is a 2006
documentary film
about three middle-aged men who are former soldiers and modern-day knights. They travel the world delivering life saving humanitarian aid
directly into the hands of civilians and doctors in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earth, the front lines of war. It is the directorial debut of Academy Award nominee Adrian Belic. The film has been screened in over 80 film festivals on five continents, winning 25 awards so far.
PBS
aired a 60-minute version of Beyond the Call on January 23, 2007 as part of its Independent Lens
series.
meets Mother Teresa
adventure, they travel the world delivering life saving humanitarian aid directly into the hands of civilians and doctors in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earth, the front lines of war.
They are self-styled Knights of Malta
. In 1995, they formed Knightsbridge International, a unique humanitarian aid
organization, whose motto is "High Adventure and Service to Humanity." Their specialty is going where death from landmines, bullets, or bombs is as frequent as death from hunger, disease, or the elements. Their personal convictions and courage drive them to places such as Afghanistan
, Albania
, Chechnya
, Cambodia
, Burma, Thailand
, Rwanda
, and the southern Philippines
, often when few if any other humanitarian aid
organizations are around.
The camera follows Artis, Laws, and Ratterman as they take us on a journey into the heart of humanity and the soul of courage.
Walt Ratterman died afterwards in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
2006 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about three middle-aged men who are former soldiers and modern-day knights. They travel the world delivering life saving humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
directly into the hands of civilians and doctors in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earth, the front lines of war. It is the directorial debut of Academy Award nominee Adrian Belic. The film has been screened in over 80 film festivals on five continents, winning 25 awards so far.
PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
aired a 60-minute version of Beyond the Call on January 23, 2007 as part of its Independent Lens
Independent Lens
Airing weekly on PBS through ITVS, the Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens introduces new drama and documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of Independent Lens have been presented by hosts Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence Howard, Maggie...
series.
Synopsis
Ed Artis, Jim Laws, and Walt Ratterman are former soldiers and modern-day knights. In an Indiana JonesIndiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
meets Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
adventure, they travel the world delivering life saving humanitarian aid directly into the hands of civilians and doctors in some of the most dangerous yet beautiful places on Earth, the front lines of war.
They are self-styled Knights of Malta
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
. In 1995, they formed Knightsbridge International, a unique humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
organization, whose motto is "High Adventure and Service to Humanity." Their specialty is going where death from landmines, bullets, or bombs is as frequent as death from hunger, disease, or the elements. Their personal convictions and courage drive them to places such as Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Burma, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, and the southern Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, often when few if any other humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity...
organizations are around.
The camera follows Artis, Laws, and Ratterman as they take us on a journey into the heart of humanity and the soul of courage.
Walt Ratterman died afterwards in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.