Honoring a hero: Albuquerque-based filmmaker to screen 'A Soldier's Passage' for Veterans Day at the Guild Cinema

Timing is everything.

In Paul Ingles’ case, with Veterans Day coming up, it’s an opportunity to screen his film, “A Soldier’s Passage,” for the community.

“It’s also the fifth anniversary of us finishing the film,” Ingles says. “And it’s the 100th anniversary of my father’s birth.”

“A Soldier’s Passage” tells the story of a decorated World War II veteran named Tom Williams, played by Fred Schwab, who meets some of his greatest challenges as he nears the end of a long life in a retirement home.

He and his visiting son, Paul, played by Ingles, find there are powerful lessons still to learn about themselves and each other as they both steer through the difficult days.

The film will screen at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Guild Cinema in Nob Hill. The event is free to the public, yet donations will also be accepted at the door. Ingles will also be present for a Q&A after the screening.

The film is based on the final months of Ingles’ own father’s life.

John S. Ingles was widowed at the age of 88 when his wife of 60 years died, leaving him to finish out life’s ride alone in an assisted living community in North Carolina.

The film tracks the nine months from the fall of 2015 to the summer of 2016, when Tom, now 93, begins to see his health slide after some fainting spells at the retirement home and subsequent visits to the hospital.

The three adult kids, spread out across the country, have differing opinions about whether to place their dad in hospice care with 24/7 home health support, something Williams is adamantly resisting.

Ingles says viewers see the parallel conversational paths of Paul meeting with his Albuquerque therapist Don Daley, played by Gregory Nye, and Paul having a series of heart-to-heart talks with his father.

“I’ve been telling folks that the film is a cross between the very talky cult classic ‘My Dinner with Andree’ and ‘Tuesdays with Morrie,’ another film about the sharing of life-lessons between generations,” Ingles says

The film was shot almost completely in Albuquerque with over 80 local actors and extras.

For the special presentation, Ingles decided to convert the film to black and white

“This story is special to me because it is one that I experienced,” Ingles says. “There were moments where I realized while caring for my father that it was a way to give back for all the care my parents provided. There aren’t many World War II veterans around anymore and this was my way of capturing my father’s story and his life.”

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