Fortunate Sons
A documentary feature.
A story about friendship, camaraderie, life, loss, and renewal.
They entered the 7th grade of an all-male, military school for the sons of Los Angeles elite in the cultural watershed year of 1968 - their lives, friendships, and personal challenges provide a remarkable lens through which to explore 60 years of culture, manhood, and seismic social change.
Are you a husband, father, brother, son? Or, do you have one?
Fortunate Sons is essential viewing - resonating strongly with our developing national conversation about the mental health of boys and men, and the cultural evolution of positive masculinity.
The Story
In 1968 – while The Beatles rocked a generation, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy shocked the nation – seventy-two 12 year-old boys entered 7th grade at the elite, all-male, military Harvard School for Boys in Los Angeles - the young men of the baby boom generation being groomed to lead American society.
These are the real-life stories of American men who grew up together and now, as they prepare to celebrate their 50th high school reunion, lean into the truths of their journeys with humor and vulnerability.
Fortunate Sons explores the challenges that all Americans have confronted as the world around them changed more rapidly and in more ways than anyone expected.
Love and loss.
Harmony and dysfunction.
Challenges and successes.
Pain and healing.
Watch a Short Teaser
Project History
Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentarian Peter Jones and producer John Manulis, together with filmmaker classmates David Rosemont and Scott Shepherd, launched this project after our high school class began connecting on Zoom in the early, lonely days of the pandemic.
Additional classmates stepped up to support the project with early "angel" funding for production, archival research, and editing.
Acclaimed film professionals, editor David Jakubovic, composer Earl Rose, and publicist Amy Grey, committed themselves to the project.
Status
After almost 5 years of class Zooms, dozens of individual interviews, deep dives into archival and historical material, and a year and a half of editing and post-production, we have completed the movie.
We're working on an innovative plan to share it with the world -- combining traditional broadcast/streaming distribution with a grass-roots based Impact Campaign that partners with organizations and schools to support critical conversations about friendship, vulnerability, and positive masculinity in communities across the country.
We'll post news and status updates on this site, as they happen.
Reactions
It's been particularly gratifying to see how Fortunate Sons resonates across generations and demographics - it's really universal stuff: emotional, dramatic, funny, inspiring, and thought-provoking.
TINA S
Business School Lecturer
My heart is so full and inspired by that rough cut....there is just so much humanity in there.
RICHARD B
Composer, Songwriter
It's a fascinating story - emotional, dramatic and totally universal. A wonderful film.
PETER B
Strategic Consultant
Rarely do I watch a film that I wish was longer...but I wanted to see more of your film."
Spread the Word!
Tell your family and friends about Fortunate Sons and encourage them to contribute - the power of our community will enable us to share this remarkable film with the world!
Together, we can make this happen
🙏🏼.
